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"You cared for him."
"More than I thought I would. When Dad sold me?—”
“Sold?” Kate looks horrified.
“Our dad doesn’t see us as daughters. We’re things he owns that can bring him value. But I defied him by daring to fall in love with someone not of his choosing. He believed I was ruined, and to punish me, he killed my boyfriend in front of me.”
I wince, thinking Kate doesn’t need to know the heinous details.
“And then sold me to Giuseppe. I imagined an old, perverted Don,” Lucia says. “But he was gentle and sweet. And Luca, his son, was kind too. Not like any family I’ve ever known.”
“I’m so glad. God, if Dad knew he gave you safety and salvation, he’d have a stroke,” I joke.
There’s a light knock on the door, and Liam steps in. "Kate, it's time."
"Already?" Her voice breaks.
I feel it too. “Kate.”
“It’s okay, Elena. You’re safe and seem happy. To be honest, I was thinking it might be fun to have a change in life. I just hope I don’t end up in Podunk or something.”
“Kate is family,” Lucia tells Liam. “Make sure she doesn’t end up in Podunk.” Lucia looks at Kate. “Where is that?”
“It’s anywhere boring.”
“I don’t think it’s Podunk.”
I rise from bed, feeling the protest of every bruise, every scrape on my body. Kate stands too, and suddenly, we're in each other's arms, clutching onto the moment, onto each other.
“Thank you for your friendship, Kate. It meant the world to me. I know it has cost you everything, and I’m so sorry for that.”
"Promise me something?" she says. "Keep fighting, Elena. For yourself, for those babies. You can still have what you want."
"I promise. Take care of yourself, Kate. Find happiness, wherever it hides."
She pulls back and nods, her eyes reflecting the pain we both feel. "You too, Elena. Be happy. You deserve it."
"Take care of her, Liam" I say, the command leaving no room for argument.
"Of course.” Liam smiles at Kate as he holds his arm out for her to leave with him.
The door closes behind them. I sag back onto the bed, feeling emotionally and physically exhausted.
"Kate's strong," Lucia says. "Like someone else I know."
I give her a wan smile. “Takes one to know one.” But I realize she’s right in some ways. I am strong. Maybe I don’t have power, but I have strength.
She sits on the bed with me, taking my hand. “I never asked. Was this trip back to New York because you’d decided to stay with Niko?”
"Yes."
"Even after everything?" Doubt laces her tone, but it's not judgment I hear—it's concern.
"Even after everything. I know how Niko seems?—”
“He’sIl Soldato Della Morte," she reminds me.
“At one point, you said I should stay.”
