And still, some part of me couldn’t stop hoping.
Hoping that if I just explained?—
Why I did what I did.
Why I couldn’t be the perfect daughter he demanded.
Maybe he’d understand.
Or at least… stop hating me.
I wasn’t sure I could bear leaving without trying.
Without saying goodbye to the man he had once been?—
And the girl I had been when I still believed he loved me.
The road curved, and the house came into view—dark, unwelcoming, crouched beneath a dull gray sky like a grave marker.
My stomach twisted.
The last time I stood there, he’d thrown me out like a stray dog, his voice still echoing in my ears—full of fury, full of finality.
I told myself this was a mistake.
That I should turn around and keep going.
Never look back.
But my mouth stayed shut.
And the carriage rolled on.
I didn’t know what I’d say when I saw him.
I didn’t know if I could weather his anger again.
But I had to try.
For myself, if nothing else.
To leave without trying felt like abandoning the last shred of love or loyalty I still had for him—no matter how much it hurt.
The mansion loomed larger, a monument to everything we had been—and everything we’d lost.
My resolve wavered.
But loyalty to the man my father once was nudged me forward.
It was a duty born of love—however fractured.
A final act.
A daughter to her father.
Before the last threads between us unraveled completely.
The mansion’s shadows clung to me like a second skin as I slithered through its silent, treacherous halls.
