Chapter 32

Laura Brando narrating:

Grabbing me by the arm one of the men pulled me out of the room while the other still stood over Jason, punching him in the face as if he was angry about something. The man took me to another room in the same corridor and, opening the door roughly, pushed me into it. My eyes soon met Aron's. He was leaning against the wall, with one of the men pointing a gun at him. With tears in his eyes, he looked at me, as if all he wanted was to come to me, grateful that I was okay, but he was stopped by the gun of the man next to him.

"What are you doing here? What's going on, Aron? They're going to kill Jason in the next room...'' I screamed through my tears.

''Calm down Laura, it's going to be okay...'' Aron whispered as the man with the cocked gun pressed the weapon against his ribcage.

From the moment Aron came into my life, in a way I can't tell, it was as if I had been contaminated by his darkness, as if now I no longer feared for my own life, as if I was cold enough for that.

"Get your little dog out of here. The man next to me pushed me towards Aron.

I'd never seen fear in those cold eyes, but I could see it at that moment in the way he grabbed me by the arm, getting me out of that room as quickly as possible, running away without even giving me any further explanation, while I just questioned him about why Jason wasn't going with us.

"There's no time now, we need to leave, stop saying that name.

For some reason Aron was distant, his eyes were distant as if fear and sadness were lodged in that dark, cold countenance. He was silent the whole way. We stopped in front of the rehabilitation clinic where my mother was being held.

"Why are we stopping here? I asked Aron, after all I figured he wouldn't see my mother because of what Jason had told me.

"Can you give us a break, Gerald? Aron spoke to the driver in a weak tone of voice as if he was about to make a confession. ''Laura, there are a lot of things I need to tell you, I know that right now you must be torturing yourself with doubts, but now is not the time for us to talk... I promise you that we will clarify everything as soon as we arrive in Milan again, you have to trust me.''

'' Why can't you tell me now, Aron? Where's Jason? He didn't want to travel with me and suddenly he appeared there in the middle of all that chaos.'' I asked.

'' I don't want to just spit words into the wind. Jason angered that man, he did something deplorable, he's fine, but he's not going back to Milan. Come on, his mother's waiting for us.'' Aron got out of the car, and knowing I wouldn't see Jason again was like a dagger being plunged into my chest.

"Are you coming with me? Laura.

"Is there a problem? If you don't want to, that's fine, I'll understand. Aron.

Shaking my head to show him that there was no problem, we went on, I was confused, Jason had told me that Aron wasn't going to stand in front of her. I wanted the whole world to stop and for Aron to unravel this whole web of secrets between us. The fact that Aron is a quiet man prevents him from saying a lot of things that give Jason room to manipulate them.

My mother was sitting on a chair, and her eyes quickly met mine. Ceasing my steps, I grabbed Aron's arm, trying to get away from her.

"Aron... we never talk about my mother, but I have problems with her, but I still want her around. I thought about her going with us, and staying in a clinic nearby until the month is over.''

''All right. Aron said, and every second I was more surprised by the way he walked without fearing anything, confident and calm enough to stop in front of my mother and greet her.

"Hi mom, how are you?

In front of my mother again, it was as if she was just a stranger, perhaps I had put her in this unknown place in my heart, pushed her away so I wouldn't have to deal with everything she brought me.

"I'm fine... and who's the boy? Anastasia, my mother, said in a serene voice, calm and smiling, she didn't know Aron any different from what Jason had said.

Aron Curry narrating:

"I'm Aron. I said, greeting her.

As if fate were giving me a boost, I stood in front of Anastasia and confirmed in her eyes that she didn't remember me. As if I were taking steps towards my Redemption.

A few minutes ago I had to say goodbye to Samantha again, I had to see her walking towards the head of the German mafia after twenty-five years of torturing myself for her departure. In just a few hours of being back in my life, Samantha managed to save me, she managed to show me a way forward, but I couldn't tell her how wrong she was about having failed to save me.

At least, from now on Jason is no longer my problem, I still hate the worry in Laura's eyes, but I'm sure I won't have to deal with him setting his eyes on her, or lusting after her. Jason went straight to Rome, straight with Tommaso.

I hated the feeling that I could leave the truth for later, that I could continue to carry the lie and walk away from what I had done for Laura. Every time I ask myself how Laura is destroying me by leaving, just as seeing Samantha go destroyed me, I can't breathe, as if the weight of everything I've done is crushing me, crushing my chest into my ribcage, making it impossible for me to even move.

''Why does it feel like there's a wall between you and your mother? You've been away for years," I said to Laura, seeing that she didn't want to sit next to Anastasia on the way back.

"I told you we have problems... it's complicated. Can you start telling me the truth now?

''I'll tell you the whole truth tomorrow... I need you to know the whole story. I needed time to say goodbye to the sparkle in Laura's eyes.

''You put me at risk, you practically put me on the brink of death every day. And you still want me to live a life of love with you, but it's impossible to live like that, especially if I stay away every time something happens. From the moment I left Milan, I've wondered if it's possible for me to think about living alongside you. Deep down, neither of us are going to live...'' Laura spoke like an outburst, her eyes scanning the airplane window.

Getting up, I left her as if refusing to listen to the next words she would say.

''Pack your things as soon as we get home. Tomorrow I'll tell you the truth, then I'll tear up the contract and leave you free to go wherever you want to find the life I can't give you. I muttered helplessly.