Chapter 56

• Alessia
• The atmosphere at home is uncanny. Marco, as usual, is quiet, but tonight, there’s something different about him. The usual fire behind his eyes seems subdued, replaced by something more distant, perhaps even vulnerable.
• I felt the silence pressing down on me, and yet, for the first time in a long while, I don’t feel the urge to break it. There’s a stillness that makes me think about things I never allowed myself to before. Despite the chaos surrounding us, Marco is still the person who has always been there when I needed him the most. I didn’t know it before, but now I do.