Three thousand stone steps led up the hill to its doors. I had once climbed every one of them on my knees.
That was four years ago, on the first anniversary of our marriage.
That day, our car had been hit on the road back from a sit-down. In the worst moment, he had thrown himself over me, shielding me from everything.
I believed that kind of love deserved everything I had in return.
He fell unconscious and would not wake. In my panic, someone told me the chapel's patron saint answered prayers that no one else would hear, so I climbed those steps on my knees and begged for a blessing charm.
When he woke, we returned together to give thanks.
He said it then.
"Adrian, we love each other this much. We'll always be together."
I had believed it without question.
Now I understood. It was nothing but a lie.
The third day, I went to the ginkgo tree.
We had planted it with our own hands.
The leaves trembled gently in the wind. The letters carved into the trunk had warped with years of growth, but they were still legible.
"Julian Moretti loves Adrian Bellandi. For this life and every life after."
He had held my hand over the bark that time too, guiding the blade. His carving was much neater than the first attempt.
The tree had grown tall enough to cast shade now.
But what we had between us had rotted long ago.
I raised my hand.
The workers who had been waiting behind me stepped forward immediately. The shriek of the electric saw split the silence open.
The foreman couldn't help himself. He asked.
"Miss Bellandi, this tree grew so well. Why cut it down?"
I was quiet for a long time.
Then I smiled, just barely.
"Because from the very beginning, it was a mistake."
Things born from lies were never meant to remain.
That night, I did not sleep at all.
After dawn, it would be Adrian Winslow and "Julian Frost's" fifth wedding anniversary.
It would also be the day I left.
I stood on the upper floor of the compound and watched them leave early, heading to the feast-night banquet hall. Before they went, they did not forget to remind me. I was expected to attend. To witness their happiness.
I nodded to their faces.
But the moment their car pulled through the gates, I dragged out the suitcase I had packed days ago.
A notification lit up my phone. The island transaction was complete.
I glanced at it. The corner of my mouth lifted, just slightly.