☆☆LILA☆☆
I sat at the dining table, picking at my breakfast while Nanny Rosa occupied herself at the stove. The door creaked open. Zio entered, his eyes lowered, his shoulders heavy.
I pushed back my chair, hoping to slip away before his voice stopped me.
“I should have told you sooner,” he said quietly.
He drew in a slow breath, then stepped closer. “I kept it from you because I wanted to protect you. Your father… he wanted you to live freely, without the burden of this world. But I failed you. I failed him.”
My throat burned, but no words came out. I just stared, lips parting slightly.
Zio raised his hands as if to touch me, then dropped them.
His voice broke low.“I swore to your father I’d raise you as my own. That I’d keep you safe. If keeping secrets damned me in your eye
