The Grief

MARIA'S POV

My bodyguard led me into the house. Ursula and Zia watched their favorite telenovela in the living room when I arrived. I tried. I tried to look like everything was fine, but seeing them, my resolve shattered. They ran to me when they saw how much I was shivering. They didn't say anything but only hugged me.

"I lost him," I struggled to say, but they did not understand me. I don't remember how, but the next thing I knew, I was immersed in the bathtub.

Zia Benedetta turned on the warm water, letting it cleanse me. I don't know if she knew this, but it wasn't only my dirty body. My soul was in rot. I was in so much turmoil.

Whenever the thought of how I was so close to reuniting with my brother resurfaced, I shuddered at my weakness in being unable to protect him. The image of his face caught in chaos appeared in my head. He looked so scared and clueless.

He didn't recognize me, which was worrying initially, but it didn't trump my desire to save him. The tears fell from my e