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We had never been the same

He lifted his gaze and met mine in the mirror “Yes?”

When I was a child, he never noticed me because I was too short But I was atiht And unfortunately, I inherited all of his flaws—his coldness and his cruelty

His deep voice reverberated against the wall, filling every roo who’d ruled it centuries ago Life hadn’t been kind to hiradually darkened like the stone that comprised the walls of this enorround for a family of four But now that he was just a e coffin

I stepped out of the darkness of the hallway and entered his bedroo of solitude I could feel the loneliness he never showed, the tears he never shed “You asked for rown man His lack of affection always disappointed me, but I respected him all the same

After his watch was secured, he rolled down his sleeves and eyed his wedding ring once again, as if he were tempted to put it on and travel back in time, to fix the mistakes it was too late to correct

He turned around, his chin up and his shoulders strong “I have awith me”

The car stopped at the black iron gates, an ie of a stallion carved into the bars Once the security detail allowed us through, we drove up the gravel and approached the three-story estate that sat on prime Tuscan land Summer was just around the corner, so dusk caht o’clock, and the sky was still tinted with hues of pink and purple

The car circled the large fountain in the center, and I admired the ancient cobblestone that made up the walls of the rew up along the sides, it was clearly a faenerations, starting with ancient ancestral royalty until the present time It was unlikely this property had been purchased in the last five years

I tilted s at the sa here?”

My father glanced at his watch “Your guess is as good as mine” His door was opened, and he stepped out

I got out as well, and ere escorted inside, entering an enor chandelier Artwork from the 1800s was on the walls, mostly landscapes of lilies and ponds

Theus into an enors and sculptures I’d grown up with money, so I knehat different levels existed My faal nitude, this family was aristocracy