Chapter 140
KATYA POV
The room that had been empty for months. Untouched. Locked. Reserved for soone who mattered.
I’d heard it was nonna’s but she didn’t like how big it was so she moved out. And now?
Bags rolled across the doorway. Clothes in garnt bags. A jewelry case. Perfu boxes.
Shoes.
All for... who? The beautiful girl they talked about?
The one arriving in a sleek white car. The one confident enough to look like a Donna.
My heartbeat thudded against my ribs so sharply it almost hurt.
I carefully stood still using the corner wall as cover. No one noticed . They were too busy fussing, too busy talking, too busy preparing that room like royalty was moving in.
Gina clapped her hands once. "Be quick! She’ll be coming up any mont." My breath hitched.
She?
Coming up?
Here?
That was all I needed to hear. I forced myself to move swiftly, hugging the wall as I slipped down the hallway.
My feet made no sound against the carpet, but I still felt exposed, like any second soone would turn and question .
Don’t look.Don’t think. Just go. Nonna’s door ca into view. I reached for the handle, turned it carefully, and slipped inside before anyone spotted .
I shut the door gently.My back pressed against the door as I exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
The quiet of the room wrapped around imdiately, warm and familiar.
But it didn’t calm the pounding in my chest.
I pushed off the door and stepped farther inside, the water glass still held carefully in my hand.
"Nonna?" I called softly.
No answer.
I frowned, walking toward the balcony, expecting to find her exactly where I left her—wrapped in her blanket, watching the birds, maybe humming under her breath like she sotis did when she thought no one was listening.
But the balcony was empty.
The chair sat there, still angled toward the railing just the way I had sat on it. The blanket rested neatly over the armrest. The breeze tugged at its corner, lifting it gently.
But Nonna wasn’t there.
A small jolt of confusion shot through . "Nonna?" I called again, a little louder this ti.
Still nothing.
I set the water glass carefully on the small table and scanned the room. Her bed was untouched.
Her slippers still by the bedside. Her handkerchief—folded neatly on the dresser.
Everything exactly as it had been.
Except... her am her wheelchair.
"She couldn’t have left," I whispered under my breath, my eyebrows knitting together. "I wasn’t gone that long."
Truly. I wasn’t.
Water. Just water. Down to the kitchen and back—three, maybe four minutes at most. Even if I counted pausing on the stairs, even if I counted Miss Stella stopping .
It shouldn’t have been enough ti for Nonna to move, not without help. My pulse quickened.
"Where did you go...?" I murmured, an uneasy chill crawling up my arms. I took a small step toward the door, ready to search the hallway, ready to call Miss Stella back up here if I had to.
My hand had barely lifted from my side when the door suddenly clicked. I froze. The handle turned. The door eased open.
And there she was.
"Nonna?" I breathed out, half shock, half relief. She wheeled herself into the room with a brightness on her face I hadn’t seen all morning.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes sparkling with a delight that didn’t match anything happening around today.
"Oh, my sweet girl Katya," she said, waving one hand dramatically and smiling as though she’d just returned from an adventure instead of disappearing in the span of three minutes.
"You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Honestly? I felt like I had.
I hurried toward her. "Nonna, where did you go? I turned around for one second and...."
"Ah, ah," she clicked her tongue, motioning for to step aside so she could roll farther inside.
"I’m not a prisoner. I can move myself when I want to."
"Nonna," I said softly, kneeling a bit so we were eye-level. "You scared ."
Her smile softened, lines around her mouth easing. "I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t an to. I just stepped out for a mont."
A mont. Right.
A mont that sohow let her cross the hallway, down the corridor, without seeing or hearing anything.
Not with how silent she moved. Not with how busy everything was. Her fingers patted my cheek gently, grounding. "You worry too much."
I didn’t argue, but my heart was still uneasy.
Nonna’s gaze flicked behind , toward the balcony chair, then around the room, as if she were checking sothing off in her mind.
Then her smile returned "Did you get the water?"
"Yes," I said, pointing at the glass on the table. "I brought it up right away."
"Good girl." Her tone was fond, but distracted. Like she wasn’t fully focused on anymore.
I watched her a mont longer.Sothing was different.
Not wrong.
Just... I don’t even know. Was I overthinking again? Nonna’s shoulders looked lighter.
Her expression softer. And there was a little spark— like all her worries had been washed away.
"Nonna," I said slowly, "why does everyone seem so... nervous today?"
She blinked once then twice and then, the smile brightened. "Do they?" she said gently, almost too gently.
"I an...I uh.." I fumbled with words. Great. Words. Gone. My brain, usually so sharp, decided to pack its bags and leave standing there like an awkward statue.
Nonna watched flounder for a full second before she suddenly laughed, a warm, rich, delighted sound that filled the room like sunlight.
"Oh, my sweet girl," she said, pressing a hand dramatically to her heart. "Look at you. So stiff! Relax, darling. You’re acting as if the world is ending."
I blinked. "I’m not stiff."
"You are," she insisted, wagging a finger at . "Your shoulders are up to your ears. You look like a startled kitten."
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