Chapter 12: I Was No Longer Waiting

The next few weeks passed quietly.

For the first time in my life, quiet didn't feel lonely.

It felt peaceful.

I threw myself into my research and started preparing for my new position after graduation.

I stopped checking my family's social media.

I stopped wondering whether they missed me.

And most importantly, I stopped wondering whether I had done something wrong by leaving.

Then, one evening, my phone rang.

The number was unfamiliar.

I almost ignored it.

But something made me answer.

Alejandra?

I recognized my father's voice immediately.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

What do you want?

There was a long silence.

Your mother wants to talk to you.

I closed my eyes.

For months, I had imagined this moment.

I had imagined my mother apologizing.

I had imagined her finally admitting that she had chosen Isabela over me.

But now that the call had actually come, I felt strangely calm.

I don't think there's anything left to say.

My father sighed.

You should hear her out.

She's your mother.

I almost laughed.

She was my mother when I was growing up too.

That didn't stop her from leaving me behind.

Another silence followed.

Then my father's voice became quieter.

We know about the milk.

My heart went still.

What?

We found out there was more footage.

Your sister admitted everything.

She admitted she had been putting sleeping pills in your drinks for months.

She also admitted she tampered with your college documents.

I stared at the wall.

For months, I had suspected that she wanted to destroy my future.

Now there was proof.

Why are you telling me this?

Because we were wrong.

My father's voice cracked.

We protected her because we thought she needed us more.

But we never realized how much we were hurting you.

I didn't answer.

He continued.

Your mother wants you to come home.

She says she wants to make things right.

I looked out the window.

Snow had started falling over the city.

I remembered the girl who used to sit alone in her grandmother's house, waiting for a family that never came.

That girl would have given anything to hear those words.

But I wasn't that girl anymore.

Tell Mom I forgive her.

My father's breathing caught.

You do?

Yes.

But forgiveness doesn't mean I have to come back.

I heard him exhale slowly.

I understand.

For once, he didn't argue.

Before hanging up, he said one last thing.

Your mother wants you to know that she is proud of you.

I smiled sadly.

I don't need her pride anymore.

I ended the call.

My hands were trembling, but my heart wasn't.

I had spent eighteen years waiting to be chosen.

Now I finally understood something.

I didn't need to be chosen.

I could choose myself.

I opened my laptop and looked at the acceptance letter for my new research position.

Then I clicked confirm.

For the first time, the future in front of me belonged entirely to me.

And I wasn't afraid of it anymore.