We are not going back

Chapter eighty-six

I stood in the crowd at the new president's inauguration. The cold air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. My focus was on the stage, where Kamala stood, radiant as always, delivering her final speech as President of the United States after two terms.

Four years had passed since that night in Greenland, and yet the memories were carved into me as deeply as the scars that marred my skin. I traced the rough, raised lines of my palm and forearm, each scar a painful reminder of all that had happened-the blood, the fear, and the finality of it all.

I still remember Elivio's voice encouraging me to go back and as much as I wanted to stay- I knew he was right.

As Kamala spoke on stage, her words wrapping around me like a warm embrace, my mind drifted, just for a moment, to the cold, frozen tundra of Greenland. To Olivia's body, buried deep beneath the snow, a secret that had died with her. No one knew. No one ever would. The world believed Olivia had vanished long before she truly died, but I knew the truth. I had been the one to end it.

To free myself.

The memory of that night still lingered in my bones- the sting of the wind, the taste of blood, the feel of the knife in my hand as I plunged it into her heart. The battle with Olivia had been a war not just of bodies but of minds. She had owned me once, twisted me, but in that moment, I reclaimed everything she'd taken.

Her death was my release.

Yet, even as I stood here, free from her grasp, the scars -both seen and unseen- remained. Olivia's presence, her manipulation, had shaped so much of my life. And though she was gone, buried in the ice, her shadow sometimes still flickered at the edges of my mind. But that was the past. A dark chapter I'd survived, one I no longer allowed to define me.

Kamala's voice pulled me back to the present, to the warmth of this moment, to the love that had saved me. The future was bright now. I had made it.

We had made it.

And Olivia? She was nothing more than a ghost in the snow.

Kamala's rang out, strong and sure, captivating the entire nation just as she always had. But today, there was something different in her tone- something more personal. Her eyes, sharp and full of purpose, scanned the crowd, but when they found mine, everything else seemed to fade away. In that moment, it was just the two of us, as if the thousands of people surrounding us had disappeared.

"And now," Kamala's voice softened, but it still carried the weight of the moment, "before I leave this office, I need to take a moment to speak from my heart. I've spent years leading this country, but there's someone who has led me- guided me, strengthened me, loved me through everything. Someone who has shown me the meaning of true courage, and who has sacrificed more than anyone knows."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The crowd fell into a hushed silence as Kamala's eyes locked onto mine. I could see the emotion swimming in her gaze, the love she didn't even attempt to hide.

"Eleonora," she said, her voice thick with emotion, "you are the strongest person I have ever known. You've walked through fire -more than anyone ever should- and you came out the other side with the most beautiful heart. You've faced challenges that would have broken most people, but you... you stood tall, and you did it all with grace and courage. I am so incredibly proud to love you."

Tears filled my eyes, and I wiped at them quickly, trying to keep my composure. Kamala's words cut through me, raw and powerful, reminding me of everything we'd been through- everything I had survived, and everything we had overcome together.

"You are a woman who loves with her entire heart," Kamala continued, her voice growing stronger, more sure. "You give everything to the people you care about, and I am privileged -so privileged- to be loved by you. Your kindness, your loyalty, your unwavering strength... you make me better every single day. I've never known a love like yours, and I will spend the rest of my life being worthy of it."