Chapter Seventy-threeRainThe night felt longer than any I had ever known. I wasn’t sure I slept at all. I kept tossing from one side to the other, my mind spinning with thoughts—wondering what I’d do when tomorrow finally came and I had to face the people who threw me into the world when I was still helpless and vulnerable.I kept asking myself: how could a mother possibly feel okay leaving her one-year-old daughter to travel thousands of miles away? Worse still, how could she leave and never look back? I couldn’t wait for dawn.Every time I drifted into sleep, something yanked me awake—sometimes it was a flash of what might happen tomorrow, other times it was the heavy fog of uncertainty swirling around me. What if tomorrow didn’t unfold the way I imagined? What if the only thing it brought me was sadness, an aching kind that would cling to me forever? What if, after everything they said, I still didn’t feel the sense of belonging that started this entire journey?I didn’t know whe
Chapter Seventy-twoRainWe made our way toward the boarding gate, walking side by side, his hand grazing mine every now and then like he was making sure I didn’t pull away. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest—not just because of the reason for our trip anymore, but because this was happening. This was really happening. I was actually about to get on a plane.A fucking plane, and for the first time in my entire existence.I had never been on one before, though I had been to an airport before and that was for a school trip that happened when I was still very young. It took everything to get my stepmother to agree to paying for the trip them.But not once in my entire life had I thought I’d ever be in a position to walk through airport gates like I actually belonged here, let alone board an actual flight. And not just any flight—Enzo booked first class. First class. My jaw had dropped like a crack when I saw the tickets.I was still trying to wrap my head around it as we handed ove
Chapter Seventy-oneRain I couldn’t believe my ears, I wasn’t sure I had heard the right thing. I wasn’t sure it was really Enzo who had said that. So, to be sure, I turned to him, taking a deep breath before asking, “We’re going to France?”He nodded at me with a gentle smile curling his lips. “Yes. We will go to France and we will find your parents,” he stated convincingly.I didn’t know how he was going to do that, I wasn’t sure how we were going to get to France when we hadn’t even planned it before, but above all the doubts and questions that were swirling deeply in my chest, I trusted Enzo. I knew he would make it happen and in the right way.“Let’s go pack our bags,” he said, and we turned back to the car, but he stopped almost immediately and turned back to Gregor. “I’m sure you know what to do. Just get us the next available flight to France. As soon as possible.”“Yes, yes,” Gregor nodded. “We’re already working on it,” he added.“Good.” That was all Enzo said before we res
Chapter SeventyRainI looked at him, sitting there so calmly. There was no trace of anger, no sign of resentment, not even a flicker of disappointment on his face despite the fact that I’d walked out on him the day before. Instead, his eyes held nothing but stillness, quiet understanding, and relief. Pure, unspoken relief. He wasn’t upset that I left. He was just happy that I was safe, that I had come back. I could see it clearly in his expression.But none of that stopped the guilt from stabbing at my chest like a sharp blade. It twisted deeper with every breath. I shouldn’t have done what I did—especially not to a man who had done nothing but stand by me through everything. A man who made it his mission to make me feel seen in a world that had long decided I didn’t belong. A world that discarded me before I even had a chance.He saw me.He truly saw me.He didn’t just help me—he loved me. A nobody, someone the world passed over without a second glance. He helped me become someone a
Chapter Sixty-nineEnzoI couldn’t sleep.No matter how many times I turned from one side of the bed to the other, sleep refused to come. Each breath I took reminded me of her—of Rain—and the haunting truth that I still didn’t know where she was. I didn’t know what she was doing, whether she was safe, or if she was out there hurting alone.Every inch of this room reeked of her. Her scent. Her silence. Her absence. And with every hour that passed, my chest tightened under the weight of that uncertainty.When I got back home, I sent my men out immediately. I didn’t waste a second. I told them to search everywhere—every alley, every safe house, every damn corner of the city. I gave the order to raid known enemy hideouts if necessary. My men understood the gravity of that kind of instruction; they knew I never spoke lightly when it came to Rain. And usually, they delivered—always.But this time, for the first time in years, they came back empty-handed.They didn’t fail because they weren’
Chapter Sixty-eightRain I paced back and forth, circling the same spot over and over again, wishing the loud voices in my head would just die off. I just wanted to think straight—truly think straight—for the first time since that bombshell of a truth was dropped on me.But I couldn’t. I hadn’t been able to. It felt like there were a thousand thoughts in my head, all colliding, shouting over each other. Questions I didn’t have answers to. Thoughts I didn’t know how to silence.I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to turn. Everything I had known all my life—everything I believed to be true—was a damn lie. And now I was left to search for my truth, to pick up the shattered pieces of my identity.And the “what ifs”? They wouldn’t stop ringing in my head.What if I didn’t even belong to anyone?What if I truly had no parents?What if I was just an abandoned orphan with no past?What if this entire search led nowhere?What if no matter what I did… I would never find them?My legs