Chapter 58 Mine

• ELARA
• I woke up that morning with my heart beating fast like a drum in my chest. The sunlight came through the big windows and made patterns on the floor but I did not feel warm inside. For the first time in many years I expected bad things to happen right away. I thought guards would come through the door with loud voices and take me away to some cold place. Or maybe Mateo would stand there looking at me with hate in his eyes and tell me to leave forever. My hands felt cold as I sat up in bed and looked around the quiet room. The broken things from yesterday were gone now like someone had cleaned up the mess while I slept.
• I got out of bed slowly and put on a simple dress. My mind kept spinning with questions that would not stop. Why was everything so peaceful after what I did to Sofia. People always ran away or tried to hurt me back when they saw the real me. That was how life worked in my world. But today the house stayed quiet and no one came for me. I walked downstairs with soft steps and looked out at the garden. Servants moved around doing their jobs but they kept their eyes down and did not talk much. It felt strange like the air itself was holding its breath waiting for something. I realized then that Mateo must have protected me. He really did it. He covered everything up even after seeing me with my hands around her neck. My stomach twisted in a funny way because I could not understand why he would do that for someone like me.