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Clearing My Name - FULL | DramaReel
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00:0210 years ago, the Hudson River Bridge 1 was responsible for building collapsed, causing
00:08mass casualties. My parents screamed that I was a murderer and cut off all ties with
00:14me. The victims' families doused me in gasoline, ready to die alongside me. And so, I spent
00:2010 years in prison. After my release, I changed my name, found a coffee shop in a small upstate
00:26New York town and became a barista. Life was quiet, peaceful. Just when I thought it would
00:31stay that way forever, my ex-husband, Silas Sterling, came looking for me. The architectural
00:37firm he'd founded had long since gone public. He was at the peak of everything. The reporters
00:42swarming around him turned all their cameras on me. Mr. Sterling has been engaged for 10
00:47years but never married. Has he been waiting for you this whole time? I let out a cold
00:51laugh. What they didn't know was that 10 years ago, it was Silas Sterling himself who
00:57let his little mistress infiltrate the construction crew to pocket kickbacks. And when everything
01:02fell apart, he made me take the fall. Under the blaze of camera flashes, Silas Sterling's
01:08face remained cold and composed. Welcome to my humble cafe, Mr. Silas. Can I get a
01:14picture? My daughter's going to lose her mind. Please? When he noticed I hadn't moved, he
01:21turned and called out to me specifically. Alara, come take a photo with Mr. Sterling. He's
01:25the youngest CEO in the world. A photo with him will bring so much traffic to the shop and
01:29I'll give you a raise. The moment my boss called out, my hands froze over the cup I was
01:34washing. Miss Vance, so you've been hiding here in a coffee shop. You were once a world
01:39renowned genius architect. Doesn't it feel like a fall from grace washing cups like this?
01:44We've heard your ex-husband has been waiting for you all these years, postponing his wedding
01:48again and again. What do you make of that? I ignored the microphones practically jabbing
01:52at my face and kept my hands busy with work. But the cup in my grip was trembling badly.
01:57I knew Silas Sterling's methods. I didn't believe for one second he had any deep feelings
02:02for me. I stayed on guard. The standoff dragged on until Silas stepped in front of me and blocked
02:08the cameras with his body. What happens today is between me and my former wife. We won't
02:13be taking any interviews. Please clear the area. Then he turned to look at me, his gaze
02:17deep and unreadable. Alara, it's been a long time. After so many years, hearing his voice again,
02:26I couldn't stop my hand from jerking. How are you always so careless? I pulled my hand back
02:44immediately and turned to my boss with repeated apologies. I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up myself
02:50and pleased to dock the cost of the cup from my wages. Before my boss could even recover from the
02:55shock, a bright female voice floated in from the doorway. Simus, what are you doing here?
03:01You left without a word. Mom, Dad, and I were so worried about you. I looked toward the voice.
03:09A woman walked in from the doorway, smiling softly, naturally taking Silas's hand and pressing a light
03:15kiss to the corner of his lips. She was the true culprit behind the Hudson River bridge collapse
03:21ten years ago. She was also Silas Sterling's current fiancée, Ivy Thorne. And behind her,
03:29the very people who had cut me off ten years ago, my own parents. Ivy's gaze swept over to me.
03:36She smiled, cold and contemptuous. Mrs. Vance, the great architect. It's been a long time.
03:43Oh, by the way, your parents have officially taken me in as their adopted daughter.
03:48I suppose I should be calling you Big Sister. I glanced past her at my parents. They had aged so
03:55much. Compared to ten years ago, their backs were bent, their hair completely white. A fine,
04:02dense pain bloomed in my chest all at once. I wondered what they would think if they knew
04:07that the daughter they had taken in was the very person who had put their real daughter away.
04:14We only have one daughter, and it's Ivy, a woman who threw away human lives for a little money.
04:19Looking at her turns my stomach.
04:21Silas, why would you come looking for someone like this, this kind of scum? Better if she just
04:25died out there.
04:26The moment my parents spoke, everyone in the shop, including my boss, turned to look at me
04:32with strange expressions. I turned my face away. I forced the pain down, and refused to
04:38meet my parents' eyes.
04:40Don't blame her parents. What happened back then was a devastating blow to them.
