Rain slashed sideways across the terrace, the sea heaving in the dark like it wanted to climb the cliffs. Inside, the walls of La Sirena groaned with wind, and the fire spat in protest.
Lina stood barefoot in the kitchen, her hair wet from when she'd run out to check the noise—another page, nailed to the door this time. She held it like a threat.
Milo entered, soaked to the bone. "Went looking for you."
She didn't look up. "I was here. Trying not to panic."
He tossed his coat onto a chair, water pooling around it. "Then why were you crying?"
Lina met his eyes, slow and steady. "Because I read it. And I remembered."
Silence stretched.
She held up the paper. Her own words, once again.
> "He hit the wall before I touched him. That's what I tell myself. But I don't know if I meant to shove him. I don't know if I wanted him to drown."
Milo didn't reach for it. "And do you?"
"I wanted him to hurt. That night, I hated him more than I ever loved him." She laughed, bitter and small. "But no. I didn't want him dead."
Milo poured a glass of grappa. "Intent doesn't always matter. Not to the world."
"I can't even tell if I'm confessing to you," she said. "Or trying to be forgiven."
He handed her the glass. "You ever think maybe the pages aren't meant to punish you? Maybe they're a way out?"
"Out of what?"
"Whatever this is." He gestured at the tension between them. "This limbo. Guilt. Whatever keeps you up every damn night."
Lina took a long sip, eyes on the window. "You still think I didn't do it?"
He hesitated. "I think you don't even know if you did."
She turned to face him fully. "And what if I did? What if you're sleeping with someone who let a man drown?"
Milo's jaw clenched. He walked to the fire, back to her, before answering. "Then I'm worse than I thought."
Her voice dropped. "You're not a saviour, Milo."
He turned around. "And you're not a monster."
Something broke between them—quietly, but for good. He came to her, slow, deliberate, and brushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't flinch.
"You're just someone who survived," he said. "That's enough."
For now.