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00:00Ten years ago, the Hudson River Bridge 1 was responsible for building collapsed, causing mass casualties.
00:07My parents screamed that I was a murderer and cut off all ties with me.
00:11The victims' families doused me in gasoline, ready to die alongside me.
00:15And so, I spent ten years in prison.
00:18After my release, I changed my name, found a coffee shop in a small upstate New York town, and became
00:24a barista.
00:25Life was quiet, peaceful.
00:27Just when I thought it would stay that way forever, my ex-husband, Silas Sterling, came looking for me.
00:33The architectural firm he'd founded had long since gone public.
00:36He was at the peak of everything.
00:38The reporters swarming around him turned all their cameras on me.
00:42Mr. Sterling has been engaged for ten years but never married.
00:45Has he been waiting for you this whole time?
00:47I let out a cold laugh.
00:48What they didn't know was that ten years ago, it was Silas Sterling himself who let his little mistress infiltrate
00:55the construction crew
00:56to pocket kickbacks, and when everything fell apart, he made me take the fall.
01:01Under the blaze of camera flashes, Silas Sterling's face remained cold and composed.
01:07Welcome to my humble cafe, Mr. Silas.
01:10Can I get a picture?
01:11My daughter's gonna lose her mind.
01:13Please?
01:15When he noticed I hadn't moved, he turned and called out to me specifically.
01:19Alara, come take a photo with Mr. Sterling.
01:21He's the youngest CEO in the world.
01:23A photo with him will bring so much traffic to the shop, and I'll give you a raise!
01:26The moment my boss called out, my hands froze over the cup I was washing.
01:31Miss Vance!
01:32So you've been hiding here in a coffee shop!
01:34You were once a world-renowned genius architect.
01:37Doesn't it feel like a fall from grace washing cups like this?
01:40We've heard your ex-husband has been waiting for you all these years, postponing his wedding again and again.
01:44What do you make of that?
01:45I ignored the microphones practically jabbing at my face and kept my hands busy with work.
01:50But the cup in my grip was trembling badly.
01:53I knew Silas Sterling's methods.
01:55I didn't believe for one second he had any deep feelings for me.
01:58I stayed on guard.
01:59The standoff dragged on, until Silas stepped in front of me and blocked the cameras with his body.
02:05What happens today is between me and my former wife.
02:07We won't be taking any interviews.
02:09Please clear the area.
02:10Then he turned to look at me, his gaze deep and unreadable.
02:13Alara.
02:17It's been a long time.
02:18After so many years hearing his voice again, I couldn't stop my hand from jerking.
02:36How are you always so careless?
02:38I pulled my hand back immediately and turned to my boss with repeated apologies.
02:42I'm so sorry.
02:43I'll clean it up myself and please deduct the cost of the cup from my wages.
02:48Before my boss could even recover from the shock, a bright female voice floated in from the doorway.
02:53Simus, what are you doing here?
02:56You left without a word.
02:59Mom, Dad, and I were so worried about you.
03:01I looked toward the voice.
03:03A woman walked in from the doorway, smiling softly, naturally taking Silas' hand and pressing a light kiss to the
03:10corner of his lips.
03:11She was the true culprit behind the Hudson River bridge collapse ten years ago.
03:16She was also Silas Sterling's current fiancƩ, Ivy Thorne.
03:21And behind her, the very people who had cut me off ten years ago, my own parents.
03:28Ivy's gaze swept over to me.
03:30She smiled, cold and contemptuous.
03:33Mrs. Vance, the great architect.
03:34It's been a long time.
03:36Oh, by the way, your parents have officially taken me in as their adopted daughter.
03:42I suppose I should be calling you Big Sister.
03:45I glanced past her at my parents.
03:48They had aged so much.
03:50Compared to ten years ago, their backs were bent, their hair completely white.
03:55A fine, dense pain bloomed in my chest all at once.
03:59I wondered what they would think if they knew that the daughter they had taken in was the very person
04:05who had put their real daughter away.
04:07We only have one daughter, and it's Ivy.