04:45He reached into his jacket, and produced a gold-trimmed business card, holding it out to me.
04:51I owe you more than I can repay. Call me anytime you need anything.
04:54I didn't refuse Silas' card. Or rather, I accepted it the way I would a card from any
05:01ordinary customer, politely, and then set it down to the side without another look.
05:06I didn't believe Silas had sought me out on purpose, and I had no intention of ever seeing
05:12him again. Then, three days later, my boss called, and his voice was thick with discomfort.
05:18Laura, I'm really sorry. I had no idea you had such a distinguished background.
05:25Someone like you making coffee in a little shop like mine, it was never a good fit.
05:30I've counted this month as full attendance, and your wages will be in your account shortly.
05:37Take tomorrow off. You don't need to come in.
05:41He hung up before I could get a word out. I tried to call back. He had already blocked my
05:46number.
05:46A text arrived seconds later. My wages had been deposited. $4,500.
05:52The extra $1,000 is my apology. Our little shop can't handle this kind of attention. I'm begging
05:59you. Please don't come back. My stomach dropped. I already had a feeling this was Silas's doing.
06:07Sure enough, his call came through moments later.
06:11Hey, Laura. I know I can't overturn the verdict for what happened back then, and I hope you can
06:18understand that. But I will make it up to you in every other way. The barista work was too hard
06:23for you. I've already handled that. I've also purchased a house for you in the city, and
06:32Ivy is still young, not as experienced with the more complex blueprints. If you could help guide
06:37her, I'll pay you $200,000 a month. My fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked. One what
06:44grounds? On what grounds did he push me into the abyss himself? Let everyone in the world condemn me,
06:51strip me of everyone who ever cared for me, and then waltz back in as my savior and tear apart
06:58the
06:58quiet life I'd rebuilt? On what grounds did he presume to arrange everything for me, as though I
07:04had no say? Help Ivy Thorne? That was nothing but wanting me to be her shadow, her ghostwriter,
07:11her invisible hand. The thought made me sick to my stomach. I forced my feelings down, spoke through
07:17gritted teeth. Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Sterling, but I have my own life now. Please don't
07:24interfere with it again. There was a long silence on the other end. Then, Silas spoke.
07:29Alara, don't be stubborn. A proud talent like you, you're only ever truly happy when you're working
07:34on blueprints. I'm securing your livelihood and giving your gift a place to breathe. What exactly
07:40are you dissatisfied with? And if you insist on saving face and refusing, I have other options.
07:50He hung up. A quiet dread settled in my chest. By that afternoon, I understood exactly what his
07:57other options were. With my coffee shop job gone, I spent the day walking all over town looking for
08:04work. But no matter where I went, no matter how desperately they were hiring, the moment I walked
08:10in, everyone was perfectly polite, and everyone refused to let me work. Eventually, with nowhere left
08:17to try, I made my way back to my rented room. But at the gate, I found my landlady waiting
08:23for me.
08:23Mrs. Kowalski was a wonderful woman. When I'd first arrived with almost nothing, she had waived a full
08:29month's rent, and whenever she cooked something good, she always brought a bowl to my door. But now she
08:35stood at the entrance, eyes red-rimmed. Ilada, you're finally back! I'm so sorry. I can't rent to you
08:43anymore. Please don't be angry with me. I have no choice. There's someone powerful in town now.
08:51If I keep renting to you, my daughter, she works in the city, they'll, they'll...
08:56She couldn't finish the sentence. She started crying. I packed my things that same night and moved
09:02out. This, I thought, is what Silas calls compensation. Burn down everything I have, then offer me the ashes
09:09with a gracious hand. The day I moved out of my rented room, Silas appeared in my small upstate
09:15town. He was thinner than he'd been a few days ago, dark circles heavy under his eyes, like a man
09:21who
09:21hadn't slept. He had brought a moving company. He directed them to carry my things with a naturalness
09:26that made my skin crawl, as though we hadn't divorced at all, as though he were simply a husband coming
09:32to
09:32bring his wife home. At the new house, he poured me a glass of honey water. You've always been prone
09:38to
09:38attention. This will help you relax. I took the glass from him in silence. I took a small
09:44sip. I set the glass down and spoke. What happened before is in the past. If you truly wanted to
09:50make it right, you wouldn't have appeared at all. You would have stayed away. Allura, stop
09:56making a scene. I know you're not satisfied, but this is only the beginning. I'll find someone
10:03else to shoulder the blame. Then, step by step, I'll help restore your reputation. I know you don't
10:11like Ivy. I'll make sure she keeps a lower profile. Rest for now. His tone was gentle, but the meaning
10:18was unmistakable. You don't get to resist. He wanted me held firmly in his hands.
