Chapter 42: Familiar Faces
Natalie~
The night carried a chill, but not the bone-deep kind—just enough to make me pull my arms tighter around myself. I moved through the bustling streets, my breath rising in soft, ghostly swirls. City lights smeared like watercolor through the haze of unshed tears, and the world around me—voices, laughter, life—faded into nothing more than a distant hum.
I didn’t care where I was going. I didn’t care that my feet ached from walking. I didn’t care about anything at all.
I tilted my head toward the sky, the stars barely visible through the haze of city lights. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" My voice cracked as I spoke, barely louder than a whisper. But I knew the goddess could hear me. She always could.
"Was my father’s crime so horrible that I have to pay for it until the day I die?" I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "Is that it? Is that why you insist on punishing me?"
There was no answer, of course. There never was.
My chest ached as I thought of Alexander. His little face, his bright smile, the way he clung to me like I was the only safe place in his world. And I had left him. I had broken my promise to him.
I had no choice.
And then there was Zane.
I had truly, foolishly believed my life was finally going smoothly. That I had found a place where I didn’t have to be afraid. But that illusion had shattered the moment he looked at me the way everyone else did—like I was a curse.
Like I was worthless.