04:09A woman who threw away human lives for a little money, looking at her turns my stomach.
04:14Silas, why would you come looking for someone like this?
04:17This kind of scum.
04:18Better if she just died out there.
04:19The moment my parents spoke, everyone in the shop, including my boss, turned to look at me with strange expressions.
04:26I turned my face away.
04:28I forced the pain down and refused to meet my parents' eyes.
04:38He reached into his jacket and produced a gold-trimmed business card, holding it out to me.
04:44I owe you more than I can repay.
04:46Call me anytime you need anything.
04:47I didn't refuse Silas' card.
04:50Or rather, I accepted it the way I would a card from any ordinary customer, politely, and then set it
04:57down to the side without another look.
04:59I didn't believe Silas had sought me out on purpose, and I had no intention of ever seeing him again.
05:05Then, three days later, my boss called, and his voice was thick with discomfort.
05:10Laura, I'm really sorry.
05:13I had no idea you had such a distinguished background.
05:17Someone like you making coffee in a little shop like mine was never a good fit.
05:22I've counted this month as full attendance, and your wages will be in your account shortly.
05:29Take tomorrow off.
05:31You don't need to come in.
05:33He hung up before I could get a word out.
05:35I tried to call back.
05:36He had already blocked my number.
05:38A text arrived seconds later.
05:40My wages had been deposited.
05:42$4,500.
05:44The extra $1,000 is my apology.
05:47Our little shop can't handle this kind of attention.
05:50I'm begging you, please don't come back.
05:54My stomach dropped.
05:56I already had a feeling this was Silas' doing.
05:59Sure enough, his call came through moments later.
06:03Allura.
06:04I know I can't overturn the verdict for what happened back then, and I hope you can understand that.
06:10But I will make it up to you in every other way.
06:13The barista work was too hard for you.
06:15I've already handled that.
06:18I've also purchased a house for you in the city.
06:23And Ivy is still young, not as experienced with the more complex blueprints.
06:27If you could help guide her, I'll pay you $200,000 a month.
06:31My fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked.
06:34Won what grounds?
06:36On what grounds did he push me into the abyss himself?
06:40Let everyone in the world condemn me, strip me of everyone who ever cared for me,
06:45and then waltz back in as my savior and tear apart the quiet life I'd rebuilt.
06:50On what grounds did he presume to arrange everything for me, as though I had no say?
06:56Help Ivy Thorn?
06:58That was nothing but wanting me to be her shadow, her ghostwriter, her invisible hand.
07:03The thought made me sick to my stomach.
07:05I forced my feelings down, spoke through gritted teeth.
07:10Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Sterling.
07:12But I have my own life now.
07:13Please don't interfere with it again.
07:16There was a long silence on the other end.
07:18Then, Silas spoke.
07:20Allura, don't be stubborn.
07:21A proud talent like you, you're only ever truly happy when you're working on blueprints.
07:25I'm securing your livelihood and giving your gift a place to breathe.
07:30What exactly are you dissatisfied with?
07:33And if you insist on saving face and refusing, I have other options.
07:40He hung up.
07:42A quiet dread settled in my chest.
07:44By that afternoon, I understood exactly what his other options were.
07:49With my coffee shop job gone, I spent the day walking all over town looking for work.
07:55But no matter where I went, no matter how desperately they were hiring,
07:59the moment I walked in, everyone was perfectly polite, and everyone refused to let me work.
08:05Eventually, with nowhere left to try, I made my way back to my rented room.
08:10But at the gate, I found my landlady waiting for me.
08:13Mrs. Kowalski was a wonderful woman.
08:15When I'd first arrived with almost nothing, she had waived a full month's rent,
08:20and whenever she cooked something good, she always brought a bowl to my door.
08:24But now she stood at the entrance, eyes red-rimmed.
08:27Ilada, you're finally back!
08:29I'm so sorry.
08:31I can't rent to you anymore.
08:34Please don't be angry with me.
08:36I have no choice.
08:38There's someone powerful in town now.
