- 3 hours ago
Limpiando mi nombre New Ep 20 SM
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
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?
00:46I 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
00:54infiltrate the construction crew to pocket kickbacks.
00:57And 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 going to 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!
01:31So 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?
01:39We'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.
02:13Allura.
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 fiancée, 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.
03:46I 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.
03:55Why are you here?
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
04:04who 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, this 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.
04:33Don't blame her parents.
04:35What happened back then was a devastating blow to them.
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,
04:55and then set it down 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.
05:52Please 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.
06:03Hey, Laura.
06:04I know I can't overturn the verdict for what happened back then,
06:08and 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.
06:34One what grounds?
06:36On what grounds did he push me into the abyss himself?
06:39Let 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 Thorne?
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.
07:20Alara, 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,
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.
09:10He 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.
09:35Look, what 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.
10:00I'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.
10:33I hope she takes this as a lesson
10:35and 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,
10:47and you're my fiancé's former wife.
10:51Please, don't re-use.
10:52If you ever have any difficulties,
10:55just say the word.
11:01But that afternoon,
11:02the news had spread across every platform in the city.
11:05Kill her 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.
11:20Whether or not it was intentional,
11:21Ivy had leaked my address to the public.
11:26After that, victims' families and furious protesters gathered outside my door every day.
11:32Three days later, my parents arrived.
11:34Allura, stop making a scene.
11:37I know you're not satisfied.
11:39But this is only the beginning.
11:41I'll find someone else to shoulder the blame.
11:46Then, step by step, I'll help restore your reputation.
11:49I know you don't like Ivy.
11:51I'll make sure she keeps a lower profile.
11:54Rest for now.
11:55His tone was gentle, but the meaning was unmistakable.
11:58You don't get to resist.
11:59He wanted me held firmly in his hands.
12:05Silas!
12:06I heard Mrs. Vance had arrived.
12:09Why didn't you call me?
12:13Although Mrs. Vance made serious mistake then,
12:16everyone still needs to live their life.
12:24I hope she takes this as a lesson
12:26and becomes a better person going forward.
12:29Ivy, the one who had actually done everything wrong,
12:31said all of this in front of the cameras without a trace of shame.
12:34This is just a small gesture from me.
12:36You're a senior in the field,
12:38and you're my fiancé's former wife.
12:42Please, don't re-use.
12:43If you ever have any difficulties,
12:45just say the word.
12:52But that afternoon,
12:53the news had spread across every platform in the city.
12:56Killer back in high society.
12:57Can the victims ever rest?
12:59And I, once again, was pushed to the center of the storm,
13:02felted from all sides.
13:10Whether or not it was intentional,
13:12Ivy had leaked my address to the public.
13:17After that,
13:18victims' families and furious protesters gathered outside my door every day.
13:23Three days later,
13:24my parents arrived.
13:25It was the first time in ten years
13:27they had come looking for me on their own.
13:32Mom, Dad, you're here!
13:34Come in, have some water.
13:36We wouldn't dare drink the water of a murderer.
13:39Alana, what you did back then,
13:42we truly cannot forgive you.
13:47You can't keep making mistake after mistake.
13:51We're begging you.
13:53Ivy genuinely loves Silas.
13:56You're already divorced.
13:58Stop clinging to him.
13:59Ivy is a good girl,
14:01and it's not her place to say this,
14:03so we came to say it ourselves.
14:07If you keep refusing,
14:09don't blame us for finding other ways to make you go.
14:13That same gentle voice
14:15that had once sung me lullabies
14:17and coaxed me to sleep,
14:18night after night,
14:19now every word carried the edge of a threat,
14:21driving into my heart like the tip of a blade,
14:24one cut at a time.
14:25Mom!
14:26Dad, did you never believe me?
14:28Not even once?
14:33You wretch!
14:34Even now, you dare slander Ivy?
14:36He rushed over in a panic,
14:38trying to intervene.
14:39But at that moment,
14:40his phone rang.
14:41His assistant.
14:43Mr. Sterling, it's bad.
14:44Mrs. Thone got drunk.
14:46She's at the hospital getting a shot to sober up.
14:48The moment they heard that,
14:49Silas and both my parents went pale with alarm.
14:52That was another place.
14:54All three of them turned and piled into the car,
14:56and I laughed.
14:57I watched their retreating figures.
15:00The tears came with the laughter.
