The night was heavy with silence. An immense moon hung in the sky as if it too, exhausted from witnessing so many secrets, finally decided to cry. Its silvery light caressed the windows of the mansion like trembling fingers, and Ana, standing in front of Lucian's office door, felt that every step that had brought her there was an unspoken farewell.
Inside, the air smelled of expensive tobacco, old wood, and that discreet perfume Lucian always wore, as if he wanted to hide what he truly was with a sweet fragrance.
Lucian's back was turned, staring at the fire. He didn't turn when he heard her enter. He didn't need to. He knew it was her.
-You came," he said, as if he had been waiting for her all his life.
Anne closed the door softly. The sound of the wood closing was like a dull echo in both their chests.
-We need to talk.
-No. -Lucian exhaled. We have to decide.
She approached, slowly, as if the ground beneath her feet might crack. Her voice was firm, but inside her a war was raging. Not for him. Not for love. But for the wound that would remain when she parted from her own illusion.
-I loved you, Lucian. Or so I thought. But it was love born of fear. Out of need. Out of dependence. And that's not love.
Lucian closed his eyes. He clenched his fists. The fire crackled like a muffled scream.
-I protected you," he murmured. When no one else would. I gave you everything I had.
-You took everything I was," Anne replied, without raising her voice. Even my name was no longer mine. You made me believe that only by your side could I breathe... when in reality, you were suffocating me.
Lucian turned around. His face, for the first time, did not have that mask of coldness that characterized him. There was pain in his eyes. And guilt. And love. A twisted, sickly love, but real in its most broken way.
-So what's left? -He asked. What are you and I?
-A story that hurt more than it should have," she replied. A mirror of everything I never want to live again. And yet... I don't regret it.
Lucian looked at her as if he was saying goodbye to something he never had the right to have.
-Are you going to leave?
Anne took a deep breath. The moon was shining brighter now, as if crying for them.
-I don't know yet. But this time, the decision will be mine.
Silence settled between them, thick, endless. And then Lucian stepped forward. His hand trembled as he lifted it toward her, but he did not touch her. Not this time.
-If you go, I won't stop you again.
-And if I stay..." Anne said, her voice breaking. I don't want to be your shadow anymore.
-You won't," Lucian whispered. If you stay, I'll learn to love you well. Not like before. Not in chains.
She looked at him for a long time. Not with hope. Not with illusion. But with truth. His own. And for the first time, Lucian didn't try to possess her. He listened to her. He saw her.
And that... was the beginning of something new.
In the sky, the moon was still crying. Not out of sadness. But for redemption.