Somehow, I’m detached from that girl.
I didn’t realize I’ve come to a stop until Emily pauses up ahead and turns around with a frown.
Dante gives me a strange look.
Shrugging off the memory, I continue on my way.
Dante doesn’t go down the hallway with us. He remains in front of the study, his eyes burning holes into the back of my head as Emily opens the second to last door and stands aside with a bowed head.
“Please.” I indicate the room. “After you.”
Her head jerks up. Bewildered, she gapes at me. “But Tatiana, it’s your room.”
“You heard me, Mrs. Brown. I’m merely a trespasser here.”
She looks at Dante, who nods with pursed lips.
“Very well then,” she whispers in a shaky voice.
She goes inside and stands next to the bed with the pink frilly bedspread. I feel nothing as I walk inside. Mercifully, I’m untouched by the trinkets and baubles I collected.
As Dante has promised, he hasn’t touched a thing. The surfaces are dust-free, and the tiles smell of the lemon-scented floor wash Emily has always used. My books are on the bookshelf, the page markers still sticking out where I stopped reading.
I motion at the closet. “May I?”
Emily coughs. “Go ahead, please.” Her face collapses. “Tatiana, Dante has been good to me.”
My back goes rigid. “And my mother wasn’t?”
Her cheeks turn red. “Of course she was. You know how much I loved her.”
“It didn’t take you long to change your loyalty for the other side.”
“Dante needed someone to take care of the condo. He offered me a room and let me stay here. I didn’t have to commute any longer. He pays my medical assurance and takes care of my bills.”
I smile. “I suppose we all have a price.”
“It’s not like that.” She takes a step toward me. “He’s not a bad man.”
Seriously? I raise a brow.
Flustered, she irons out her slacks. “You know what I mean.”
“If you say so.” I open the closet and push the dresses aside. “Do you mind if I move the shoes?”
“For the love of God, child.” Her expression turns pained. “Those are yours. Why don’t you take them?”
I kneel and put the shoe boxes aside.
Her voice drops an octave. “Leander has been through your things. He left everything in a mess.”
I’m sure he did.
“What was he looking for, Tatiana?”
I don’t reply.
She continues in the same secretive tone. “It took me a week to put it all back in place.”