Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Sandra POV

I sat by the window side again. The same chair, the same spot, but my heart felt different. Weeks had passed since I stopped asking Dylan about his past. At first, it had been hard to resist the urge, but now… now I found peace in just being. I was learning to be myself again, without the shadow of secrets pressing me.

I whispered softly, almost like I was talking to someone across the room.

“Peace feels strange… like it doesn’t belong to me, but I’ll hold it anyway.”

The silence of the house answered me. I pulled my knees close and wrapped my arms around them.

“I’ve stopped fighting you, Dylan,” I muttered under my breath, as if he could hear me even when he wasn’t around. “I’ve stopped digging. Maybe it’s better this way. Maybe some truths don’t need to come out.”

For the first time in weeks, my heart was not restless. I had been laughing more, sleeping better, even humming songs I used to love. But peace always brought another danger: memory.

That was when the thought came—like a shadow creeping back into a lit room. My family.

I closed my eyes tight. “Don’t think about them, Sandra. Not now.”

But I couldn’t stop.

Images of my father flashed in my mind: his tall frame, his commanding voice, his eyes that could silence a room full of men with just one look. He wasn’t just my father. He was one of the top men in the world. A leader people feared and respected.

And then… my brothers. All five of them. My protectors, my tormentors, my blood.

I groaned softly, burying my face in my hands. “Why now? Why think about them now?”

The room stayed still, but my memories refused to be quiet.

I spoke to myself again, louder this time. “Sandra, you left them. You walked out without a word. You ran away from all of them… just for one man. Just for Lewis.”

My voice cracked. “Was I wrong?”

I could almost hear my father’s booming voice in my head.

“You are my daughter. You don’t walk away from this family. Ever.”

I bit my lip hard, shaking my head. “I walked away, Papa. I walked away without even saying goodbye.”

I stood from the chair, pacing the room. Talking to myself helped me breathe. It was like my brothers were standing there, listening, so I spoke to them too.

“David, you always told me I was too soft. Too emotional. You’d laugh at me if you saw me now.”

I smiled faintly, though my chest ached. “Marcus, you were the quiet one. You would’ve tried to understand… but you’d still say I betrayed the family.”

I turned toward the empty wall, as if another brother stood there. “Ethan, you’d never forgive me. You were always Papa’s favorite soldier. To you, I’m nothing but a traitor.”

I swallowed hard. “And Leo… you’d probably try to find me if you knew where I was. You were my twin in spirit. I miss you the most.”

Finally, my voice dropped to a whisper. “And Adrian… my baby brother. You must hate me. I left you when you needed me most.”

Tears blurred my vision. I pressed my hands against my chest.

“I left all of you… without a word. I chose Dylan, and I didn’t even explain why.”

I sat back down, staring out of the window again. My words fell into the air like broken confessions.

“Do you even know where I am? Do you think of me? Or am I already erased from the family name?”

A sharp laugh escaped me. “Sandra, the daughter who vanished. The one who walked away. The one who traded her bloodline for love.”

I looked at my hands. “Did I do the right thing? Or did I destroy everything?”

The silence made the questions heavier.

I rubbed my temples. “You always said love makes you weak, Papa. But here I am, choosing weakness over strength. Choosing Lewis over you.”

I leaned back, closing my eyes. My thoughts became voices, as if my family stood in the room.

Father’s stern voice: “You are not allowed to walk away from this bloodline.”

David’s mocking tone: “See? She was never strong enough.”

Marcus’s calm one: “Maybe she just wanted freedom.”

Ethan’s harsh echo: “Traitor.”

Leo’s soft whisper: “Come home, Sandra. We miss you.”

Adrian’s broken voice: “You left me, sister. You left me when I needed you.”

I shook my head furiously. “Stop it. Stop it!”

The voices faded, but the pain stayed.

“I can’t go back,” I whispered. “Not now. Not after everything. I chose this path.”

I hugged myself tighter. “I’m trying, Papa. I’m trying to make something of myself here. I’m trying to love and live, even if it means leaving behind everything you built.”

For a moment, peace slipped back in. A fragile, trembling peace.

Then I heard Dylan’s footsteps at the door.

I wiped my tears quickly and forced a small smile.

He poked his head in. “Talking to yourself again?”

I chuckled weakly. “Maybe.”

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “You okay?”

I nodded quickly. “Yeah. Just… thinking.”

He tilted his head, studying me. “About what?”

I hesitated, then looked away. “About the past.”

He didn’t push further. He just walked over, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss on my hair.

“Don’t let it eat you up. You’re here now. With me.”

My throat tightened, but I forced myself to nod. “I know.”

When he left the room, I whispered to myself again.

“But will here ever be enough?”

After Dylan left the room, silence pressed around me again. But this time, it wasn’t empty. My thoughts filled it quickly, heavy and loud.

I leaned back, closed my eyes, and whispered to myself, “Maybe I should face them. Even if it’s only in my head.”