10:27Silas! Silas! I heard Mrs. Vance had arrived. Why didn't you call me? Although Mrs. Vance made
10:36serious mistake then, everyone still needs to live their life.
10:46I hope she takes this as a lesson and becomes a better person going forward. Ivy, the one who had
10:51actually done everything wrong, said all of this in front of the cameras without a trace
10:55of shame. This is just a small gesture from me. You're a senior in the field, and you're
11:00my fiance's former wife. Please, don't refuse. If you ever have any difficulties, just say the word.
11:14But that afternoon, the news had spread across every platform in the city. Killer back in high
11:19society. Can the victims ever rest? And I, once again, was pushed to the center of the
11:23storm. Helted from all sides.
11:33Whether or not it was intentional, Ivy had leaked my address to the public.
11:39After that, victims' families and furious protesters gathered outside my door every day.
11:45Three days later, my parents arrived. It was the first time in ten years they had come looking
11:51for me on their own.
11:55Mom, Dad, you're here! Come in, have some water.
11:59We wouldn't dare drink the water of a murderer.
12:02Alana, what you did back then, we truly cannot forgive you.
12:10You can't keep making mistake after mistake.
12:14We're begging you.
12:16Ivy genuinely loves Silas.
12:19You're already divorced.
12:21Stop clinging to him.
12:23Ivy is a good girl,
12:24and it's not her place to say this,
12:26so we came to say it ourselves.
12:30If you keep refusing,
12:32don't blame us for finding other ways
12:35to make you go.
12:37That same gentle voice
12:38that had once sung me lullabies
12:40and coaxed me to sleep
12:41night after night.
12:43Now every word carried the edge of a threat,
12:45driving into my heart like the tip of a blade,
12:47one cut at a time.
12:48Mom!
12:50Dad, did you never believe me?
12:52Not even once?
12:56You wretch!
12:57Even now you dare slander Ivy?
13:00He rushed over in a panic,
13:01trying to intervene.
13:02But at that moment, his phone rang.
13:05His assistant.
13:07Mr. Sterling, it's bad!
13:08Mrs. Thorn got drunk!
13:09She's at the hospital getting a shot to sober up!
13:11The moment they heard that,
13:13Silas and both my parents went pale with alarm.
13:18All three of them turned and piled into the car,
13:20and I laughed.
13:22I watched their retreating figures.
13:24The tears came with the laughter,
13:26whether they were threatening me
13:28or pretending to care for me,
13:29no matter how much pain I was in.
13:31None of it compared to Ivy Thorn crooking her finger.
13:33After all,
13:34ten years had taught me one clear lesson.
13:37I could not afford to have expectations of my parents
13:40or of Silas Sterling.
13:43A group of victims' family members
13:45knocked down in my location.
13:46They knocked me unconscious with iron rods
13:48and took me away.
13:49When I came to,
13:50I was inside a burlap sack.
13:52Damn you!
13:53You murderer!
13:54We didn't come after you,
13:55and you had the nerve to come back!
13:57Give me back my daughter's life!
14:00She was 19!
14:01She just started college!
14:03You animal!
14:06You owe us so many lives.
14:08Cutting you into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough.
14:14You're in our hands now!
14:16We want blood for blood!
14:1899 blows.
14:19I lost consciousness and was doused awake,
14:22again and again.
14:26The place of water closed in from every direction.
14:30The suffocation wrapped around me like a fist.
14:34Just as I was in my place,
14:35just as I was in my house closed around me.
14:42Mom, Dad, don't worry.
14:45I've looked into these families.
14:46They're all ordinary, decent people.
14:49They won't do anything seriously harmful to Alara.
14:52If anything,
14:53a good scare might make her go into hiding
14:56and protect herself.
