Natalia:
The moment I was alone, I pulled my shawl tighter around my shoulders and walked toward the furthest edge of the garden, somewhere behind the east courtyard where no one really came this time of day. I was no fool to protocol, but I also needed time alone and staying there was not going to do me any good.
My chest was still tight with frustration, with the biting echo of his words days ago and the simmering cold of his silence since. And the fact that I needed to endure it day and night, knowing that this was how my life was going to be.
I didn’t even realize I had my phone in hand until it began to ring.
I nearly ignored it. I wanted to ignore it. I wanted the peace, the solace, the time to be alone. But that was something that I was deprived from. I wasn't dumb enough to rea
