Chapter 15
Ramona took longer.
Three years.
She asked to see Lucy first.
I said no.
Then Alina said no.
More important.
Eventually Ramona wrote directly to Alina.
No request for Lucy.
Good.
She admitted jealousy.
That surprised me.
Not romantic.
Status.
Ramona spent her entire life being told Carbone women mattered because of the branch they were born into.
Then Alina entered with no pedigree anyone respected and became my wife.
Loved.
Consulted.
Centered.
Ramona felt something she could not admit:
If Alina could matter without noble blood, then Ramona’s blood had not earned her as much as she believed.
That was the wound beneath “cheap.”
She needed hierarchy to make her own value feel stable.
Alina read the letter once.
Then stored it.
No response for months.
Eventually she sent two words.
I understand.
May you like
Not I forgive.
Different.
