Few Minutes Before The Lake
Lydia lay curled on her bed, sobbing quietly into her pillow. Her whole body shook, but she tried to silence the sound of her cries, as if hiding them from herself would make them less real.
Her lips whispered again and again, "It's not my business… it's not my business… I don't care."
She tried to convince herself that Ivan's reckless decision to dive into the lake for that necklace meant nothing to her. She told herself over and over that she never sent him there. It was his choice. If he wanted to waste his strength, let him. That's what she tried to believe.
But her heart betrayed her. The sharp ache in her chest only grew stronger the more she repeated those words. She pressed her palm against her heart as if she could quiet it, but the pounding would not stop.
"What if…" the thought came to her like a whisper she could not silence.