08:40If I keep renting to you, my daughter, she works in the city, they'll, they'll...
08:45She couldn't finish the sentence.
08:47She started crying.
08:49I packed my things that same night and moved out.
08:52This, I thought, is what Silas calls compensation.
08:55Burn down everything I have, then offer me the ashes with a gracious hand.
09:00The day I moved out of my rented room, Silas appeared in my small upstate town.
09:05He was thinner than he'd been a few days ago.
09:07Dark circles heavy under his eyes, like a man who hadn't slept.
09:11He had brought a moving company.
09:12He directed them to carry my things with a naturalness that made my skin crawl.
09:17As though we hadn't divorced at all.
09:19As though he were simply a husband coming to bring his wife home.
09:22At the new house, he poured me a glass of honey water.
09:25You've always been prone to tension.
09:27This will help you relax.
09:29I took the glass from him in silence.
09:31I took a small sip.
09:33I set the glass down and spoke.
09:36What happened before is in the past.
09:38If you truly wanted to make it right, you wouldn't have appeared at all.
09:41You would have stayed away.
09:43Allora, stop making a scene.
09:46I know you're not satisfied.
09:48But this is only the beginning.
09:50I'll find someone else to shoulder the blame.
09:55Then, step by step, I'll help restore your reputation.
09:58I know you don't like Ivy.
10:01I'll make sure she keeps a lower profile.
10:03Rest for now.
10:04His tone was gentle, but the meaning was unmistakable.
10:07You don't get to resist.
10:08He wanted me held firmly in his hands.
10:14Silas!
10:15I heard Mrs. Vance had arrived.
10:18Why didn't you call me?
10:22Although Mrs. Vance made serious mistake then,
10:25everyone still needs to live their life.
10:34I hope she takes this as a lesson and becomes a better person going forward.
10:38Ivy, the one who had actually done everything wrong,
10:40said all of this in front of the cameras without a trace of shame.
10:43This is just a small gesture from me.
10:45You're a senior in the field and you're my fiancƩ's former wife.
10:50Please, don't re-use.
10:53If you ever have any difficulties, just say the word.
11:01But that afternoon, the news had spread across every platform in the city.
11:05Killer back in high society.
11:06Can the victims ever rest?
11:08And I, once again, was pushed to the center of the storm,
11:11pelted from all sides.
11:19Whether or not it was intentional,
11:22Ivy had leaked my address to the public.
11:26After that,
11:27victims' families and furious protesters gathered outside my door every day.
11:32Three days later,
11:33my parents arrived.
11:34It was the first time in 10 years
11:36They had come looking for me on their own.
11:42Mom, Dad, you're here.
11:44Come in, have some water.
11:45We wouldn't dare drink the water of a murderer.
11:49Alana,
11:49what you did back then,
11:51we truly cannot forgive you.
11:56You can't keep making mistake after mistake.
12:00We're begging you.
12:03Ivy genuinely loves Silas.
12:04You're already divorced.
12:07Stop clinging to him.
12:09Ivy is a good girl,
12:10and it's not her place to say this,
12:12so we came to say it ourselves.
12:16If you keep refusing,
12:18don't blame us for finding other ways to make you go.
12:22That same gentle voice
12:24that had once sung me lullabies
12:26and coaxed me to sleep
12:27night after night.
12:28Now every word carried the edge of a threat,
12:31driving into my heart like the tip of a blade,
12:33one cut at a time.
12:34Mom,
12:35Dad, did you never believe me?
12:37Not even once?
12:42You wretch!
12:43Even now you dare slander Ivy?
12:45He rushed over in a panic,
12:47trying to intervene.
12:48But at that moment,
12:49his phone rang.
12:50His assistant.
12:52Mr. Sterling, it's bad.
12:54Mrs. Thone got drunk.
12:55She's at the hospital getting a shot to sober up.
12:57The moment they heard that,
12:58Silas and both my parents went pale with alarm.
13:01She's at the hospital.
13:03She's at the hospital.
13:03All three of them turned and piled into the car.
