I smooth down my dress as I stare at myself in the mirror, searching somewhere within me for the will to perform in front of everyone when we return to Sicily.
This time, I do not want to.
If it were up to me, I would destroy them, but Siena…
My attention shifts toward the door and whoever has been knocking for I do not know how long. I have only just noticed.
Their good manners tell me I will not have to face Lorenzo and Arturo’s brutality for now, because they probably would have broken the door down.
“Come in.”
“Valentina, can we talk?”
I am surprised when Francesco enters my bedroom, his voice tired and his posture even more exhausted. He does not openly express his suffering, but his soul does.
“If you came to accuse me, I will have to deny everything.”
“I came to offer you t
