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But it seemed like that had been the wrong thing to say as the three of them exchanged a swift, pointed glance — some kind of silent understanding that I wasn’t privy to passing between them.
“Ludovica…”. It was King who started to speak first, slow and steady. “We’d been meaning to ask you something for a while now and I guess that now is as good a time as any… do you still want to leave?”
I inhaled sharply at his words.
Was this a test or something… but then I looked at his face and found nothing other than complete genuineness.
“Yes. Yes, I do,” I said truthfully.
None of them displayed any signs of surprise at hearing my answer. It was like they had already been expecting it.
So I hadn’t fooled them as well as I thought I did.
I remembered the night when I first told them that I wanted to leave. The disappointment and resentment I had felt at their response was still a fresh wound in my heart.
I didn’t know why King decided to ask me this question now, but I wasn’t going to lie to him. Maybe it was stupid of me to be so truthful, but I didn’t care.
I acknowledged the possibility that this could make them more paranoid and hinder my chances of escape, but… I just wasn’t worried.
It was odd how they always managed to bring out a more honest side of me, given how accustomed I had gotten with constantly hiding my true thoughts and emotions. There weren’t many people I could be truly honest with. The first time I had allowed myself to open up to someone was with them, no matter how unwise that decision may be.
“Alright, then,” King said, nodding. “You are free to leave.”
“I’m sorry?” I had to ask him to repeat himself one more time.
“You said that you want to leave, so… you’re free to go.”
“I don’t understand. Why…”
Why what?
Why would they say that now? What had changed since the last time I brought this up and today? Were they really going to let me leave just like that?
There were so many things I wanted to ask them, but in the end, I just settled on saying an earnest, “I…thank you.”
All those additional questions didn’t matter now in sightless.
The most important thing was that I was finally going to be free.
I shook my head, finding some difficulty believing that. I studied their faces again, searching for any signs of insincerity, but no… they were being truthful.
“You have to give us a couple of days to arrange it, though,” Ace jumped in with an air of finality. “We aren’t just going to let you go on your own like that. As we’ve said before, it could spell very serious trouble if the Don finds out about you.”
I nodded my head a couple of times, still having trouble believing what they were saying.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want,” I told him, my mind far away.
My head was a mix of too many emotions at once.
Incredulity
Happiness.
Relief.
After all these years, I was finally going to be free. Free of Francesco and of anyone else who wanted to control me.
And it was all thanks to my boys.