The room blurred, and in my mind, I stood in the old family hall. Tall ceilings, heavy chandeliers, the long dining table where I used to sit at the far end, always under my father’s sharp eyes.

I whispered, “Let’s pretend you’re all here with me.”

And then, the voices came alive.

Father’s voice boomed first.

“Why did you leave without a word, Sandra? Do you think you can escape this family?”

My lips trembled, but I forced myself to answer. “Papa, I had to. I couldn’t breathe under your rules anymore. I wanted my own life.”

“You think life is about what you want?” His tone was like thunder. “Life is duty. Loyalty. Blood. You turned your back on it all.”

“No, Papa,” I whispered. “I turned my back on fear. On chains.”

David’s mocking laugh echoed next.

“You? Chains? You always had everything. Protection. Power. We gave you everything. And you ran.”

I clenched my fists. “You gave me everything but freedom, David. I was never allowed to be me. You all wanted me to be a weapon, a perfect daughter of a perfect man.”

“And instead,” he sneered, “you became a traitor.”

I looked down, tears stinging my eyes. “Maybe. But at least I became me.”

Marcus’s calm voice cut through.

“Tell us, Sandra. Did you really think love would save you?”

I nodded softly. “Yes. I thought love would be enough.”

He tilted his head in my mind, just like he used to in real life. “And is it?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know yet. But I feel more alive now than I ever did in that big house filled with guards and rules.”

Marcus sighed. “Then maybe… you made the right choice.”

Ethan’s harsh voice rose.

“You should have died before dishonoring us. You put shame on our name. Father trusted you, and you threw it in his face.”

I shook my head, standing tall in the vision. “Ethan, I didn’t choose shame. I chose myself. If that’s dishonor to you, so be it.”

He stepped closer, anger burning in his eyes. “Don’t you dare pretend this is noble. You are nothing now. A shadow. No family. No name.”

My chest tightened, but I whispered, “Maybe I’d rather be nothing… than live without freedom.”

Then Leo’s voice reached me, soft and sad.

“You could’ve told me, Sandra. At least me. I would’ve helped you.”

My heart broke at the sound. “Leo… I wanted to, I swear. But if I told you, you would’ve tried to stop me. You loved too much to let me go.”

“And I still do,” he whispered. “I still love you, sister. I want you back.”

I pressed my hand against my chest, sobbing quietly. “I love you too. Every day. But I can’t go back. Not after everything.”

Finally, Adrian’s young voice cut through.

“You left me, Sandra. You promised you’d always protect me. And then you disappeared.”

I sank to my knees in my mind. “Adrian, I’m sorry. You were so young. I didn’t want you to grow up the way I did. That’s why I left. I wanted to show that life could be different.”

“But you left me alone,” he said.

Tears streamed down my face. “I know. And that’s the one thing I’ll never forgive myself for.”

Adrian’s voice softened. “Will I ever see you again?”

I shook my head slowly. “Maybe not. But I’ll always love you.”

The visions of them all blurred, fading back into the silence of the room. My chest rose and fell quickly, like I had just fought a battle.

I whispered to myself, “That’s what it would sound like… if I ever faced them again.”

I leaned back in the chair, exhausted. My heart still ached, but at the same time, it felt lighter.

I spoke softly into the air. “I chose Dylan. I chose love. And maybe it was selfish. But I couldn’t keep living only for my father’s name.”

I rubbed my hands together nervously. “They’ll never forgive me. Not Papa. Not Ethan. Maybe not Adrian either. But Leo… Leo might. And Marcus… maybe.”

I gave a small laugh, though it was shaky. “David will probably spit on my grave, though.”

The empty room didn’t laugh with me, but I felt a strange relief in saying it out loud.

I stood and walked to the mirror. My reflection stared back at me. My eyes were swollen from crying, but there was a spark there too.

“You’re Sandra,” I told my reflection. “Not just a daughter. Not just a sister. Not just a part of their empire. You’re Sandra. And you’re here now.”

I touched the glass gently, as if touching the woman in front of me. “Maybe you made the wrong choice. Maybe you made the right one. But you made a choice. And that’s more than you ever could in that house.”

Later that night, Dylan found me still awake, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He frowned. “You didn’t sleep?”

I shook my head. “Too many thoughts.”

He sat beside me, pulling me close. “Want to talk?”

I hesitated. Then I whispered, “Do you ever think about family? The ones you left behind?”

His eyes darkened, but he didn’t answer right away. Finally, he said, “Sometimes. But not often. Some doors… are better left closed.”

I swallowed hard. “Mine won’t stay closed. They keep knocking in my head.”

He squeezed my hand gently. “Then maybe one day you’ll have to answer. But not tonight. Tonight, you rest.”

I nodded against his shoulder, whispering, “One day. But not ton

ight.”

As his warmth surrounded me, I closed my eyes. My family’s voices were still there, faint echoes in the dark, but for the first time, they didn’t crush me. They reminded me of who I was… and who I was trying to become.