TOOAFP Chapter 136: The Beginning of Spring (4)

Since coming to work at the shelter, Anthony had not once spoken directly to Kasha.

Sometimes he caught a glimpse of her passing through the courtyard—slight and pale—but he could never bring himself to call out to her.

On the days he spotted her walking beside Leon, smiling at something he'd said, Anthony's hands faltered over whatever bandage he was wrapping.

He couldn't entirely define what he felt toward her.

Was it residual attachment to someone he had once wanted? Some remaining trace of old rivalry with his brother? Or something simpler, and more painful, than either of those things?

He had decided it didn't matter. He intended to bury it—permanently, entirely, and without looking back.

He knew that it was Kasha's consideration that had sent him here instead of to a labor camp. He understood that without her intervention, he would not have the life he had now—inadequate and…