I raised my hand, trembling.

—That mark… why do you have it?

Celia closed her eyes and took a step back.

The air grew heavy. The room stopped feeling like a suite and began to feel like a trap.

“Because I can no longer remain silent,” she whispered.

And when she opened her mouth to tell the truth, I understood that she couldn’t believe what was about to happen…

PART 2

I didn’t sit down. I couldn’t.

Celia did. She slumped down on the edge of the bed as if the years had suddenly fallen upon her.

—Twenty years ago —he finally said— I had a son.

First I felt strangeness. Then anger. After that, a kind of fear that tightened my chest.

—And what does that have to do with me?

She looked directly at me.