Page 56 of Finally Found You

It doesn’t matter. Just fucking move on with your life. Kenzy and the rest of the family need you. Everything else is secondary.

With that in mind, I begin packing and preparing to leave town.

Chapter Thirty

Camilla

I spend my morning sifting through the things Elsie planned to discard. As I open the third bag, a realization hits me like a punch to the gut—she was throwing it all away. It’s like nothing matters to her.

I have trouble understanding her actions. She was disposing of her mother’s life without giving it a second thought. I don’t have much from my mother, other than a bracelet Nonna once said belonged to her, and her pictures. Yet I treasured all of them, even though I never met my mother.

It’s kind of ironic that, while going through the boxes of pictures Nonna had, Lysander texts me requesting pictures of Kenzy.

I’m happy to know that he’s genuinely trying to get to know his daughter, to unravel the layers of her life from birth to today. But then, he calls me. Not only that, but he also confesses that he loves me, shattering my heart into a million pieces. How am I supposed to respond? What do I do with that information?

He loves me, but our love is impossible. I can’t speak without breaking my own promise. Though I love him, we can’t happen. The silence between us stretches a chasm that seems to echo with our unsaid words. Eventually, I end the call, hoping he doesn’t call me again, but secretly wanting to hear his voice one last time.

I should change my number. But then a small, desperate part of me clings to the question: What if Kenzy needs me?

Will she ever reach out to me again? Doubtful. I never get to keep anyone in my life. The people who enter my life have the tendency to push me away, fade, or die, leaving me behind. The sting of tears pricks my eyes, a few escaping and tracing a path down my cheek. But when I glance at Nonna’s picture, I’m reminded that Balsamos don’t cry. We’re not weak.

Drawing in a big, cleansing breath, I continue working. It’s not easy to decide what I’ll do with each item. I want to keep them all, like precious gems, but I know Kenzy needs them more than I do.

Around four, the doorbell rings, jarring me from my thoughts. Standing on the other side of the door is Jade Drago.

“Hi,” I manage, my greeting hitching in my throat.

“JJ told me you were cleaning up the house, and I thought I’d lend a hand,” she states with that friendly smile that makes everyone feel welcome.

I dismiss her offer with a wave of my hand. “That won’t be necessary. You’ve done plenty for me.”

“That’s nonsense,” she counters, shrugging off her jacket and eyeing the bags and boxes scattered around. “I’m here for you, Cami. You’re like a daughter to me.”

“But I am not your daughter,” I snap back, my words sharper than I intended.

Her face falters, confusion and hurt flashing in her eyes. “Why exactly are you upset at me?”

“I’m not,” I lie, but my tone betrays me.

Her smile is wistful as she shakes her head. “Okay, now I know you’re upset. What happened?” she asks softly, a gentle caress against the raw edge of my frustration.

“You don’t know me,” I protest, my voice rising with my frustration.

“Then why are you so upset?”

“Why didn’t you adopt me?” The words escape before I can tuck them inside my soul, where I hide all my emotions. I can almost see Nonna’s disapproving frown, but the question has been gnawing at me. If they claim I am a part of them, that I matter, why did they let me go so easily? They adopted two of their foster children, but not me.

A sad smile plays on her lips as she clears a space on the couch, patting it invitingly. “Sit with me,” she suggests.

“No, I’m good. You can leave. Sorry for the question,” I apologize, retracting my words. I have no right to demand answers I probably don’t deserve. I had a good life with my grandmother. I didn’t need a mother or a father. The Dragos were strangers and tried their best.

“You have every right to ask, Cami,” she responds, patting the couch once more. “And I do have an answer, but I’d rather give it while we’re sitting.”

Hesitantly, I do as she requests.

“Have I ever told you that I see a lot of myself in you?” she asks.

I frown but remain quiet.

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