Fragile Longing

by Cora Reilly

Thou shalt not covet. I’d pined for Danilo even when he had still been engaged to my sister. It had been an innocent infatuation of a young girl, fantasizing how things would be if he were mine. My knight-in-shining armor, my Disney prince.

Highly unlikely

It was unreasonable to blame Serafina for any of this. She was the victim. She’d suffered for all our sins and would continue to do so.

Exactly, you self absorbed prat.

knew Samuel didn’t mean to hurt me, and I knew I could never replace Serafina. She and Samuel had always been a unit. They were twins. Their bond was special, and I’d always accepted it. Yet, after hearing his words, I felt crushed, knowing that the same thoughts were probably going through Danilo’s mind.

That poor, poor girl.

“Those weren’t official photos, and we’re not together yet, so he can do what he wants. It’s my problem that I feel insecure about

his actions.”

Someone drank the kool aid

“You look like a bad copy of your sister. Do you want people to badmouth your family again because of what happened?” “I–I didn’t mean it like that.”

She can't win with him. He is an a$$

I’d messed up often in the past, and now I needed to figure out a way to make it up to my fiancée. Problem was my pride. It had always been and would always be a problem.

That's lame.

I’d changed whenever he’d been around, trying to adapt to his behavior, trying to anticipate his wishes. Trying to be whoever he wanted me to be. To become who I thought he wanted me to be, I’d lost myself. I’d sold myself short, given up my pride. Thinking of how proud Mom was, I felt ashamed of my actions.

Sheesh, she was just a kid.

“Be selfish for once, Sofia. In this world, we women get so few choices, so little freedom. We have to grasp happiness by the collar and drag it with us. We can’t hope for happiness to jump into our lap. Be selfish. You deserve it.”

What a horrible life.

I’d always considered myself a loyal person, but at the first chance, I’d stabbed myself in the back, ditched my true self for an image I thought I needed to be, and where had it gotten me?

We do that so often.

But I was done finding excuses for his actions, done trying to be what he wanted, what he needed, because so far, he’d done nothing to deserve my kindness or affection.

Yes! Exactly! Thank you.

Anna was right. I needed to stand up for myself for the first time in years, not just against Danilo, but also against my family. I needed to

make them see that while they’d lost Fina without a choice, they’d w...

Shame on them.

“I wouldn’t have touched you if I’d known it was you.” The actual words I’m sorry were too difficult for me to say. It was a bad habit I couldn’t shake.

That's not okay.

“Yeah, because I mentioned Fina.” “Maybe you should stop mentioning her.” She was right. I was like a broken record when it came to my sister. “I know.”

It really is getting old

I wanted to be respected and loved, but more than that, I wanted to be seen, to be in control for once.

I can understand that

Love doesn’t work from a distance. You can only love whom you know. Love means work and dedication, but most of all, time.”

Okay, that is true.

Where I was prideful, Sofia was humble. Where I was vengeful, she was forgiving. Where I was short-tempered, she was patient.

Kind of?