A month later, six sealed cardboard boxes arrived from Northmara.
They held the books, travel souvenirs, and gifts I had left at the penthouse.
There was only a single card on top.
I'm sorry.
I resealed the gifts from Dante and had them sent back to Northmara. I kept my own books and souvenirs.
The past was not a mistake.
I did not need to erase six years of my life to prove I had moved on.
My father laid files on several family businesses before me and asked me to choose what I wanted to do next.
I pulled a yellowed document from the stack.
It was the deed to the vineyard my grandfather had left at the foot of the mountain. After his death, poor management had forced the winery to close, and it had stood abandoned for years.
"More than half the vines are dead, and both the cella