13:06And I laughed.
13:07I watched their retreating figures.
13:09The tears came with the laughter.
13:12Whether they were threatening me
13:13or pretending to care for me,
13:14no matter how much pain I was in.
13:16None of it compared to Ivy Thorne crooking her finger.
13:18After all,
13:19ten years had taught me one clear lesson.
13:22I could not afford to have expectations of my parents
13:25or of Silas Sterling.
13:27A group of victims' family members
13:29knocked down my location.
13:31They knocked me unconscious with iron rods
13:33and took me away.
13:34When I came to,
13:35I was inside a burlap sack.
13:37Damn you!
13:38You murderer!
13:39We didn't come after you
13:40and you had the nerve to come back!
13:42Give me back my daughter's life!
13:44She was 19!
13:45She just started college!
13:47You animal!
13:51You owe us so many lives.
13:53Cutting you into a thousand pieces
13:55wouldn't be enough.
13:59You're in our hands now!
14:00We want blood for blood!
14:0299 blows.
14:04I lost consciousness
14:05and was doused away
14:06again and again.
14:11The crazy water closed in
14:12from every direction.
14:14The suffocation wrapped around me
14:16like a fist.
14:18Just as long as my parents
14:19are just so many
14:20people are closed around me.
14:26Mom, Dad, don't worry.
14:29I've looked into these families.
14:30They're all ordinary, decent people.
14:33They won't do anything
14:34seriously harmful to Alara.
14:36If anything,
14:37a good scare might make her
14:39go into hiding
14:39and protect herself.
14:41Reassured by those words,
14:43Alara's parents had passed along
14:45her whereabouts.
14:46The number you dialed
14:48is currently switched off.
14:51Something keeps knocking
14:52in my chest lately.
14:53Alara hasn't sent any word
14:55for days.
14:56Should we go look for her?
14:57Maybe call the police?
14:58Look for her?
14:59Call the police?
15:00Wasting resources
15:01to protect that creature?
15:03Huh.
15:04That's ridiculous.
15:05No news is better, isn't it?
15:06A troublemaker like her,
15:08if she's dead,
15:09that's one less burden
15:10on the world.
15:11Silas Sterling was just
15:12as uneasy.
15:13I knew it.
15:14You still can't let go
15:15of that ex-wife of yours.
15:16If that's how it is,
15:17why did you come to me at all?
15:20For three consecutive days,
15:21every time he tried
15:22to go find Alara,
15:24Ivy stopped him.
15:25While Ivy wasn't around,
15:26he slipped away
15:27and headed straight
15:27for the house.
15:28When he arrived,
15:29all he found
15:30was an empty house
15:31and Alara's parents,
15:33standing there,
15:34faces tight
15:34with the same wordless dread.
15:36The three of them
15:37greeted each other
15:38with a nod
15:39and without discussion,
15:40began searching.
15:41It must be Alara.
15:43She's come back.
15:48You are...
15:49Officers,
15:50did Alaxas cause trouble again?
15:52If she's hurt someone again,
15:54you can shoot her on the spot.
15:55I have no daughter.
15:57We're here to speak
15:58with Mrs. Vand's parents
15:59and former husband
15:59regarding the circumstances
16:01of her case.
16:02Miss Alara Vand
16:03is very likely deceased.
16:04The individual's
16:05responsible
16:06have been apprehended.
16:07We are doing everything
16:08in our power
16:08to locate her remains.
16:10We ask that you
16:11please accept
16:11our condolences.
16:12Mother swayed
16:13and nearly collapsed.
16:15Silas stared
16:16at the officer
16:17in disbelief,
16:18tears spilling down
16:19his face
16:19before he could stop them.
16:22They guided him
16:23and Alara's parents
16:26Our loved ones
16:27were killed
16:27by your daughter.
16:29Taking her out
16:30was justice.
16:31You told us
16:32where she was.
16:33Wasn't that what you wanted?
16:34Her own parents
16:36gave us her location.
16:37They're not pressing charges.