15:02Whether they were threatening me,
15:04or pretending to care for me,
15:05no matter how much pain I was in,
15:07none of it compared to Ivy Thorne crooking her finger.
15:09After all,
15:10ten years had taught me one clear lesson.
15:13I could not afford to have expectations of my parents,
15:16or of Silas Sterling.
15:18A group of victims' family members
15:20knocked down my location.
15:22They knocked me unconscious with iron rods
15:24and took me away.
15:24When I came to,
15:26I was inside a burlap sack.
15:27Damn you!
15:29You murderer!
15:30We didn't come after you,
15:31and you had the nerve to come back!
15:33Give me back my daughter's life!
15:35She was 19!
15:36She just started college!
15:38You animal!
15:42You owe us so many lives.
15:44Cutting you into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough.
15:49You're in our hands now!
15:51We want blood for blood!
15:5399 blows.
15:54I lost consciousness and was doused away,
15:57again and again.
16:01The freezing water closed in from every direction.
16:05The suffocation wrapped around me like a fist.
16:08Just as long as my hands closed around me.
16:17Mom, Dad, don't worry.
16:19I've looked into these families.
16:21They're all ordinary, decent people.
16:24They won't do anything seriously harmful to Alara.
16:27If anything, a good scare might make her go into hiding
16:30and protect herself.
16:32Reassured by those words,
16:34Alara's parents had passed along her whereabouts.
16:37The number you dialed is currently switched off.
16:42Something keeps knocking in my chest lately.
16:44Alara hasn't sent any word for days.
16:47Should we go look for her?
16:48Maybe call the police?
16:49Look for her?
16:50Call the police?
16:51Wasting resources to protect that creature?
16:53Huh.
16:54That's ridiculous.
16:56No news is better, isn't it?
16:57A troublemaker like her,
16:59if she's dead,
17:00that's one less burden on the world.
17:01Silas Sterling was just as uneasy.
17:04I knew it.
17:05You still can't let go of that ex-wife of yours.
17:07If that's how it is,
17:08why did you come to me at all?
17:10For three consecutive days,
17:12every time he tried to go find Alara,
17:15Ivy stopped him.
17:16While Ivy wasn't around,
17:17he slipped away and headed straight for the house.
17:19When he arrived,
17:20all he found was an empty house.
17:22Alice and Alara's parents,
17:23standing there faces tight
17:25with the same wordless dread.
17:27The three of them greeted each other with a nod
17:29and without discussion,
17:31began searching.
17:32It must be Alara.
17:33She's come back.
17:39You are...
17:40Officers,
17:41did Alaxis cause trouble again?
17:43If she's hurt someone again,
17:45you can shoot her on the spot.
17:46I have no daughter.
17:48We're here to speak with Mrs. Van's parents
17:49and former husband
17:50regarding the circumstances of her case.
17:53Miss Alara Vand is very likely deceased.
17:55The individuals responsible have been apprehended.
17:58We are doing everything in our power
17:59to locate her remains.
18:00We ask that you please accept our condolences.
18:03Mother swayed and nearly collapsed.
18:06Silas stared at the officer in disbelief,
18:09tears spilling down his face
18:10before he could stop them.
18:13They guided him and Alara's parents...
18:17Our loved ones were killed by your daughter.
18:20Taking her out was justice.
18:22You told us where she was.
18:24Wasn't that what you wanted?
18:25Her own parents gave us her location.
18:27They're not pressing charges.
18:29On what grounds are you arresting us?
18:31Whatever wrong was done to you,
18:33the law will decide your remedy.
18:35Vigilante justice is never acceptable.
18:37Killing is a crime.
18:38Full stop.
18:40Whatever came after that,
18:41neither Alara's parents nor Silas
18:43could hear a single word.
18:44She was your own daughter.
18:46Even a tiger won't devour its cubs.
18:49How could you do something like this?
18:52No, we didn't know this would happen.
18:54It was Ivy.
18:55Ivy said these people would only scare her,
18:57that Alara would go into hiding
18:59to protect herself.
19:00The name Ivy Thorne cracked through Silas's mind
19:02like a bolt of lightning.
19:05Ivy.
19:08It was Ivy again.
19:10She must have planned all of this from the beginning.
19:12No wonder she had worked so hard to keep him away.
19:15Silas's face darkened to something terrifying.
19:18Alara's parents were reeling too.
19:20Now that they thought back,
19:21Ivy's behavior had been strange all along.
19:25You care that much about that murderer?
19:27Didn't you hate her?
