24. A family meeting

BELLATRIX...

After a while, the car stopped in front of the villa. "We're here," he says.

"I know." Muttering with a little displeasure, I open the door to step out.

"You go first; I'll return after parking the car, okay?" he speaks, and this time, I turn to see him.

The truth is, I'm not quite confident about going there alone, and for some reason, I want him to go with me. I part my lips, yet nothing comes out when a realization adorns my idea: we are only a contract couple; a year later, our ways will be parted. Who would I ask then?

The thought makes me swallow the words that were almost on my tongue, and I shake my head. "Okay."

I get out of the car and watch him drive toward the parking lot before I turn to the villa. Home it was to me even two days earlier, but now... sigh.

Inhaling a deep breath, I step inside with a racing heart. It feels so strange, as if I'm intervening in someone's property without permission.

Am I supposed to feel this way regarding my own