Aurelia's POV:-
I looked out of the window.
My eyes burned.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
It didn't help.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
Vincent noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
My voice betrayed me.
He didn't believe me.
"Aurelia."
I shook my head.
"I'm fine."
"You don't have to be."
That sentence broke the last piece of control I had.
My tears started falling.
"I loved her."
Vincent didn't interrupt.
"I really loved her."
My voice cracked.
"She wasn't just my aunt. She was family."
I wiped my face.
"When I went to New York, she made food for me."
Another tear.
"She gave me that gown."
I laughed bitterly through my tears.
"She stood there smiling at me."
My voice became smaller.
"And all that time…"
I couldn't finish.
Vincent reached for my hand.
I held it tightly.
"She knew."
I looked at him.
"She knew exactly who she was to me."
My breathing became uneven.
"And she still did it."
Vincent pulled me closer.
I rested my head against his chest.
"I keep thinking about it logically."
He gently ran his hand over my hair.
"I keep telling myself that she's guilty. That the evidence proves it. That she chose this. That she deserves the consequences."
My voice trembled.
"I know all of that."
I closed my eyes.
"But my heart doesn't understand it."
Vincent said nothing.
"I keep remembering her giving me food."
My tears soaked into his shirt.
"I keep remembering her calling me darling."
I took a shaky breath.
"She knew I trusted her."
Vincent held me tighter.
"And I was sitting there thinking I had finally found the person who killed my father."
I laughed weakly.
"I thought I was prepared."
I looked up at him.
"I wasn't."
He wiped a tear from my cheek.
"You don't have to be."
"But I'm a lawyer."
"I know."
"I should be able to separate facts from emotions."
"You're also a human being."
I stared at him.
He continued softly.
"You can know exactly what someone did and still grieve the person you thought they were."
That sentence silenced me.
My lips trembled.
"I hate that you're right."
He smiled faintly.
"I usually am."
I gave him a tiny laugh through my tears.
Then my expression fell again.
"What if I missed it?"
"You didn't."
"What if I should have known?"
"You couldn't have known."
"She was right in front of me."
"And she was pretending to be someone she wasn't."
I looked down.
"I trusted her."
"And trusting someone isn't a crime, Aurelia."
I swallowed.
"My brain keeps replaying everything."
"Then let it."
"What?"
"You don't have to solve every emotion tonight."
I stared at him.
"You've spent your entire life solving problems."
He gently squeezed my hand.
"This one doesn't need a verdict tonight."
My eyes filled again.
I leaned against him.
For the first time that night, I stopped trying to explain what I was feeling.
I simply cried.
And Vincent stayed.
No interrogation.
No advice.
No attempt to make it disappear.
Just his arms around me.
His hand resting gently against my hair.
Letting me fall apart without making me feel weak for it.
After a long silence, I whispered,
"She was my second mother."
"I know."
"And now…"
My voice broke.
"I don't even know what she is to me."
Vincent looked at me.
"She can be the person who betrayed you."
I waited.
"And you can still mourn the aunt you thought you had."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
"You make everything sound so simple."
"No."
He shook his head.
"I just don't want you to punish yourself for someone else's choices."
I closed my eyes.
For once, my mind had no argument.
Only exhaustion.
Only grief.
And him.