Ch. 13: The Price of Silence

She had promised herself she would not come back to this place. She had promised a lot of things.

"You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to. "You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to.

Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most. For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

"You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to. Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way she was watching without seeming to. Ela crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way she was watching without seeming to. Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most. The conversation turned, the way conversations do, from the easy things to the ones that mattered.

Every choice had a price. Ela had known that for years, and still the knowing never made it easier.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Ela said. "I'm asking you to listen." Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

Whatever came next, there would be no pretending it had not begun.