14:57Reassured by those words,
14:59Alara's parents had passed along her whereabouts.
15:02The number you dialed is currently switched off.
15:07Something keeps knocking in my chest lately.
15:10Alara hasn't sent any word for days.
15:12Should we go look for her?
15:13Maybe call the police?
15:15Look for her?
15:16Call the police?
15:17Wasting resources to protect that creature?
15:19Huh.
15:20That's ridiculous.
15:21No news is better, isn't it?
15:23A troublemaker like her,
15:24if she's dead,
15:25that's one less burden on the world.
15:27Silas Sterling was just as uneasy.
15:29I knew it.
15:31You still can't let go of that ex-wife of yours.
15:33If that's how it is,
15:34why did you come to me at all?
15:36For three consecutive days,
15:38every time he tried to go find Alara,
15:40Ivy stopped him.
15:41While Ivy wasn't around,
15:43he slipped away and headed straight for the house.
15:45When he arrived,
15:46all he found was an empty house.
15:48And Alara's parents,
15:49standing there,
15:50faces tight with the same wordless dread.
15:53The three of them greeted each other with a nod,
15:56and without discussion,
15:57began searching.
15:58It must be Alara.
16:00She's come back.
16:05You are...
16:07Officers,
16:08did Alara's cause trouble again?
16:09If she's hurt someone again,
16:11you can shoot her on the spot.
16:13I have no daughter.
16:14We're here to speak with Mrs. Vand's parents
16:16and former husband
16:17regarding the circumstances of her case.
16:19Mrs. Alara Vand is very likely deceased.
16:22The individuals responsible have been apprehended.
16:24We are doing everything in our power
16:26to locate her remains.
16:27We ask that you please accept our condolences.
16:30Mother swayed and nearly collapsed.
16:33Silas stared at the officer in disbelief,
16:35tears spilling down his face
16:37before he could stop them.
16:40They guided him and Alara's parents.
16:43Our loved ones were killed by your daughter.
16:46Taking her out was justice.
16:49You told us where she was.
16:51Wasn't that what you wanted?
16:53Her own parents gave us her location.
16:55They're not pressing charges.
16:56On what grounds are you arresting us?
16:58Whatever wrong was done to you,
17:00the law will decide your remedy.
17:02Vigilante justice is never acceptable.
17:04Killing is a crime.
17:06Full stop.
17:07Whatever came after that,
17:08neither Alara's parents nor Silas
17:10could hear a single word.
17:12She was your own daughter.
17:13Even a tiger won't devour its cubs.
17:16How could you do something like this?
17:19No, we didn't know this would happen.
17:22It was Ivy.
17:23Ivy said these people would only scare her,
17:25that Alara would go into hiding to protect herself.
17:27The name Ivy Thorne cracked through Silas's mind
17:30like a bolt of lightning.
17:33Ivy.
17:36It was Ivy again.
17:37She must have planned all of this from the beginning.
17:39No wonder she had worked so hard to keep him away.
17:43Silas's face darkened to something terrifying.
17:46Alara's parents were reeling too.
17:48Now that they thought back,
17:49Ivy's behavior had been strange all along.
17:52You care that much about that murderer?
17:55Didn't you hate her?
17:57Didn't you love me most?
17:59She's dead?
18:00Isn't that exactly what you wanted?
18:02I can still be your daughter.
18:03I'm still Silas Sterling's fiance!
18:06Someone like her!
18:07She killed all those people ten years ago!
18:09Getting what she deserved is only natural!
18:18The moment Ivy finished speaking,
18:20Silas lunged forward and closed his hand around her throat.
18:24Who told you to do this?
18:25I'm not wrong!
18:27Someone who caused that much damage,
18:29after ten years,
18:31she's still a pest!
18:32Ivy's words stopped abruptly.
18:34Her face slowly drained of color.
18:36She looked as though something had just surfaced in her memory.
18:40Silas let out a laugh.
18:43I've woken from nightmares countless times,
18:46sick with regret over what I did to the person I loved most,
18:48all to protect something like you.
18:51You and I both know the truth.
18:53You were only my mentor's daughter.
18:55My mentor did so much for me,
18:56so I sacrificed my own wife to take your punishment.
18:59The real truth of ten years ago.
