Chapter 136

Althaia

I hadn’t even processed the fact that Gaetano wasn’t my father. My entire existence had been nothing but a cruel, damned lie.

I didn’t think it was possible to feel more miserable than this. I kept being dragged down into an abyss of darkness and drowning in fear and pure devastation.

I was exhausted.

I had lived for twenty-five years, and I didn’t know who I was, or even who my family was.

Now, my mother, whom I had thought I witnessed die, was somewhere in this safe house.

Alive.

And now, I was reliving the same nightmare that had shattered me once before.

My body felt heavy. All I wanted was to curl up in bed and let the darkness take me somewhere else—somewhere where I wouldn’t feel so miserable and heartbroken again.

Damiano stood still, his gaze fixed on me as if his entire world had just crumbled, while silent tears streamed down my face.

“I’m sorry...” I whispered to him, my chest tightening