Chapter 17 - The Letter From PrisonThree years after Vanessa's conviction, a letter arrived.
Ethan almost threw it away.
The handwriting was hers.
Olivia saw the envelope.
“You don't have to open it.”
“I know.”
He opened it anyway.
Vanessa wrote about prison.
About therapy.
About finally understanding the difference between love and possession.
She did not ask for forgiveness.
That surprised Ethan.
Instead, she asked him to tell Sophie one thing:
“You were right.”
Ethan stared at the sentence.
Vanessa wrote:
I thought fear would make people stay.
I thought control was the same thing as love.
I was wrong.
Ethan folded the letter.
Olivia watched him.
“Do you believe her?”
“I believe she finally understands what she did.”
“Is that enough?”
“No.”
“Will it ever be?”
“Maybe not.”
He placed the letter away.
Some wounds did not need to be reopened.
Some doors could remain closed.
May you like
Forgiveness, Ethan realized, was not always reunion.
Sometimes it was simply refusing to carry someone else's darkness.
Related Stories
