Formidable Love

CHAPTER 38

Dr. Kimberly's gentle voice coaxed me deeper, a spelunker navigating the caverns of my forgotten past. Weeks bled into one another, each session a frustrating dance with wisps of smoke and fleeting flashes of light.

One day, a breakthrough of sorts. Dr. Kimberly's guided meditation led me to a chaotic scene - a park, the frantic shouts of children, the jarring scrape of metal. A figure, small, with messy brown hair, darted in front of me. My heart lurched, a primal protectiveness flooding my system. But the image dissolved as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a stinging frustration.

"Just a glimpse," I mumbled, the familiar hollowness settling in my chest. "I can't even see his face."
Dr. Kimberly, however, remained undeterred. "It's progress, Alessia. These flashes are your mind testing the waters. The more we delve in, the clearer they'll become."

Her words offered a flicker of hope. Each session felt like chipping away at a thick stone wall, the process slow and arduous. There were days when I questioned the point, the emotional toll threatening to drown me.
But then, a new detail would emerge - the scent of freshly baked cookies, the warmth of a small hand tucked in mine. These fragments, though incomplete, evoked a strange sense of longing, a yearning for a connection I couldn't quite grasp.

Then, one particularly harrowing session, I found myself reliving the fire. The inferno raged, fueled by a terror that stole my breath. But amidst the roaring flames, a new image flickered to life - a woman, engulfed in flames, her scream a horrific symphony of pain. A jolt of recognition ripped through me, a primal pang of grief. Amelia Montanari. My heart hammered against my ribs.

Luciano's words echoed inside my head.
It was the fire that took her out.
They burned her alive.
Tears welled up in my eyes, hot and stinging. This wasn't just fear. This was a different kind of pain, raw and agonizing. I was very much present. Aunt Amelia's loss felt like a gaping wound, but now, the memory of her final moments was a searing brand on my soul.

The muted phone screen mocked me from my hand, the silence in the room screaming louder than any ringtone. Dr. Kimberly's session had unearthed a truth so deep it felt like a forgotten language.

The Montanari mansion, a raging inferno, flickered behind my eyelids. My heart hammered a frantic tattoo against my ribs. A memory surfaced - a hazy figure with bright eyes, lost in the chaos of the fire - my brother. A choked sob escaped my lips, a sound raw with grief and laced with a sliver of terror.

Taking a shuddering breath, I forced myself together. Luciano wouldn't understand. He believed the trauma fractured my memories of that night, not some deliberate act of burying them. But a bigger question gnawed at me - why was I, an Alessia Medici, even at the Montanari mansion that fateful night? My family wasn't close to the Montanari's until Luciano revealed our relationship to our families. The connection we shared was a mystery buried as deep as the memories Dr. Kimberly had helped me exhume.

Wiping away damp cheeks, I pressed the call button.
"Luciano," I answered, my voice thick with unshed tears.
"Alessia! How was your day, love?" His voice, warm and laced with concern, washed over me. A choked laugh escaped my throat.
"Uneventful," I managed, forcing a lightness that felt foreign. "Just the usual."
"Any progress with your shrink?"
I hesitated. How could I explain the maelstrom of emotions churning within me? "We're...working on things," I mumbled.
"That's good, cara mia. Don't push yourself too hard."
Luciano's tenderness was a balm, yet it amplified the guilt gnawing at me. He deserved the truth, but how could I share a truth that threatened to shatter everything we thought we knew?

"How about yours?" I asked, desperate to shift the focus.
"We're getting closer, Alessia," he said, his voice hardening with resolve. "Our men spotted some activities near the southern borders. We'll have him soon."
"That's wonderful news, Luciano," I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
"I'll be home soon," he promised. "We can celebrate then."

I stared at the dead phone, the impending celebration a cruel joke. How could I celebrate when a part of my past had risen from its grave, a vengeful ghost demanding its dues? I closed my eyes, a silent plea escaping my lips.

The weight of the secret threatened to crush me, and for the first time, I yearned to confide in Luciano, to share the burden of this unearthed truth. But a seed of doubt had been sown. Could I trust my own memories? And more importantly, could I trust myself, given the murky secret my past held?

The phone call with Luciano ended, leaving a hollow echo in its wake. The usual warmth in his voice felt distant, a stark contrast to the turmoil churning within me.

Dr. Kimberly's session had cracked open a dam of repressed memories, and the torrent threatening to break free terrified me. My brother, a face lost in flames, a ghost from a past I didn't understand. But the most unsettling realization was my presence at the Montanari mansion that fateful night. Why was I, Alessia Medici, even there? The connection between our families, shrouded in secrecy, felt like a tangled web waiting to ensnare me.

Anxiety gnawed at me. Each approaching day felt like a ticking time bomb. Luciano's mission to capture Auditore, the vengeful assassin, felt like a relentless march towards a precipice. While I didn't know Auditore personally, the whispers painted a chilling picture - a lone wolf ostracized by the noble families, his entire clan wiped out by the Pazzi. Now, his vengeance wasn't confined to them, but spread like a wildfire to all who stood by and did nothing. The thought of Luciano, my fiancé, embroiled in this bloody conflict sent shivers down my spine.

My silence felt like a betrayal, a secret festering and growing heavier with each passing moment. I couldn't wait for the truth to unearth itself at the hands of Auditore's vengeance. It was suffocating, threatening to poison the very foundation of our love and the fragile peace we held onto. I dialed Dr. Kimberly's number, my hand trembling slightly.

"Doctor" I said, my voice tight with urgency, "We need to talk. Now. This can't wait any longer."
There was a brief pause, then Dr. Rossi's calm voice came through the receiver. "Alessia, what's happened?"
"Memories," I blurted out, a torrent of emotions threatening to spill over. "New ones, horrifying ones. There's so much I don't understand. Dr. Rossi, I need you to help me unearth everything, even if it hurts. Because before long, the truth will find us, and I fear it might destroy the fragile peace we have, and engulf us all in bloodshed."