Chapter 149. Beautiful Notes

The delicate notes of Je Te Laisserai Des Mots floated through the room, soft and haunting. Each key I pressed brought back flashes of the orphanage—Mother Theressa’s sharp gaze, Val’s sinister grin as she watched us from the corner, and the echo of that ruler snapping against the piano whenever a mistake was made. 

My fingers trembled, but I did not stop playing. Tears filled my eyes but I continued. This song, as much as it was toed to pain, was also something beautiful. It was one of the few moments of light I had back then, a melody I clung to in secret. 

It had brought comfort before and somehow still did right now. 

The lyrics swirled in my mind even though I did not know French that well and was not even singing: Je te laisserai des mots…sure le vent, sur la mer…The song’s message, leaving words like footprints, felt so poignant now. 

Maybe it was because this room, this piano, and even Darco’s brief vulnerability felt like pieces of a sto