Luna's POV - The Confusion
Luna sat on the edge of the bed, her small fingers twirling the hem of her shirt, her mind racing in confusion. The quiet of the room felt like a blanket suffocating her, and every now and then, she would look over to the door, wondering when her mom would come in. It had been a while since Raven had left, and though she didn't say it, Luna could feel the tension hanging in the air. She knew something was wrong. People talked in hushed voices, and every time someone moved past her, they looked at her like they were trying to figure her out.
Her small chest tightened as she remembered what she had overheard earlier—whispers, sharp voices, her name being mentioned like it was some kind of secret. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as if something was slipping out of her grasp, something that made her chest ache with a feeling she couldn't quite place.
Luna wanted to ask her mom what was going on. She wanted to ask why things felt different. But Raven had been distracted lately. She'd been distracted ever since he came back—the man who wasn't supposed to be in their lives anymore.
That man.
Luna didn't remember much about him, but she remembered enough to know he had been angry. He was someone who made her mom cry. She remembered the time she had heard them yelling through the walls. Raven had looked so sad, and she hadn't smiled for days after that.
Raven was stronger than anyone Luna knew, but lately, it seemed like her strength was fading, like there was too much weight on her shoulders. Luna could feel it. It was in the way Raven's eyes looked when she thought no one was watching—empty and lost. And that man, the one Luna could barely recall, seemed to be the cause of it all.
She had seen him earlier today. The tall, sharp-dressed man who had made her feel... scared. His voice had been cold, like ice, and when he looked at her, she had felt something like a cold wind wash over her.
Luna frowned, biting her lip. She didn't like how he made her feel. He didn't smile like her mom did when she was happy. He didn't speak like the nice men who talked to her at the park or at school. He spoke like someone who wanted something—and Luna knew, deep down, it was something bad.
She hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the door again, hoping for Raven to walk in. She wanted her mom to tell her everything would be okay. But she didn't know if that would happen anymore. Luna had heard bits and pieces—fragments of the world grown too big for her to understand. But the one thing she knew for certain was that her mom and the man were not okay.
Something was wrong.
And Luna didn't like it.
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Aurelio's POV - The Weight of Truth
Aurelio stood in the doorway of the office, staring at the back of Raven's head. She was hunched over the desk, her dark hair falling like a curtain around her face. The lines of exhaustion were evident on her features, and the tension in her shoulders made him feel like he was standing on the edge of a cliff. He had been staring at her for a while now, lost in his own thoughts, as they both tried to digest the truth of what had come to light.
The words "I have a daughter" still echoed in his mind. The truth was both liberating and devastating. He had always thought there was something missing from his life, something unfulfilled. Now he knew what it was. Luna. His daughter.
But that knowledge was tainted by the circumstances of her existence—tangled in lies, secrets, and the suffocating grip of people like Enzo. Aurelio's jaw clenched at the thought of the man who had been pulling the strings behind the scenes, a man whose name he hadn't known until now. He had always believed Raven was the key to his redemption, but now, it seemed, the past was coming for them with full force, and he didn't know how to protect the fragile life they had built.
The silence between them was thick, like the calm before a storm. He stepped into the room slowly, unable to keep his distance any longer. His fingers curled into fists as he approached the desk, the weight of the unspoken words pressing down on him. He needed answers. He needed to understand why Raven had kept this from him, why she had chosen to fight this battle alone.
When he reached her, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Raven stiffened, her body language signaling that she was preparing for another confrontation. He hated that it had come to this—that they couldn't simply talk, that the truth was such a loaded weapon between them.
"You're not alone, Raven," he said quietly. "Not anymore."
She lifted her head, her eyes dark with pain and regret. Her lips parted as if she were going to say something, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat. Instead, she reached for the papers in front of her, pushing them aside as if trying to avoid the conversation.
"I don't need you to protect me, Aurelio," she said, her voice strained. "I made the decision. I thought it was the right one."
Aurelio felt a surge of frustration. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand. "You think I wouldn't have helped? That I wouldn't have stood by you, no matter what? Raven, you didn't have to go through this alone. I could've been there for you."
Raven turned away, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I didn't want you to get involved, Aurelio. I didn't want you to hate me for keeping Luna from you."
His heart twisted at her words. Raven had thought she was protecting him, protecting them both, but in doing so, she had locked him out of a piece of himself. He had a daughter. A child who deserved a father in her life, not the lingering ghosts of her parents' mistakes.
Aurelio's hand slid gently under her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. "You're not the only one who's been hurt by this, Raven. But we're here now. And we're going to make this right. For Luna."
Her eyes softened, but there was still a cloud of doubt lingering in them. "I don't know how to make it right. I don't know if there's a way to undo the damage."
Aurelio's expression hardened. "Then we'll fix it together. I'm not going anywhere."
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Luna's POV – The Storm Inside
Luna's small body trembled as she listened from the doorway, hidden in the shadows. She had heard every word. Her mother's voice, broken and unsure, and the man's—his words wrapping around her heart like a vice. She wanted to run. To hide. To make it stop. But the truth was slipping through her fingers, and she couldn't stop it.
Her legs felt heavy as she backed away from the door, but something—someone—stopped her. Luna turned to find a pair of eyes watching her, filled with concern. It was Isabella, standing just outside the room, her expression somber.
"Are you okay, Luna?" Isabella's voice was gentle, but Luna could hear the unspoken question in her tone.
Luna nodded, though it felt wrong. Nothing about this felt okay. She wanted to be a little girl again, where things made sense, where she could pretend her parents weren't haunted by their pasts.
Isabella crouched down to her level, her voice soft and reassuring. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. Your mom and Aurelio, they're just figuring things out. But you don't need to worry. They're going to fix this."
Luna didn't know if she could believe that. She had heard the storm in their voices. She had felt the coldness in the air. She didn't know how much longer she could hide from the storm that was coming.
"I want to be with my mom," Luna whispered, her voice barely audible. She wanted to feel safe again. She wanted to forget the words she had overheard.
Isabella stood up, her expression softening. "I know, sweetie. Let's go find her. She needs you just as much as you need her."
As Isabella led her down the hallway, Luna couldn't shake the feeling that the world around her was shifting. Her mother's secrets, her own questions—everything felt like it was unraveling. And Luna wasn't sure if they could put it all back together again.