16:38On what grounds
16:39are you arresting us?
16:40Whatever wrong
16:41was done to you,
16:42the law will decide
16:43your remedy.
16:44Vigilante justice
16:45is never acceptable.
16:46Killing is a crime.
16:48Full stop.
16:49Whatever came after that,
16:50neither Alara's parents
16:51nor Silas
16:52could hear a single word.
16:53She was your own daughter.
16:55Even a tiger
16:56won't devour its cubs.
16:58How could you do
16:59something like this?
17:01No,
17:02we didn't know
17:03this would happen.
17:04It was Ivy.
17:05Ivy said these people
17:06would only scare her,
17:07that Alara would go
17:07into hiding
17:08to protect herself.
17:09The name Ivy Thorn
17:10cracked through Silas' mind
17:12like a bolt of lightning.
17:15Ivy.
17:17It was Ivy again.
17:18She must have planned
17:20all of this
17:20from the beginning.
17:21No wonder she had
17:22worked so hard
17:23to keep him away.
17:24Silas' face darkened
17:25to something terrifying.
17:28Alara's parents
17:28were reeling too.
17:29Now that they thought back,
17:30Ivy's behavior
17:31had been strange
17:31all along.
17:34You care that much
17:35about that murderer?
17:36Didn't you hate her?
17:38Didn't you love me most?
17:40She's dead?
17:41Isn't that exactly
17:42what you wanted?
17:43I can still be your daughter.
17:44I'm still Silas Sterling's
17:46fiance!
17:47Someone like her!
17:48She killed all those people
17:49ten years ago!
17:50Getting what she deserved
17:51is only natural!
17:59The moment Ivy
18:00finished speaking,
18:01Silas lunged forward
18:02and closed his hand
18:03around her throat.
18:04Who told you to do this?
18:06I'm not wrong!
18:08Someone who caused
18:09that much damage,
18:10after ten years,
18:12she's still a pest!
18:13Ivy's words
18:14stopped abruptly.
18:15Her face slowly
18:16drained of color.
18:17She looked as though
18:18something had just
18:19surfaced in her memory.
18:21Silas let out a laugh.
18:24I've woken from nightmares
18:25countless times,
18:26sick with regret
18:27over what I did
18:28to the person I love most,
18:29all to protect
18:30something like you.
18:32You and I both
18:32know the truth.
18:33You were only
18:34my mentor's daughter.
18:35My mentor did so much
18:36for me,
18:37so I sacrificed
18:37my own wife
18:38to take your punishment.
18:39The real truth
18:41of ten years ago.
18:42You,
18:42the actual culprit,
18:44know it better
18:44than anyone.
18:45The words detonated
18:46in the room like a bomb.
18:47Then Ilara's father
18:48spoke,
18:49his voice barely
18:50finding shape.
18:51Silas,
18:51what you just said,
18:52the one who caused
18:53the collapse ten years ago,
18:54it wasn't Ilara?
18:55We wronged her,
18:56and we took in the person
18:57who destroyed her
18:58and called her
18:58our daughter!
19:00Silas lowered his eyes.
19:02He said nothing.
19:03Ilara's father stumbled.
19:04He fell back
19:05into a chair.
19:07Her mother surged forward,
19:09raised her hand,
19:10and brought it down
19:11hard across Silas' face.
19:13His face snapped
19:14to one side,
19:15but he stood
19:15where he was
19:16and took it.
19:17I'm sorry.
19:18I'm so sorry.
19:19Her mother didn't
19:20accept the apology.
19:22She was silent
19:22for a moment,
19:23then a cry tore
19:24out of her,
19:25raw and inconsolable.
19:26My daughter!
19:27My daughter!
19:30We took revenge
19:31on the wrong person?
19:32When I woke up,
19:34I was in a soft bed.
19:35I tried to sit up.
19:37The pain that tore
19:38through my body
19:38made cold sweat
19:40break across my skin
19:41instantly.
19:43Don't move.
19:44Lie still and rest.
19:45A gentle male voice
19:47came from the doorway.
