Vanessa
I look at him, I really look at him. And for the first time since I entered this house… I don't exactly know what to think of him. It's not pity, it's not rejection. It's something more complex… Something that gets stuck between my chest and throat.
"What did you do, Alexander?"
My voice comes out lower than I expected, slower. Because something in the way he speaks… in the previous pause… tells me that what's coming isn't simple. It's not just any mistake, not a common bad decision.
He doesn't answer immediately, he leans back slightly on the sofa, brings the glass to his lips and takes a sip, as if he needs that extra second to gather his thoughts. Or to decide if he should say it. But he does.
"I wanted to earn her trust."
I nod slightly; that makes sense.
"To be a
