“We keep going. One day at a time.”
He nodded.
“I’m still going to therapy.”
“Good.”
“And I’m going to keep showing up. Even when it’s hard. Even when I’m ashamed.”
“That’s all I ask.”
He looked at me with red, exhausted eyes.
“Do you think we’ll be okay?”
I smiled sadly.
“I think we’re going to try. And that’s enough for now.”
Three months later, the court case concluded.
Lucía was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and financial exploitation.
Javier didn’t attend the sentencing.
But I did.
I sat in the back of the courtroom and watched as the judge read the verdict.
Lucía looked smaller somehow. Pale. Deflated.
When the sentence was announced, she didn’t cry.
She just stared straight ahead.
As they led her out, her eyes found mine.
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
I didn’t smile. I didn’t glare.
I just looked at her.
And then she was gone.
Outside the courthouse, Blanca was waiting for me.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Do you feel guilty?”
I thought about it.
“No. I feel sad. But not guilty.”
She nodded.