19:48I turned toward the sound.
19:50A young man
19:51in a cotton shirt.
19:52The doctor said
19:53you'd wake up around now.
19:55I've been making
19:56a fresh bowl every day
19:57waiting for you.
19:58And here you are.
20:00You just woke up,
20:01nothing too rich yet.
20:02This will do for now.
20:04Once you're better,
20:05I'll take you
20:05somewhere proper.
20:06He set the bowl
20:07on the nightstand
20:07as he spoke.
20:08Then,
20:09with practiced ease,
20:10he adjusted the bed
20:11so I could sit up
20:11more comfortably
20:12and brought the spoon
20:13to my lips.
20:14I looked at him properly
20:15for the first time.
20:16Strong,
20:17straight brows.
20:18Warm,
20:19expressive eyes.
20:20A small mole
20:21just beside his nose.
20:22Perfectly placed.
20:23For some reason
20:24I couldn't name,
20:25he felt immediately familiar,
20:27as though we had known
20:28each other
20:29for a long time.
20:30Because of that feeling,
20:31I could barely
20:32put my guard up.
20:33When he brought
20:34the porridge
20:35to my lips,
20:35I drank it
20:36before I even
20:37thought to hesitate.
20:38The moment it hit
20:39my tongue,
20:40I went still.
20:41This taste,
20:42it was the exact taste
20:43from my grandmother's
20:44house when I was a child.
20:46The porridge
20:47she used to make
20:47just for me.
20:48I stared at him,
20:50and after a long moment,
20:52Who are you?
20:54A shadow of sadness
20:55crossed the young man's eyes.
20:58Silly.
21:00Grandma's sweet potato porridge
21:01besides grandma herself,
21:03only one person in the world
21:04knows the recipe.
21:05You really don't remember?
21:06And then it came back
21:08to me all at once.
21:09When I was little,
21:10there was a boy
21:11who used to play with me
21:12all the time.
21:13Because our grandmother
21:14was always so busy,
21:16he would be the one
21:16to look after me.
21:17For a while,
21:18when my stomach was bad,
21:20and I could only manage porridge,
21:21he had learned grandma's
21:23sweet potato porridge recipe
21:24specifically for me.
21:26Julian?
21:31You finally remembered.
21:33It was only then
21:35that Julian told me everything.
21:37It turned out that
21:37after my parents
21:38had taken me to the city,
21:40Julian's own biological parents
21:42had found him as well.
21:43His true identity,
21:45the lost heir to the Knight family,
21:47the wealthiest in the region.
21:48After a whole drama
21:49of proving who he really was,
21:51he had taken his rightful place
21:53at the head of Knight Technologies.
21:55But he had never forgotten me.
21:57He had never stopped looking for me.
21:59When he saw me become
22:00a well-known architect,
22:01he felt genuinely happy for me.
22:04But because I had already married Silas,
22:06he hadn't wanted to intrude.
22:08Ten years ago,
22:09the bridge collapse case.
22:11Everyone thinks you are a murderer.
22:13I never believed you were the murderer.
22:15He had spent years quietly investigating,
22:17collecting evidence in the background.
22:19But even by the time I was released,
22:21he hadn't found enough.
22:23At the end of it all...
22:24I've been keeping an eye on your movements.
22:26So I was able to detect
22:27those people's plot in time
22:28and rescue from the river.
22:31But I know this violates your privacy.
22:33Will you be angry with me?
22:34I laughed.
22:35I shook my head.
22:37Thank you, Julian.
22:39I watched the news from the bed
22:41when I saw Ivy Thorne
22:43being led away by police
22:44on the television screen.
22:46I couldn't quite believe it.
22:48Julian and I looked at each other.
22:50Neither of us had expected
22:51that the truth revealed to the world
22:53just like that.
22:54In the reporter's cameras,
22:56Silas Sterling's face was ashen.
22:58Not a trace remained
22:59of the man he once had been.
23:01And my parents,
23:02over their own daughter,
23:04looked as though every ounce of life
23:06had been drained from them.
