Chapter 42: I Can Give You Your Voice Back
Eleonore’s POV
‘Aunty Alethea,’ I signed as I stared at the woman in front of me. Her long black hair was tied straight and sleek against her back, not even giving the faintest sway as she stepped past me into my home.
I could only stare, my eyes agape, for some time before my own thoughts gathered back to me and I shut the door. I hadn’t seen the woman in fourteen years, not since I was eleven on the day of my parents’ funeral. I hadn’t been in contact with any of my maternal relatives, least of all the estranged aunt on my father’s side.
I barely saw her at family gatherings when my parents were still alive.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked her as I followed her into the living room, where she saw Bastian standing still as the wind. He was staring at her with a suspicious look, and I couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t even given me any indication that she was going to be coming or, h*ll, that she even knew I was still alive.