“I know, Dona Cláudia. But when I try to change it… something stops me, like I can’t abandon them, like I have obligations to the Romanovs.”

“You already paid for your adoption, my dear! You lived like a maid for twenty years. And you still supported them. You gave up everything for your mother and sisters. And what did they do for you?”

She was right. They never gave me anything, though the only thing I wanted was free: love. And I loved them. God, how I loved them! And I tried ...