Chapter 10 - No Longer His
On the tenth anniversary of the canceled wedding, Elena returned to the cathedral alone.
No press.
No event.
No flowers.
No music.
Just afternoon light through tall windows and dust moving like quiet snow.
The cathedral administrator let her in after hours.
“You can take as long as you need,” he said.
Elena thanked him and walked down the aisle.
Her footsteps echoed softly against the marble.
At the altar, she stood where she had once dropped the ring.
For a moment, she could almost see the sealed black envelope.
The recorder.
The deputies.
Adrian’s pale face.
Vanessa’s fear.
Her own hands shaking under lace.
Then the memory thinned.
The room became only a room.
Beautiful.
Imperfect.
No longer his.
She reached into her coat pocket and removed the old black recorder.
No battery now.
No red light.
Just plastic and history.
Julia had returned it after the final evidence process ended.
Elena had kept it in a drawer for years.
Now she placed it briefly on the altar.
Not as offering.
As acknowledgment.
Then she picked it back up.
She did not leave it there.
Her proof had done its work.
Her life no longer needed to remain evidence.
Outside, sunlight warmed the cathedral steps.
Elena stood at the top and looked down at the city moving without knowing the anniversary of anything.
Cars.
People.
A woman pushing a stroller.
Two teenagers laughing.
An old man carrying flowers.
Ordinary life.
The thing survival tries to reach.
Elena touched the faint scar near her shoulder through her coat.
May you like
Then let her hand fall.
She walked down the steps without looking back.
