Lost Gem

Chapter 27 (Her spirit and her will lives on)

Anastasia looks up from her curled up position at the same moment the door of her room opens. Allesandro enters with a frown etched on his face.

"You didn't come down for breakfast. Is everything ok?" He crouches down in front of her.

His eyes never betrayed the gentle look in them. He looks worried with his whole heart.

"Have you been crying, Ana?" He traces the outlines of tears soaked at her face and heaves a small sigh.

"I want to help, Anastasia. I really do. You are my daughter and it's my responsibility to take care of you." He presses her hand to his lips while taking a note of her cold skin.

"Ana.... Just tell me. Please. I can't bear seeing you getting hurt each and every second."

Anastasia stares at him. The more she stares, the more she feels her bottom lip quivering.

"I-is that m-my f-fault, you think? T-then I-I'm sorry I-I didn't m-mean to." A painful whimper leaves as she speaks with so much hurt in her tone that Allesandro feels his heart clenching with each second.

It takes him few seconds to understand her predicament. He sighs again and squeezes her hand.

"I want to show you something. Come with me."

Anastasia frowns in confusion as he tugs her out of the bed.

She follows him silently while he leads her to a silent and unknown hallway. Reason, because she never had a proper tour of the mansion. She was never intersted and so much had been going on since the moment she was brought here.

He finally pauses at the end of the hallway and with a key, he opens the white door. His hand never leaves his daughter's hand.

Both of them take a step inside a dark room. Nothing is visible to her eyes here.

Then all of a suden the lights turns on simultaneously almost blinding Anastasia's weak stare.

Her mouth suddenly drops after seeing various pictures sticking at the walls in all corners of the room.

"Your mother Angelina-- Anastasio's voice catches her attention. That's when she notices that in every picture there is a person with similar red-hair like her own.

"--well I could say it was our little ritual. We clicked pictures each day as you can see from since the moment we met each other."

He pulls her forward, starting from the wall beside the door.

"Here." He points at the first picture.

"It was the first day, we met. The day I fell in love with the most beautiful girl in this world."

Anastasia notices that her mother is of her age in this moment and she looks exactly like her.

Her breath hitches in her throat.

This is the woman who gave birth to her. Her mother.

"It was love at first sight for both of us. She had changed schools as her family moved in this country. We went to the same school you go too." He tells her with a distant, soft smile on his face.

He releases her hand unconsciously and Anastasia takes it as her opportunity to observe.

She takes a step forward gazing at everything.

In each photo her mother and father are together. Partying, studying, cuddling, kissing and staring in each other's eyes with such love like nothing else matters.

She moves to the section where the photos of their wedding were held. Each photo tells a different story of their life. Including her brothers too.

It takes her an complete hour to finally reach the last section where she assumes that her mother is pregnant with Ermanno and her and she also takes a note that she is reaching the ending point. It makes her heart hurt.