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I got home, picked up my bags, and boarded a bus, knowing that Thompson would come looking for me. I asked the taxi driver to take me to the king's palace. When I arrived, I stepped out with tears streaming down my face, so much so that even the taxi driver noticed my distress. As I got closer to the palace, Sofia spotted me from afar and shook her head, knowing I had been through a lot.

"I know you are deeply hurt, my darling, but you need to understand that such is life," she said to me. I didn't say a word but sat on the sofa with...