At first, all Emanuele does is stand still in one place, unable to make any sound or move. The images are now looping, the face of the woman in the video is identical to Emanuele's, the nose, the eyes... But this was absolutely impossible. It could only be a trick, a frame-up.Johnny seems to be contemplating all possible options for the existence of this person, but the delegate states the obvious:"Of course, like any citizen, you have the right to an attorney. But these videos are famous in the place where you live, and because of the proportion that this is taking, I'm afraid that it could also be divulged in the press. It would be more Prudent if you just turned yourself in."The former redhead looks at the lawman and speaks softly:"That's not me in the video."He almost lets out a sarcastic laugh, but the panic in her eyes is so visible that a smile doesn't even come up."I've been here in this town for months. You can ask anyone, they'll all tell you the same thing."Johnny a
Emanuele says nothing at first, just assessing Joshua from top to bottom. I wonder what he was doing there, and especially what he meant by that sentence.Johnny raised one of his eyebrows. Although they had formally made up, he would still fiercely defend her from anyone who approached.The girl cleared her throat before asking:"What do you mean?"Joshua puts one of his hands in his pockets and shows her a piece of paper.... It is the same flyer that the women of the church were handing out in the streets."I came here to lend support. I knew you were at the police station because I had time to see you getting into the vehicle on your way out of the hospital.""What? But wait a minute, how did you know I was at the hospital?""Carlos told me."The girl looks at Johnny, and they both ask themselves the same question: when? And why? Carlos had a grand total of zero reason to communicate specifically to Joshua. It would have been more plausible for the boy to have let the twins and And
The short ride to both Johnny and Joshua's building is short and silent. Emanuele makes a point of keeping a respectable distance from the man, avoiding any kind of wrong message. The attraction the girl once had for him had now turned into a strange feeling, a kind of sorrow with resentment. Maybe even anger.Joshua seems to notice Emanuele's discomfort, and although he is saddened by this, he does not take offense or treat her differently. He just glares at her while the cab finishes its journey.When they finally arrive, Emanuele looks at the bakery across the street, thinking about everything that had happened since then. Just remembering what happened in line at the establishment shuts her face.Joshua mutters:"I'm sorry."And for the first time in her life, the girl doesn't try to sound understanding or nice. Instead, she responds acidly:"I imagine so."The short walk to the elevator is marked by a sense and heavy silence. The former bride is practically glued to the cubicle
Emanuele's heart is beating so hard that she fears she will have a stroke right there, in front of the kneeling man.Joshua, a man more than twice the girl's height, on his knees for her. It seemed unbelievable.He doesn't seem to be satisfied yet, he seems to have a lot more to say, but the girl can't allow that. Because the weird heat, whatever it was, was rising not only to her cheeks, but other places as well...Emanuele gets to her feet quickly, trying not to stutter or look too silly when she speaks:"Look, Joshua, I'm glad to hear that you're willing to change your outlook on life and fight for your happiness, but-"He also stands up, but he makes no bones about lessening the distance between the two of them. If he wanted to, he could even brush his lips against hers."But I can do absolutely nothing about these... Hm, newly discovered feelings."Joshua's voice is lewd, even provocative when he asks:"Is that so?""Yes. I am dating now. And I love my boyfriend very much. He is
Joshua immediately backs away, a mixture of confusion and disappointment in his eyes. Emanuele sees this as a good sign. After all, at least he is going LONGER from her, and not closer.Johnny didn't deserve that, to have an unfaithful girlfriend sighing for an older man with emotional problems. Thinking back, the girl felt real shame for her past mistakes, for her lack of assertiveness. Emanuele takes advantage of Joshua's silence of surprise to continue:"I decided to take that step as soon as Johnny asked me to date him. I felt that this was the right thing to do. E... Well, now that he and I are together, and officially, it's totally inappropriate what you're telling me now."The girl seems to struggle to make her voice more fluid and less tired, but all the emotions of that day are finishing off her muscles, including her vocal cords. She continues with her venting:"Do you realize how stupid and unkind you were? You said you wanted to apologize, but you actually wanted to hit o
"No."Emanuele's murmur is so assertive, despite the low volume of her voice, that Joshua immediately backs away.They both look at each other, noticing the gasping breath that exhales from both of them, the noise that sounds in the room.He miscalculated. The gleam in her eyes were not of passion, recognition, or even the attraction he was sure she felt for him. It was... Pain.The guilt in his voice is undisguisable."I'm sorry, Emanuele. I don't mean to hurt you, I don't want to hurt you. I swear."Joshua really was sorry. He should have paid more attention to the details, slowed down his own instincts. He wanted to take her for himself, to claim what was rightfully his. But how to do that when possession itself didn't feel right about it?Emanuele looked deep into his eyes.Maybe he was right. Maybe she didn't love Johnny as she should have. But that meant absolutely nothing.She had to know, though, why she was so curious about his feelings. This could not be mere chance."Can I