23:07My father slumped in a chair.
23:09My mother sat beside him,
23:11hands pressed over her face.
23:12I lay in bed watching all of it.
23:15There was none of the triumphant satisfaction
23:17I might have imagined.
23:18Only a vast emptiness
23:20and a tiredness.
23:22My former firm released a statement
23:24restoring my standing.
23:25Apologies flooded social media.
23:27Countless strangers brought flowers
23:29to the cenotaph
23:30that had been erected in my name.
23:32Julian watched it all beside me,
23:34then turned and asked,
23:35brow furrowed.
23:36What are you going to do?
23:38Tell everyone you're still alive?
23:39The moment he finished speaking,
23:41the faces of my parents and Silas
23:43rose up in my mind.
23:44I could already picture
23:45exactly what their version of
23:47making it up to me
23:48would look like.
23:49Their compensation felt like
23:50something demonic.
23:51I never wanted to live
23:52through that again.
23:53I shook my head.
23:54I gave Julian a small smile.
23:56Julian,
23:57let's just call this a rebirth.
24:00No matter how public opinion shifted back in my favor,
24:04no matter how many people came forward to sympathize,
24:08to apologize,
24:09to demand justice on my behalf,
24:11it all felt like something from a previous life.
24:14Since everyone already believed I was dead,
24:16I would give them exactly that.
24:18I stayed with Julian to recover for six months.
24:21He cared for me the way he always had,
24:24with quiet,
24:25unhesitating attention.
24:26Already the commanding head of night technologies,
24:29and yet he still looked after me
24:31exactly the way he had when we were children.
24:34Once I was able to eat normally,
24:36he always cooked himself.
24:37Every day he found a new way
24:39to prepare something nourishing.
24:41Six months later,
24:42I was not only healed,
24:44I had gained 10 pounds.
24:46Then spring came again.
24:47Jacaranda blooms opened
24:48just outside the window beside my bed.
24:51I stared at them for a long time.
24:53Then I turned to Julian and said,
24:55Julian, let's go somewhere.
24:57We left the city.
24:58Julian arranged his company
25:00to run with remote management,
25:02then stepped back and accompanied me
25:03as we set out to see the world.
25:05We followed the steps of my favorite poets.
25:08We traced the romantic solitude of Neruda
25:10through the coastal landscape of Chile.
25:13We stood in Monloch in Paris
25:14and tried to guess
25:16where the little rabbit had been buried.
25:17We walked through temple gardens in Kyoto
25:20and contemplated the violent beauty
25:22of a Japanese master's aesthetic.
25:24I had never imagined,
25:26after all those years apart,
25:27that Julian and I would find our interests
25:30and our way of seeing the world
25:31so completely aligned.
25:33At last we came to England.
25:35Beside the Thames,
25:36Julian turned to look at me.
25:37His eyes were full of a nervousness
25:39he was trying very hard not to show.
25:42I knew what he was about to say.
25:43I smiled at him and spoke first.
25:46Julian,
25:46I think I've fallen for you.
25:48His face went red all the way to his ears.
25:51Then a kiss landed on my lips.
25:53At last,
25:54Julian and I opened a small bookshop in England.
25:57The days passed quietly.
25:59Only occasionally did news from back home reach us.
26:02After my death,
26:03Silas seemed to become a different person entirely.
26:06He restructured his company
26:08with swift, decisive force
26:10and purged everything connected to Ivy Thorne.
26:13And he never gave up looking for me.
26:15The overwhelming weight of what he owed
26:17kept him convinced
26:19with a kind of obsession
26:20that I must still be alive somewhere.
26:23As it turned out,
26:24he was right.
26:25On a Christmas Eve,
26:26London was buried in heavy snow.
26:29I had closed the shop early
26:30and was on my way home
26:31to cook Christmas dinner with Julian.
26:34But just as I reached the bottom of our building,
26:36I saw a familiar silhouette.
26:38He was standing in the snowfall
26:40as though he intended to become part of it,
26:43still as a statue made of ice.
