Alessia:
I saw them through the window.
Alexander and Seraphina, walking side by side beneath the dim lantern light, their figures close enough that anyone passing by would assume familiarity. Intimacy. Something settled and unquestioned.
It was as if this was their normal before I came. The two of them walking together, not being bothered, talking…
My chest tightened before I could stop it. And I found myself looking away.
It wasn’t jealousy, not entirely… at least, I didn’t want to believe that it was. It was something duller, heavier. A quiet ache that pressed against my ribs and reminded me of everything I refused to ask for. It was a reminder that I did not truly belong here…
He had chosen to walk with her. He wasn’t being forced to do so… he could have walked with someone els