Like a damn coward, Emanuele stopped walking immediately. Panicked, the girl started to look around and back, wondering whether it was worth it to run or to hide.Why were those policemen talking to Alexandra? The deputy himself had warned her that until the issue of fingerprints was resolved, she had nothing to worry about.Had the detestable Crimson changed his mind and given the order to arrest her as a precautionary measure? This could only be a terrible nightmare.Emanuele gropes her broken nose, which by now should be fine. Swallowing hard, she comes to the conclusion that running away is useless. One day they would find her, and in fact it would be worse if she resisted, wouldn't it? The girl was sure that this could add a few more years to her sentence.With slow steps, as if walking towards her own death, Emanuele goes directly to the policemen. Alexandra's eyes widen in fright at the sight of the girl."Emanuele, what's going on here? Why are these men saying you committed a
"What is it?" Emanuele’s murmur echoes through the air around her, like a dying man’s last breath or the final word of a condemned man before the actual execution.Alexandra is not being mean, evil or showing any trace of pleasure to see the obvious suffering of the girl. Quite the contrary; Joshua’s sister seems to be making a wise but painful decision."I’m not saying I believe you’re a... a killer. But I really can’t keep you in my apartment until all this is properly cleared up.""But I’ve already clarified everything!". Emanuele takes two steps towards Alexandra, doing everything not to show her despair, at least not in its entirety. " There’s no explanation to support this absurd accusation they made against me!""Emanuele, please understand. I am a businesswoman, I have a certain reputation and I need to look after my reputation. I don’t know how this case is being handled publicly, but I do know that there’s a small church in your own town that’s handing out leaflets out ther
. . . . . . . . FIVE MONTHS LATER . . . . . .Emanuele looked at herself in the huge full-length mirror. The girl hardly knew where to look, which detail to care about first.She didn't know whether to look at the beautiful hairstyle in her now dark brown hair; her natural color.She didn't know whether to look at the impeccable makeup on her face, which made her even more beautiful and radiant than she was feeling.And I also didn't know whether to look at the beautiful white dress, simply cut, adorned with small mother-of-pearl beads. Despite the simplicity of the outfit, it was undeniable to say that the bride looked divine that day.Smiling, she turned around in front of her own reflection. Her heart was pounding with happiness, and she felt the stars in the night sky outside wishing her good luck. The curtain behind the door opened. A short, pudgy girl smiled sympathetically as she entered the room, openly admiring her."Miss Parker, you look beautiful!"Emanuele smiled."Thank
The old man falls to his knees at the same instant. Emanuele runs to him and hugs him tight, but Joseph does not respond. Instead, he seems to be doing his best not to scream as loud as he can."Dad!" The girl says."Adriele died? I had two daughters, and one of them died? Is that it?! Is that what you are telling me?!'Emanuele tries to hold back her sobs, but she can't. Instead, she says:"Yes, Dad. I'm really, really sorry. It all happened so fast! I lost my mother, my sister, and now... Now you are all I have left. You are literally all I have as family!"Joseph can't say anything for a while, only cry. The two of them are shaking very hard. Sarah, when alive, said that Morgan couldn't get the proper reaction, that he was too broken inside. But now he seemed quite emotional. I wonder what had happened.The smell of her father, enveloping Emanuele's nostrils, is soothing and familiar. In a snap, she remembers that the same scent enveloped her when she was in the arms of death, tra
Convincing Crimson to enter the police database to find her father's address was not that difficult.In fact, Emanuele was quite surprised when she had to use only one of the six rehearsed arguments. The old man shrugged and said that at that point it was no longer worth trying to pretend not to act unofficially from time to time.What really took a lot of lip from the redhead was convincing Joshua not to go with her. The girl knew that he only wanted to protect her, but Emanuele was very assertive in her arguments. She needed to do this alone, face that part of her past, and see if there was any possibility of fixing it in her future.Sarah had said that he was in a depressive spiral, and that when he saw her he could not react properly, and that it hurt her.Emanuele then prepared herself emotionally. She would not be disappointed or resentful if, by some chance, the man who at one time taught her a beautiful lullaby did not remember her... or was not touched by the moment.The youn