19:01You, the actual culprit,
19:03know it better than anyone!
19:05The words detonated in the room of a bomb.
19:07Then Alara's father spoke,
19:08his voice barely finding shape.
19:11Silas, what you just said,
19:12the one who caused the collapse ten years ago,
19:14it wasn't Alara?
19:15We wronged her!
19:16And we took in the person who destroyed her
19:18and called her our daughter!
19:20Silas lowered his eyes.
19:22He said nothing.
19:23Alara's father stumbled.
19:24He fell back into a chair.
19:27Her mother surged forward,
19:29raised her hand,
19:30and brought it down hard across Silas' face.
19:33His face snapped to one side,
19:35but he stood where he was and took it.
19:37I'm sorry.
19:38I'm so sorry.
19:40Her mother didn't accept the apology.
19:42She was silent for a moment.
19:43Then a cry tore out of her,
19:45raw and inconsolable.
19:46My daughter!
19:48My daughter!
19:50We took revenge on the wrong person?
19:53When I woke up,
19:54I was in a soft bed.
19:56I tried to sit up.
19:57The pain that tore through my body
19:59made cold sweat
20:00break across my skin instantly.
20:03Don't move.
20:05Lie still and rest.
20:06A gentle male voice
20:07came from the doorway.
20:09I turned toward the sound.
20:10A young man in a cotton shirt.
20:13The doctor said you'd wake up around now.
20:16I've been making a fresh bowl
20:18every day waiting for you.
20:19And here you are.
20:20You just woke up,
20:22nothing too rich yet.
20:23This will do for now.
20:24Once you're better,
20:26I'll take you somewhere proper.
20:27He set the bowl on the nightstand as he spoke.
20:29Then, with practiced ease,
20:31he adjusted the bed so I could sit up more comfortably
20:33and brought the spoon to my lips.
20:35I looked at him properly for the first time.
20:38Strong, straight brows.
20:39Warm, expressive eyes.
20:41A small mole just beside his nose.
20:44Perfectly placed.
20:45For some reason I couldn't name,
20:47he felt immediately familiar,
20:49as though we had known each other for a long time.
20:51Because of that feeling,
20:53I could barely put my guard up.
20:55When he brought the porridge to my lips,
20:57I drank it before I even thought to hesitate.
21:00The moment it hit my tongue,
21:01I went still.
21:02This taste,
21:03it was the exact taste from my grandmother's house when I was a child.
21:08The porridge she used to make just for me.
21:10I stared at him,
21:11and after a long moment,
21:13Who are you?
21:15A shadow of sadness crossed the young man's eyes.
21:19Silly.
21:21Grandma's sweet potato porridge,
21:23besides grandma herself,
21:25only one person in the world knows the recipe.
21:27You really don't remember?
21:28And then it came back to me all at once.
21:31When I was little,
21:32there was a boy who used to play with me all the time.
21:35Because our grandmother was always so busy,
21:38he would be the one to look after me.
21:39For a while when my stomach was bad,
21:42and I could only manage porridge,
21:43He had learned grandma's sweet potato porridge recipe specifically for me.
21:48Julian?
21:54You finally remembered.
21:56It was only then that Julian told me everything.
21:59It turned out that after my parents had taken me to the city,
22:02Julian's own biological parents had found him as well.
22:06His true identity,
22:07the lost heir to the Knight family,
22:09the wealthiest in the region.
22:11After a whole drama of proving who he really was,
22:14he had taken his rightful place at the head of Knight Technologies.
22:18But he had never forgotten me.
22:20He had never stopped looking for me.
22:22When he saw me become a well-known architect,
22:24he felt genuinely happy for me.
22:26But because I had already married Silas,
22:28he hadn't wanted to intrude.
22:30Ten years ago,
22:32the bridge collapsed case.
22:34Everyone thinks you are a murderer.
22:36I never believed you were the murderer.
22:38He had spent years quietly investigating,
22:40collecting evidence in the background.
22:42But even by the time I was released,
22:44he hadn't found enough.
22:45At the end of it all,
22:47I've been keeping an eye on your movements.
22:49So,
22:49I was able to detect those people's plot in time
22:51and rescue from the river.
22:54But I know this violates your privacy.
22:56Will you be angry with me?
