I swear I know your face (but I don't know who you are)

chapter 12

Y/n ran her hands on her jacket, trying to control her anxiety. Despite being tired, she hadn't slept during the plane trip. She had dozed off a few hours later, in the hotel room that Ariana was able to find at the last minute in the capital; a small room with a double bed, very different from those they had lodged in the previous days but they couldn't find anything else at such short notice.

Camila was so tired that she didn't even argue that they were about to share a bed. They fell asleep immediately. Y/n went out silently, leaving Camila to rest and she had met Ariana to supervise the opening and inauguration. Given the sweltering of the day, they had decided to move the ceremony to the evening, at sunset, trying to avoid the hottest hours.

Y/n was back in the room in the afternoon, tired and sweaty, only to find Camila sitting on the bed with wet hair. Y/n smiled gently apologizing for the long absence and she explained the plans for the rest of the day. After taking a shower, Camila suggested that she should rest, as her and Adam were going to find something for dinner. After eating what Camila had kindly brought, y/n began to feel like a lion in a cage. 

She had spent her time walking back and forth across the room, running her hands through her hair, straightening her shirt and checking that everything was in the right place. Before Adam got crazy, he decided to escort Y/n to the appointed place and y/n was there in that moment with sweaty hands and a head full of thoughts that didn't seem to want leave her. Y/n jumped when a warm hand touched her shoulder and she turned to face the man who had become almost a father to her.

“They all would be very proud of you, Y/F/N.” Adam murmured tilting his head to the side.

Y/n closed her eyes for a second, while a knot formed in her throat at the thought of all the bad choices she had made in the recent years and the past five days. Her mother would have looked at her with that sad look that had always been reserved for discussions with her father, her father would have looked at her with eyes full of disapproval and Victoria ... Victoria would have been shuddered knowing the approach she had tried with Camila.

“I disagree." She said with a sigh. “They would be all very disappointed with how I've led my life in the past years.”

“Y/n...” Adam sighed gently squeezing her shoulder. “We all make mistakes, we would not be human otherwise but the most important thing is realizing what we did wrong and trying to fix it.”

“I don't know how to do it.” she said in a weak voice. “I don't know how to solve those mistakes, I-” she stopped swallowing. “Look at Camila, I did everything wrong with her and I'm sure that after this week she won't want to see me ever again and I can't blame her for that.”

Adam had no answer to that statement, he had found very bizarre the way y/n had approached Camila but he had been witnessing the changes between the two. Yes, Camila was initially unwilling, cold and distant but Adam had seen both make steps to get closer, to get to know each other and he was almost entirely sure that after that week things wouldn't end there.

“It's time.”

Ariana interrupted the conversation and Y/n tried to calm the beat of her heart and took a deep breath while Adam, after patting her shoulder again, walked away leaving her with her lawyer.

“Are you ready?” Ariana asked with concern. “I can d-”

Y/n shook her head. “I'm ready.” she said confidently.

The lawyer smiled proudly and walked away leaving her alone again, preparing to announce y/n. A small stage had been assembled and ariana had placed the chairs in the middle of what was once the center of the town, allowing people to sit neatly. She closed her eyes and let herself be guided by Ariana's voice.