For a few seconds, all Emanuele can do is stare at Joshua. The two of them are still naked, and the distance between their bodies is as minimal as possible. "What?" she asks, softly. I wonder if she had heard right. Had her emotions stunned her enough for her to hear such a request?He gives a quiet laugh, then opens a confident, sentimental smile."Will you marry me?"The girl immediately sits up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. She covers her own nakedness with the blanket, still looking at the man, who also sits down."I..."Several things go through her head.The first was that no, she could not get married. Not in that life and not ever. All the misfortunes that had happened to her, all the horrible and unfortunately scarring traumas that were etched into her skin; all that made marriage itself a terrible idea.According to the books that the young woman read, especially during her teenage years, marriage was the union of two people. Total commitment to each other, com
As soon as he closes the door, Joshua gives warm, soft kisses on the sensitive skin of Emanuele's neck. The man sighs, almost intoxicated with passion, and murmurs:"I love the way you smell."With all the delicacy and romance in the world, Joshua props the redhead's torso on the bed, leaving her legs and feet touching the floor. He caresses her over her clothes. Emanuele moans."The last time we were together like this, I gave only a demonstration of what might come next. Remember?"He stimulates her further with the tip of his thumb, in subtle, gentle circular motions. "Those were the words of a man overcome with desire, and even lust, if I am willing to admit it. Today I may again have those feelings in my body, but... there is a difference. Now I am sure that I love you."Still with his thumb on Emanuele's clit, Joshua kisses her eagerly; the movement of his tongue is smooth and warm. Murmurs come out of her throat, as if the teacher is delighting in that moment.Emanuele's hands
The winter dawn is cold.A month has passed since Emanuele saw her sister die. One month, and even then, the memory was still latent and terrible.The girl had already been to therapy, but the nightmares continued to torment her. Joshua didn't know what to do anymore, since every night at two o'clock in the morning the girl's terrified screams woke him up.The teacher got out of his own bed in the dim light. The clock on his cell phone said it was one hour and fifty minutes, that is, ten minutes before the nightmares began.Standing up, taking care not to make any excessive noise, Joshua opened the door to his room, going towards Emanuele's door.But the door was open.Frowning, the man approaches the room. Her bed is empty.Still not making hasty decisions, Joshua goes to the living room, equally empty. His heart only slows down when he sees the girl sitting at the table, drinking a glass of water. She watches him without saying anything, then goes back to sipping the liquid.Slowly
Joshua immediately embraces Emanuele as soon as she, still very tearful and emotional, leaves the room where Sarah is being held. She clings to the man's clothes, sobbing terribly. Her eyes are swollen and red. "I am here," he murmurs. "I'm right here, my love." The girl can barely respond or say anything. A man wearing religious robes appears. He is middle-aged and wears thick-rimmed glasses. In his hand is a Bible. The man's voice is patient and docile, and he uses all his politeness as he approaches Emanuele. "May God's infinite mercy soothe your heart, child. I am so sorry for your loss." Apparently, the priest was already very well informed of the situation. The girl does not respond, only sinks even deeper into the chest of Joshua, who makes no mention of letting go. The policeman in charge of Sarah's surveillance accompanies the religious man. That was the protocol. Before being formally executed, Sarah would have the right to console herself and at least try to ensure a se
The next day dawned gray, cold and absolutely silent.Of course, cars were still passing by, people were leaving their homes to go to work, and children were going to school. But the noise present, that typical sound that Emanuele's ears were used to, could not penetrate the enormous bubble of silence that surrounded her.The call from the delegate the day before was an answer she had been begging to receive, but now that she knew that her sister's last wish was to see her, an unbearable weight had taken over her heart. Sarah was going to die. And all they had together were brief, monitored, timed conversations.Emanuele looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black overcoat and pants of the same color, as well as dark boots. Her dyed red hair was tied up in a tight bun, and no matter how hard she tried to disguise her swollen face, red from crying with makeup, it was still obvious to anyone paying a little more attention. Joshua appeared in the doorway, wearing dark soci
Emanuele could neither sleep nor eat properly in the days that followed.All the girl could do, and at the massive insistence of Joshua who took care of her whenever he could, was to take a few naps and, very begrudgingly, put food in her stomach. He always tried to be as close as possible, even though he needed to work.With the insurance money, Joshua was able to recover almost nothing from the old apartment, so he opted to buy new furniture and decorate Alexandra's apartment, or rather his apartment. Doing this, however, seemed pointless and even disrespectful, since the present moment was one of mourning, not of celebration.When the man apologized for his attitude, Emanuele just shrugged and continued to stare at some fixed point on the wall.They did not sleep together. Each stayed in his own room most of the time. Joshua tried to get close to her physically, but he was content to give her a respectful cuddle and caress to comfort her. It was not the time for them to get close l