Chapter 14
Six months after the canceled wedding, Celina requested permission to apologize to Ellie.
Luciano’s immediate answer was no.
Rachel told him not to make the decision from anger.
The child therapist told him something similar for a different reason.
“Contact should never happen because Celina needs relief.”
Luciano nodded.
“It would only happen if it benefits Ellie.”
“Yes.”
“Does it?”
“Not now.”
That was enough.
Celina accepted the decision through her attorney.
No unexpected visit.
No gifts.
No attempts through mutual friends.
That restraint did not undo what she had done.
But Luciano noticed it.
Meanwhile, Ellie’s bedroom changed.
Not because anyone emptied it.
Because Ellie chose new things.
A larger bed.
Yellow curtains.
A shelf for school projects.
Rebecca’s photograph remained on the dresser.
Luciano asked Ellie whether she wanted it somewhere else.
“No.”
“Okay.”
She pointed at another empty space.
“Maria picture.”
They added one.
Then Marianne.
Then Luciano.
The room became neither a shrine to Rebecca nor a replacement-family display.
It became Ellie's.
That distinction mattered.
One evening Marianne found Luciano standing in the doorway.
“You know you may want to marry again someday.”
Luciano gave her a tired look.
“I’m aware.”
“You planning to interrogate the woman’s entire bloodline first?”
“Yes.”
Marianne smiled.
Then became serious.
“You can protect Ellie without teaching her every new person is dangerous.”
Luciano looked into the room.
“That sounds difficult.”
“It is.”
He nodded.
May you like
That was the problem with healthier choices.
They were rarely as simple as locking a gate.
