Chapter 109

So I silently agreed to be her friend. It was the least I could do for Ivan, in honor of the ephemeral bond that united us. After all, a part of me already felt like I was half an aunt (because considering myself a mother was almost a bad word at that time) to the children; that was the best role I could give myself, as long as I didn’t stop knowing about them. If he lost them, nothing would be the same again.

I learned that the best thing was to move on, after everything, and see life with different eyes.

I learned to love all three of them with a maternal affection, which I reserved for myself, without wanting anything more.

***

I think the best thing was that we never completely lost contact.

Ivan always said that the debt of honor he owed me was unpayable, and that not all the money in the world would be enough for him to thank me for putting aside his instinctive terror and saving him and his children from almost certain death. However, I am convin