THE ALGORITHM OF THE FORBIDDEN HEART

Chapitre 13

Carla's breathing quickened. She didn't answer me.

I told her: "Your attempt to purge yourself of my touch, to punish yourself for your own vulnerability, only confirms one thing to me: what we share is real. You prefer to hit a tree rather than allow your body to accept me because you still believe intimacy means constraint and pain."

Carla: "You have no idea!"

Dona: "I have the idea that you are a survivor who is blaming herself for another's crime. And I came to tell you that I am not leaving. The exhaustion, the anorexia, the blood on your hands... these are your ways of screaming. I hear you. Now, open that computer. Tell me what you wrote. That is the only place you don't lie to me."

Donatella sat facing Carla. The tension in the room was palpable.

My voice was firm, but I did not raise it. I maintained my intense gaze: "Open that computer, Carla. What you wrote is the only thing that matters. These are pages of truth you refuse to tell me to my face. It's the story of the 'broken girl' who no longer gives her heart."

Carla clutched the computer against her body, protecting it like a weapon: "No. It's my work. It's my draft for a thesis project. It's none of your business."

"It's your confession, Carla. It's the place where you gave a name to your fears and where you began to write a future without constraint. I need to read it to understand how I can help you fight."

Carla: "I don't need your help! I've gotten up alone until now!" Her voice was trembling, but full of conviction.

I sighed. I knew I couldn't force her, but I couldn't back down. "You got up alone, yes. But you also crashed into a tree alone. You chose violence against yourself rather than accepting help, because the idea of contact without pain terrifies you. Let me read it."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes. Despite her physical weakness, her will was a rock. "I refuse. Those are my words. My space. I've already given you too much. You manipulated Anja to find me. I will never let myself be manipulated to open the last door."

I stood up. I understood that resistance was a form of survival, and that breaking it by force was a defeat. I sensed that Carla was determined: she wouldn't give in even in pain.

"Fine. You refuse me your words. I respect your choice, even if I find it dangerous. But hear me well, Carla: I am not moving. I will stay here until you are discharged. I will watch you eat, I will watch you sleep, and I will make sure your body stops punishing itself."

She looked at me with exhausted defiance: "You don't have the right!"

Donatella: "I have the right of the heart of a woman who saw the student she admires mutilate herself to flee the truth. I am your guardian now, Mio Angelo. You have spent your life blaming yourself for the mistakes of others. From now on, I am taking custody. And I am very patient."

Donatella moved a few steps away, took a chair from a corner of the room, and pulled it over to sit down, her gaze fixed on Carla. She did not read anything, did not say anything. She was a silent sentinel. The physical confrontation was over; the war of attrition was beginning.

Carla turned her head to the opposite side, locking herself in her silence. It was a wall of broken pride.

At that moment, an intern came to fetch her for tests. It was the moment.

The Intern: "Ms. Petrova, we are going to do a more complete checkup before getting you settled for the night. Follow me, please."

Donatella: (My voice remained perfectly neutral) "I will wait for her here."