Lívia hung up, took a deep breath, and pasted a fragile, grateful smile on her face before opening the bathroom door. The final act was about to begin.
Camila arrived in Lisbon the next evening, a whirlwind of determined energy. She bypassed the hotel, taking a taxi directly to Inês's apartment building, texting Lívia to meet her outside. When Lívia appeared, looking pale and exhausted, the sight of her was a punch to Camila's gut. She pulled her into a fierce, protective hug, right there on the public sidewalk.
"Are you okay?" Camila whispered, her hands cupping Lívia's face, searching her eyes.
"I am now," Lívia breathed, leaning into the touch.
"I've got you," Camila promised. "I've got a suite at the Tivoli. Security is top-notch. She can't get near you there."
The plan was simple and brutal. Camila checked them into the hotel under a different name, paying in cash. She instructed Lívia to pack a bag with essentials from her own apartment while Camila acted as a lookout. It felt like a covert operation, a stark contrast to the romantic reunion they had planned. The external conflict had become a visceral threat, a physical danger that overshadowed everything else.
In the opulent safety of the hotel suite, with the door locked and the city lights twinkling below them like a distant galaxy, Lívia finally broke down. She told Camila everything: Inês's calculated sabotage, the desperate fight, the terrifying silence of the cell, and the chilling performance of forgiveness she had been forced to enact. Camila listened, her fury a cold, hard knot in her stomach.
"She's not just obsessed," Camila said, her voice low and dangerous. "She's unstable. She needs help, but we are not the ones who can give it to her. Our only priority is your safety."
"What do we do?" Lívia asked, feeling adrift. "The residency... my life here..."
"We pause," Camila said, taking her hands. "We get you away from her. Immediately. I've already made some calls. You can come back to São Paulo with me. Stay with me. We'll figure out the legal stuff with the residency later. They'll understand given the circumstances."
Lívia looked at her, overwhelmed. To leave Lisbon, to abandon the dream she had fought so hard for, felt like another defeat. But looking into Camila's steady, resolute eyes, she knew it was the only choice. It wasn't running away; it was a strategic retreat. It was choosing her life over her ambition.
"Okay," she agreed softly. "Okay."
To break the suffocating tension, Camila suggested they go out for dinner. "Just for a few hours," she coaxed. "Let's pretend we're normal people. Let's go to that place you love, the one with the fado music. We'll eat, we'll drink, we'll breathe. We need a moment of peace before we go back to war."
Lívia agreed, craving a taste of the Lisbon she loved, the one that wasn't near her apartment and definitely not near Inês.