The ones who stayed

I never imagined I’d stand here… in the Castillo mansion. Not as a guest. Not as a stranger. But as their daughter.

The walls feel too grand, too heavy with history I was denied. For years, I thought this place was nothing but a distant, bitter symbol of all I didn’t have. But now… I’m here.

And so is he.

Felix stands by the window, his face aged by years of silence, of absence. His voice breaks the quiet. “I regret it all now, Aria,” he says. “Everything. I regret never believing your mother when she begged me to listen… when she claimed innocence for what Selene painted her out to be.”

I feel my chest tighten as his voice trembles.

“I regret not searching for you sooner. I didn’t even know of your existence, not until a few years back.” He sighs. “If I had known earlier… maybe I would have found my way to you. Maybe I could’ve stopped the suffering your mother went through. Maybe she would’ve survived Selene’s cruelty.”

His voice is th