22:58I laughed.
22:59I shook my head.
23:00Thank you, Julian.
23:02I watched the news from the bed
23:04when I saw Ivy Thorne being led away by police
23:08on the television screen.
23:09I couldn't quite believe it.
23:11Julian and I looked at each other.
23:13Neither of us had expected
23:14that the truth revealed to the world just like that.
23:18In the reporter's cameras,
23:19Silas Sterling's face was ashen.
23:22Not a trace remained of the man he once had been.
23:25And my parents, over their own daughter,
23:27looked as though every ounce of life
23:29had been drained from them.
23:30My father slumped in a chair.
23:32My mother sat beside him,
23:34hands pressed over her face.
23:36I lay in bed watching all of it.
23:38There was none of the triumphant satisfaction
23:40I might have imagined.
23:42Only a vast emptiness and a tiredness.
23:46My former firm released a statement
23:48restoring my standing.
23:49Apologies flooded social media.
23:51Countless strangers brought flowers
23:53to the cenotaph that had been erected in my name.
23:56Julian watched it all beside me,
23:58then turned and asked,
23:59brow furrowed.
24:01What are you going to do?
24:02Tell everyone you're still alive?
24:03The moment he finished speaking,
24:05the faces of my parents and Silas
24:07rose up in my mind.
24:08I could already picture exactly
24:10what their version of
24:11making it up to me would look like.
24:13Their compensation felt like something demonic.
24:16I never wanted to live through that again.
24:18I shook my head.
24:18I gave Julian a small smile.
24:20Julian,
24:22let's just call this a rebirth.
24:25No matter how public opinion shifted back in my favor,
24:29no matter how many people came forward to sympathize,
24:32to apologize,
24:33to demand justice on my behalf,
24:35it all felt like something from a previous life.
24:38Since everyone already believed I was dead,
24:41I would give them exactly that.
24:43I stayed with Julian to recover for six months.
24:46He cared for me the way he always had,
24:49with quiet, unhesitating attention.
24:51Already the commanding head of night technologies,
24:54and yet he still looked after me exactly the way he had when we were children.
24:59Once I was able to eat normally,
25:01he always cooked himself.
25:02Every day he found a new way to prepare something nourishing.
25:06Six months later,
25:07I was not only healed,
25:09I had gained 10 pounds.
25:11Then spring came again.
25:12Jacaranda blooms opened just outside the window beside my bed.
25:16I stared at them for a long time.
25:18Then I turned to Julian and said,
25:20Julian,
25:21let's go somewhere.
25:22We left the city.
25:24Julian arranged his company to run with remote management,
25:27then stepped back and accompanied me as we set out to see the world.
25:31We followed the steps of my favorite poets.
25:33We traced the romantic solitude of Neruda
25:36through the coastal landscape of Chile.
25:38We stood in one loft in Paris
25:40and tried to guess where the little rabbit had been buried.
25:43We walked through temple gardens in Kyoto
25:45and contemplated the violent beauty of a Japanese master's aesthetic.
25:50I had never imagined,
25:51after all those years apart,
25:53that Julian and I would find our interests
25:55and our way of seeing the world so completely aligned.
25:59At last we came to England.
26:00Beside the Thames,
26:02Julian turned to look at me.
26:03His eyes were full of a nervousness.
26:05He was trying very hard not to show.
26:08I knew what he was about to say.
26:09I smiled at him and spoke first.
26:12Julian,
26:13I think I've fallen for you.
26:14His face went red all the way to his ears.
26:17Then a kiss landed on my lips.
26:19At last,
26:20Julian and I opened a small bookshop in England.
26:23The days passed quietly.
26:25Only occasionally did news from back home reach us.
26:28After my death,
26:29Silas seemed to become a different person entirely.
26:32He restructured his company with swift, decisive force
26:36and purged everything connected to Ivy Thorne.
26:39And he never gave up looking for me.
26:41The overwhelming weight of what he owed kept him convinced,
26:45with a kind of obsession,
26:47that I must still be alive somewhere.
26:49As it turned out,
26:51he was right.
26:51On a Christmas Eve,
26:53London was buried in heavy snow.
26:55I had closed the shop early
26:57and was on my way home to cook Christmas dinner with Julian.