19:29Didn't you love me most?
19:30She's dead.
19:32Isn't that exactly what you wanted?
19:34I can still be your daughter.
19:35I'm still Silas Sterling's fiance.
19:38Someone like her.
19:39She killed all those people ten years ago.
19:41Getting what she deserved is only natural.
19:49The moment Ivy finished speaking,
19:52Silas lunged forward and closed his hand around her throat.
19:55Who told you to do this?
19:57I'm not wrong.
19:58Someone who caused that much damage,
20:01after ten years, she's still a pest.
20:04Ivy's words stopped abruptly.
20:06Her face slowly drained of color.
20:08She looked as though something had just surfaced in her memory.
20:11Silas let out a laugh.
20:15I've woken from nightmares countless times,
20:17sick with regret over what I did to the person I loved most,
20:20all to protect something like you.
20:22You and I both know the truth.
20:24You were only my mentor's daughter.
20:26My mentor did so much for me,
20:27so I sacrificed my own wife to take your punishment.
20:30The real truth of ten years ago.
20:33You, the actual culprit,
20:35know it better than anyone.
20:36The words detonated in the room of a bomb.
20:38Then Alara's father spoke,
20:40his voice barely finding shape.
20:41Silas, what you just said,
20:43the one who caused the collapse ten years ago,
20:45it wasn't Alara?
20:46We wronged her,
20:47and we took in the person who destroyed her
20:49and called her our daughter?
20:51Silas lowered his eyes.
20:52He said nothing.
20:54Alara's father stumbled.
20:55He fell back into a chair.
20:58Her mother surged forward,
21:00raised her hand,
21:01and brought it down hard across Silas' face.
21:04His face snapped to one side,
21:05but he stood where he was and took it.
21:08I'm sorry.
21:09I'm so sorry.
21:10Her mother didn't accept the apology.
21:12She was silent for a moment.
21:14Then a cry tore out of her,
21:16raw and inconsolable.
21:17My daughter!
21:18My daughter!
21:21We took revenge on the wrong person?
21:23When I woke up,
21:25I was in a soft bed.
21:26I tried to sit up.
21:27The pain that tore through my body
21:29made cold sweat break across my skin instantly.
21:34Don't move.
21:35Lie still and rest.
21:36A gentle male voice came from the doorway.
21:39I turned toward the sound.
21:41A young man in a cotton shirt.
21:43The doctor said you'd wake up around now.
21:46I've been making a fresh bowl every day waiting for you.
21:49And here you are.
21:51You just woke up,
21:52nothing too rich yet.
21:53This will do for now.
21:54Once you're better,
21:55I'll take you somewhere proper.
21:57He set the bowl on the nightstand as he spoke.
21:59Then, with practiced ease,
22:01he adjusted the bed so I could sit up more comfortably,
22:03and brought the spoon to my lips.
22:05I looked at him properly for the first time.
22:07Strong, straight brows.
22:09Warm, expressive eyes.
22:11A small mole just beside his nose.
22:13Perfectly placed.
22:14For some reason I couldn't name,
22:16he felt immediately familiar,
22:18as though we had known each other for a long time.
22:21Because of that feeling,
22:22I could barely put my guard up.
22:24When he brought the porridge to my lips,
22:26I drank it before I even thought to hesitate.
22:29The moment it hit my tongue,
22:31I went still.
22:32This taste,
22:33it was the exact taste from my grandmother's house when I was a child.
22:37The porridge she used to make just for me.
22:39I stared at him,
22:40and after a long moment,
22:42Who are you?
22:44A shadow of sadness crossed the young man's eyes.
22:48Silly.
22:51Grandma's sweet potato porridge,
22:52besides grandma herself,
22:54only one person in the world knows the recipe.
22:56You really don't remember?
22:57And then it came back to me all at once.
23:00When I was little,
23:01there was a boy who used to play with me all the time.
23:04Because our grandmother was always so busy,
23:06he would be the one to look after me.
23:08For a while when my stomach was bad,
23:10and I could only manage porridge,
23:12he had learned grandma's sweet potato porridge recipe specifically for me.
23:17Julian?
23:22You finally remembered.
23:24It was only then that Julian told me everything.
23:27It turned out that after my parents had taken me to the city,
23:31Julian's own biological parents had found him as well.
23:34His true identity,
23:36the lost heir to the Knight family,
23:37the wealthiest in the region.
