It was Sunday, the shop was quiet, sunlight spilling through the front window, dust dancing in the air.
Isabella was wiping the counter for the third time, even though it was already clean.
"You're in love." said Andrea
She froze.
"What?" she laughed lightly, not looking at him. "Don't be ridiculous."
Andrea leaned against the shelf, arms crossed. He wasn't smiling.
"You don't sleep," he continued. "You forget to eat. You stare at the door like it owes you something."
Isabella shook her head. "I'm just tired. We've all been through a lot."
"That's not it," Andrea said gently. "You miss him."
She turned sharply. "Stop."
The word came out too fast.
Too sharp.
---
Andrea softened.
"I'm not trying to hurt you," he said. "I just… I see it."
"You're a child," Isabella replied, forcing a calm she didn't feel. "You don't understand these things."
"I understand you," Andrea said quietly.
That stung.
---
She laughed again, brittle this time.
"Love?" she said. "We never even—he never said—"
Her voice faltered.
Andrea watched her carefully.
"You don't need words to know," he said. "You felt safe. That's how it starts."
Isabella looked away.
Safe.
The word echoed painfully.
---
"You're confusing gratitude with love," she insisted. "He helped us. Anyone would feel attached."
Andrea shook his head. "No. You're confusing love with something you think you're not allowed to have."
She swallowed.
"Don't," she whispered.
---
They stood in silence for a long moment.
Finally, Isabella picked up the cloth again, hands trembling.
"I'm not in love," she said softly. "I don't have time for that."
Andrea stepped closer.
"Love doesn't ask for time," he replied. "It just… happens."
She didn't answer.
But later that night, alone in her room, Isabella pressed her face into her pillow, heart aching, and thought—
If this isn't love… then why does it hurt so much?
Andrea lay awake too, staring at the ceiling.
For the first time, he wished Xavier were there.
Because some truths were too heavy for a sister to carry alone.
And Isabella was running out of places to hide from hers.