27:00But just as I reached the bottom of our building,
27:03I saw a familiar silhouette.
27:05He was standing in the snowfall,
27:07as though he intended to become part of it,
27:10still as a statue made of ice.
27:12When he saw me,
27:13the gray deadness in his eyes came alive.
27:16Alara!
27:17He ran to me and grabbed my hands,
27:19his whole body trembling.
27:21I knew you weren't dead.
27:23Thank God,
27:23you're not dead.
27:24What happened back then was my fault.
27:27I've cleared your name.
27:28Come back with me.
27:29Let's start over.
27:30Please.
27:31He was incoherent,
27:33tears breaking through his voice,
27:35more humble than I had ever seen him.
27:37I looked at this man I had once loved deeply,
27:40and once hated just as deeply.
27:42My heart was utterly still.
27:45Mr. Sterling,
27:46I said,
27:46you have the wrong person.
27:48Ilara Vance is dead.
27:50He looked at me with something close to madness in his eyes.
27:54No,
27:54please.
27:55I'm begging you.
27:56Let me make it right.
27:58Please,
27:59make it right?
28:00I gave a cold laugh.
28:02You destroyed my life.
28:04You made everyone abandon me.
28:06You cost me 10 years in prison.
28:09When I finally found my way back to a quiet life,
28:12your so-called compensation forced me out of it,
28:15and nearly killed me.
28:17Silas Sterling,
28:18what exactly do you think you still have left to make right?
28:22I turned away,
28:23and there was Julian,
28:25standing just behind me,
28:26watching with a quiet, steady smile.
28:29I walked forward without a moment's hesitation.
28:32I took Julian's hand.
28:33I didn't look back,
28:35not even once,
28:36as the sound of Silas breaking down faded behind us.
28:39One week later,
28:40my parents appeared at the bottom of our building.
28:43They looked so much older.
28:45Their hair had gone white.
28:46Their faces were full of a timid,
28:48beseeching uncertainty.
28:50My mother was holding a thermal bag.
28:52Lotus pastries,
28:53she said,
28:54the ones I had loved as a child.
28:56When she saw me,
28:57she opened her mouth,
28:58but the tears came before any words did.
29:01I looked at them.
29:02The fine, dense ache moved through me again,
29:05the way it always had.
29:07Come up for tea,
29:08I said.
29:08I turned and led the way.
29:10Julian respected my choices completely.
29:13He helped me prepare the tea,
29:14setting a cup in front of each of my parents without a word.
29:17Then he quietly found somewhere else to be.
29:20My father was the first to speak.
29:23Alara,
29:24we were wrong.
29:25Come home with us.
29:26I finished my tea in silence.
29:29Then I set the cup down and spoke.
29:31Mom,
29:32Dad,
29:33I took a slow breath.
29:34Consider me dead.
29:36This is my home.
29:37I'm not going back.
29:38I don't hate you anymore,
29:40but I can't be what I was to you before.
29:43Between us,
29:43there are 10 years of a wrongful sentence,
29:46and one life that almost ended.
29:48We are each other's best ending,
29:50if we simply wish each other well from a distance.
29:53I didn't take the lotus pastries.
29:55They cried for a long time.
29:57In the end,
29:58they left,
29:59unsteady on their feet,
30:00stumbling down the steps.
30:02The snow on the ground below caught the last of the sunset light.
30:05Small patches of red,
30:07and their shadows stretched long behind them.
30:09I cried anyway.
30:11Silas and my parents never came back.
30:13Only money,
30:14from time to time,
30:15deposited quietly into my account.
30:18And postcards,
30:19occasionally,
30:20routed through circuitous paths.
30:22No name signed.
30:23I knew they were from Silas.
30:25I never read them.
30:26I never replied.
30:28I carried each one to the fireplace,
30:30and watched the flames take it.
30:32Life always moves forward.
30:34Ding!
30:34The wind chime above the door rang.
30:37A customer had come in.
30:38After selling one more book,
30:40I lay back in the rocking chair in the courtyard.
30:43Julian handed me a cup of tea and asked,
30:46Any regrets?
30:47I shook my head.
30:48Never.
30:49This bookshop.
30:50And Julian.
30:51This was my new life.
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