23:39After a whole drama of proving who he really was,
23:42he had taken his rightful place at the head of Knight Technologies.
23:46But he had never forgotten me.
23:48He had never stopped looking for me.
23:50When he saw me become a well-known architect,
23:52he felt genuinely happy for me.
23:54But because I had already married Silas,
23:56he hadn't wanted to intrude.
23:59Ten years ago,
24:00the bridge collapsed case.
24:02Everyone thinks you are a murderer.
24:04I never believed you were the murderer.
24:05He had spent years quietly investigating,
24:08collecting evidence in the background.
24:10But even by the time I was released,
24:12he hadn't found enough.
24:13At the end of it all...
24:14I've been keeping an eye on your movements,
24:16so I was able to detect those people's plot in time
24:19and rescue from the river.
24:21But I know this violates your privacy.
24:24Will you be angry with me?
24:25I laughed.
24:26I shook my head.
24:28Thank you, Julian.
24:30I watched the news from the bed
24:32when I saw Ivy Thorne being led away by police on the television screen.
24:37I couldn't quite believe it.
24:39Julian and I looked at each other.
24:40Neither of us had expected that the truth revealed to the world just like that.
24:45In the reporter's cameras,
24:47Silas Sterling's face was ashen.
24:49Not a trace remained of the man he once had been.
24:52And my parents, over their own daughter,
24:55looked as though every ounce of life had been drained from them.
24:58My father slumped in a chair.
25:00My mother sat beside him,
25:01hands pressed over her face.
25:03I lay in bed watching all of it.
25:05There was none of the triumphant satisfaction I might have imagined.
25:09Only a vast emptiness and a tiredness.
25:12My former firm released a statement restoring my standing.
25:16Apologies flooded social media.
25:18Countless strangers brought flowers to the cenotaph
25:21that had been erected in my name.
25:23Julian watched it all beside me,
25:25then turned and asked, brow furrowed,
25:27What are you going to do?
25:28Tell everyone you're still alive?
25:30The moment he finished speaking,
25:32the faces of my parents and Silas rose up in my mind.
25:35I could already picture exactly what their version of
25:38making it up to me would look like.
25:40Their compensation felt like something demonic.
25:42I never wanted to live through that again.
25:44I shook my head.
25:45I gave Julian a small smile.
25:47Julian, let's just call this a rebirth.
25:51No matter how public opinion shifted back in my favor,
25:55no matter how many people came forward to sympathize,
25:58to apologize, to demand justice on my behalf,
26:01it all felt like something from a previous life.
26:04Since everyone already believed I was dead,
26:07I would give them exactly that.
26:09I stayed with Julian to recover for six months.
26:12He cared for me the way he always had,
26:15with quiet, unhesitating attention.
26:17Already the commanding head of night technologies,
26:20and yet he still looked after me exactly the way he had when we were children.
26:25Once I was able to eat normally,
26:27he always cooked himself.
26:28Every day he found a new way to prepare something nourishing.
26:32Six months later, I was not only healed,
26:34I had gained ten pounds, then spring came again.
26:38Jacaranda blooms opened just outside the window beside my bed.
26:42I stared at them for a long time.
26:44Then I turned to Julian and said,
26:46Julian, let's go somewhere.
26:48We left the city.
26:49Julian arranged his company to run with remote management,
26:52then stepped back and accompanied me as we set out to see the world.
26:56We followed the steps of my favorite poets.
26:59We traced the romantic solitude of Neruda through the coastal landscape of Chile.
27:03We stood in one lot in Paris and tried to guess where the little rabbit had been buried.
27:08We walked through temple gardens in Kyoto
27:10and contemplated the violent beauty of a Japanese master's aesthetic.
27:15I had never imagined, after all those years apart,
27:18that Julian and I would find our interests and our way of seeing the world so completely aligned.
27:24At last we came to England.
27:26Beside the Thames, Julian turned to look at me.
27:28His eyes were full of a nervousness he was trying very hard not to show.
27:32I knew what he was about to say.
27:34I smiled at him and spoke first.
27:37Julian, I think I've fallen for you.
27:39His face went red all the way to his ears.
27:42Then a kiss landed on my lips.
27:44At last, Julian and I opened a small bookshop in England.
27:48The days passed quietly.
27:49Only occasionally did news from back home reach us.
27:52After my death,
27:54Silas seemed to become a different person entirely.
27:57He restructured his company with swift, decisive force
28:00and purged everything connected to Ivy Thorne.
