Chapter 13 - Eight Years After Chiara’s “Death,” She Finally Sat at Her Piano Again—And the Song She Played Made Me CryOne year after the arrests, we restored the ballroom.
The piano remained exactly where it had always been.
No one had touched it.
Until Chiara sat down.
She placed her hands on the keys.
For a moment, she couldn't play.
She cried.
I stood behind her.
"You don't have to."
She smiled.
"Yes, I do."
Then she played.
A song I knew.
The one she used to play when we were newly married.
Mia sat on the floor.
Giulia stood nearby.
Valentina watched from the doorway.
For the first time in eight years, the house didn't feel haunted.
It felt alive.
After the song, Chiara looked at me.
"I thought I would never come back."
"I thought I lost you."
"You did."
"I know."
"But you found me."
"Mia did."
She laughed.
"Fair."
Later that night, she asked:
"Would you marry me again?"
I looked at her.
"We're already married."
"Our marriage existed for one year before I disappeared."
"Then?"
"I want to choose it again."
I smiled.
"Yes."
We planned a new ceremony.
No secrets.
No weapons.
May you like
No lies.
Just family.
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