As Alexander ate slowly, Maria stood nearby watching him in silence.
She had been there from the beginning.
From the time they were nothing more than distant strangers under the same roof… to the time things began to change.
She had seen it all.
The quiet shifts.
The unspoken emotions.
The moments neither of them admitted meant anything.
She had seen how Alexander looked at Alicia when he thought no one noticed.
And she had seen how Alicia softened around him even when she tried to hide it.
They had been moving toward each other without realizing it.
And just when she thought they were finally beginning to understand each other…
Everything fell apart again.
Maria lowered her gaze slightly.
She wasn't taking sides.
But she couldn't deny what she had seen.
Alicia had suffered.
And Alexander ,only now was beginning to understand what he had lost.
She just hoped he didn't lose himself in the process.
A knock came at the door.