26:45When he saw me,
26:46the gray deadness in his eyes came alive.
26:49Alara!
26:50He ran to me and grabbed my hands,
26:52his whole body trembling.
26:54I knew you weren't dead.
26:55Thank God, you're not dead.
26:57What happened back then was my fault.
27:00I've cleared your name.
27:01Come back with me.
27:02Let's start over.
27:03Please.
27:04He was incoherent,
27:05tears breaking through his voice,
27:07more humble than I had ever seen him.
27:10I looked at this man I had once loved deeply
27:13and once hated just as deeply.
27:15My heart was utterly still.
27:17Mr. Sterling, I said,
27:19you have the wrong person.
27:21Alara Vance is dead.
27:23He looked at me with something close to madness in his eyes.
27:26No, please.
27:27I'm begging you.
27:29Let me make it right.
27:30Please make it right?
27:33I gave a cold laugh.
27:34You destroyed my life.
27:36You made everyone abandon me.
27:38You cost me 10 years in prison.
27:41When I finally found my way back to a quiet life,
27:44your so-called compensation forced me out of it
27:48and nearly killed me.
27:49Silas Sterling,
27:51what exactly do you think you still have left to make right?
27:54I turned away and there was Julian standing just behind me,
27:59watching with a quiet, steady smile.
28:01I walked forward without a moment's hesitation.
28:04I took Julian's hand.
28:05I didn't look back, not even once,
28:08as the sound of Silas breaking down faded behind us.
28:11One week later, my parents appeared at the bottom of our building.
28:15They looked so much older.
28:16Their hair had gone white.
28:18Their faces were full of a timid, beseeching uncertainty.
28:22My mother was holding a thermal bag.
28:24Lotus pastries, she said,
28:26the ones I had loved as a child.
28:28When she saw me, she opened her mouth,
28:30but the tears came before any words did.
28:32I looked at them.
28:34The fine, dense ache moved through me again,
28:37the way it always had.
28:38Come up for tea, I said.
28:40I turned and led the way.
28:42Julian respected my choices completely.
28:44He helped me prepare the tea,
28:46setting a cup in front of each of my parents without a word.
28:49Then he quietly found somewhere else to be.
28:52My father was the first to speak.
28:54Elara, we were wrong.
28:56Come home with us.
28:58I finished my tea in silence.
29:00Then I set the cup down and spoke.
29:03Mom, dad, I took a slow breath.
29:06Consider me dead.
29:07This is my home.
29:08I'm not going back.
29:10I don't hate you anymore,
29:11but I can't be what I was to you before.
29:14Between us, there are 10 years of a wrongful sentence
29:17and one life that almost ended.
29:19We are each other's best ending
29:21if we simply wish each other well from a distance.
29:24I didn't take the lotus pastries.
29:26They cried for a long time.
29:28In the end, they left, unsteady on their feet,
29:31stumbling down the steps.
29:33The snow on the ground below
29:34caught the last of the sunset light,
29:36small patches of red,
29:37and their shadows stretched long behind them.
29:40I cried anyway.
29:41Silas and my parents never came back.
29:44Only money, from time to time,
29:46deposited quietly into my account.
29:48And postcards, occasionally,
29:50routed through circuitous paths,
29:52no name signed.
29:53I knew they were from Silas.
29:55I never read them.
29:57I never replied.
29:58I carried each one to the fireplace
30:00and watched the flames take it.
30:02Life always moves forward.
30:04Ding!
30:05The wind chime above the door rang.
30:07A customer had come in.
30:09After selling one more book,
30:11I lay back in the rocking chair in the courtyard.
30:13Julian handed me a cup of tea and asked,
30:16Any regrets?
30:17I shook my head.
30:19Never.
30:19This bookshop.
30:20And Julian.
30:21This was my new life.
30:23and I'll be like you allƩ,
30:23and I'll re- schƶć¾ć te as I see.
30:23You can't even me like this Š²ŠøŠ“ŠµŠ¾.
30:23You canƩrer your eyes.
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