Sera let out a breath. "Benedict and I had a… conversation before he died. It was illuminating."
"Tell me."
Claudia leaned forward. "Word for word, Sera. Every single thing Benedict said. Do not leave anything out."
*****
Lina walked Sera to the bus stop that evening, the streetlamps already waking one by one.
"So," Lina said, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets as the cold crept in, "you know what you're going to do now? Whether it's true or not?"
Sera nodded, her hair tucked beneath a knitted cap. "It's true," she said quietly. "I just… I'm disappointed that he didn't tell me himself."
Lina stopped walking. "Then why are you going back there?"
Sera looked down the road, where the bus would appear any minute. "Because I belong there now."
"If you love this man as much as you say you do," Lina said gently, "I don't think you should be living under the same roof with him."