28:03And he never gave up looking for me.
28:06The overwhelming weight of what he owed kept him convinced,
28:09with a kind of obsession,
28:11that I must still be alive somewhere.
28:14As it turned out, he was right.
28:16On a Christmas Eve, London was buried in heavy snow.
28:19I had closed the shop early
28:21and was on my way home to cook Christmas dinner with Julian.
28:25But just as I reached the bottom of our building,
28:27I saw a familiar silhouette.
28:29He was standing in the snowfall,
28:31as though he intended to become part of it,
28:34still as a statue made of ice.
28:36When he saw me,
28:37the gray deadness in his eyes came alive.
28:40Alara!
28:41He ran to me and grabbed my hands,
28:43his whole body trembling.
28:45I knew you weren't dead.
28:46Thank God, you're not dead.
28:48What happened back then was my fault.
28:50I've cleared your name.
28:52Come back with me.
28:53Let's start over.
28:54Please.
28:55He was incoherent,
28:56tears breaking through his voice,
28:58more humble than I had ever seen him.
29:01I looked at this man I had once loved deeply
29:03and once hated just as deeply.
29:06My heart was utterly still.
29:08Mr. Sterling, I said,
29:10you have the wrong person.
29:12Alara Vance is dead.
29:14He looked at me with something close to madness in his eyes.
29:17No, please, I'm begging you.
29:20Let me make it right.
29:21Please, make it right?
29:23I gave a cold laugh.
29:25You destroyed my life.
29:27You made everyone abandon me.
29:29You cost me 10 years in prison.
29:32When I finally found my way back to a quiet life,
29:35your so-called compensation forced me out of it
29:38and nearly killed me.
29:40Silas Sterling,
29:41What exactly do you think you still have left to make right?
29:45I turned away and there was Julian standing just behind me,
29:49watching with a quiet, steady smile.
29:52I walked forward without a moment's hesitation.
29:54I took Julian's hand.
29:56I didn't look back,
29:58not even once,
29:59as the sound of Silas breaking down faded behind us.
30:02One week later,
30:03my parents appeared at the bottom of our building.
30:05They looked so much older.
30:07Their hair had gone white.
30:09Their faces were full of a timid, beseeching uncertainty.
30:13My mother was holding a thermal bag.
30:15Lotus pastries, she said.
30:17The ones I had loved as a child.
30:19When she saw me,
30:20she opened her mouth,
30:21but the tears came before any words did.
30:23I looked at them.
30:24The fine, dense ache moved through me again,
30:27the way it always had.
30:29Come up for tea, I said.
30:31I turned and led the way.
30:32Julian respected my choices completely.
30:35He helped me prepare the tea,
30:36setting a cup in front of each of my parents without a word.
30:40Then he quietly found somewhere else to be.
30:43My father was the first to speak.
30:45Alara, we were wrong.
30:47Come home with us.
30:49I finished my tea in silence.
30:51Then I set the cup down and spoke.
30:53Mom, Dad,
30:55I took a slow breath.
30:56Consider me dead.
30:58This is my home.
30:59I'm not going back.
31:00I don't hate you anymore,
31:02but I can't be what I was to you before.
31:04Between us, there are ten years of a wrongful sentence
31:08and one life that almost ended.
31:10We are each other's best ending
31:12if we simply wish each other well from a distance.
31:15I didn't take the lotus pastries.
31:17They cried for a long time.
31:19In the end, they left,
31:21unsteady on their feet,
31:22stumbling down the steps.
31:23The snow on the ground below
31:25caught the last of the sunset light,
31:27small patches of red,
31:28and their shadows stretched long behind them.
31:31I cried anyway.
31:32Silas and my parents never came back.
31:35Only money,
31:36from time to time,
31:37deposited quietly into my account.
31:39And postcards,
31:40occasionally,
31:41routed through circuitous paths,
31:43no name signed.
31:44I knew they were from Silas.
31:46I never read them.
31:47I never replied.
31:49I carried each one to the fireplace
31:51and watched the flames take it.
31:53Life always moves forward.
31:55Ding!
31:56The wind chime above the door rang.
31:58A customer had come in.
32:00After selling one more book,
32:01I lay back in the rocking chair
32:03in the courtyard.
32:04Julian handed me a cup of tea
32:06and asked,
32:07Any regrets?
32:08I shook my head.
32:09Never.
32:10This bookshop.
32:11And Julian.
32:12This was my new life.
Comments