My breath caught anyway.
Not because my mother was alive.
I already knew that.
But because I wasn’t ready to face her.
Not like this.
Not after everything.
Victoria opened the door fully and stepped aside, like she was handing me over.
“Go,” she said quietly.
My feet felt heavy as I stepped inside.
The room felt too quiet.
Too calm for everything that was crashing through me.
The woman by the window didn’t turn straight away.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at her back, trying to match the idea I had built in my head with the real person standing in front of me.
She moved first.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
And then she turned.
My chest tightened.
She looked… like me.
Or maybe I looked like her.
Same eyes.
Same shape to her face.
Just older. Sharper. Stronger.
Lik
