Chapter 13 - THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK
Leo withdrew from public life while the investigations continued.
He moved into a smaller house outside the city.
No marble floors.
No guards at every doorway.
No endless meetings with men who spoke in threats.
Just a quiet garden.
A kitchen.
And a life he didn't know how to live yet.
I visited one afternoon.
He opened the door.
“Myra.”
I smiled.
“Hi.”
He looked surprised.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because I don't have the same power.”
I looked at him.
“I know.”
“The same money.”
“I know.”
He swallowed.
“Then why?”
I stepped closer.
“Because I never loved your empire.”
His eyes filled.
I continued:
“I loved the man who told me I was free.”
Leo stared.
Then whispered:
“Myra.”
I smiled through tears.
“And I still do.”
He pulled me into his arms.
May you like
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Because love had finally become something neither of us needed to earn.
