Page 160 of Stormhold

But I didn’t like leaving behind loose ends.

He needed to die.

“Finished,” Bella mumbled, closing her book. She carefully set it aside before turning her beautiful brown eyes to me.

My wife had been using my lap as her own personal chair while she read an entire book. Not that I complained. I loved her soft weight all over me while I basked in her presence.

“Good one?” I nipped the shell of her ear.

“Hmm, interesting concepts,” she mused. “It talked about distant galaxies that could be mirrors of our own.”

I groaned, throwing my head back. “I love you, but please no more stars.” I loved her stupidly clever brain and listened to everything she said, except for stars. For some reason, they put me to sleep.

Only months ago, I didn’t have the guts to even tell her I loved her. And now it rolled off my tongue like it was the easiest thing I’d ever said. I didn’t know if it was possible, but I fucking loved loving her.

A giggle left her lips, and the sound of it went straight to my chest. What did I say? I loved seeing her laugh. At this point, she had completely turned me into a mushy, lovesick fool.

Just then, my phone vibrated, interrupting us. I hesitated, seeing the caller ID. It was Father.

Our relationship was at a weird point. Although we didn’t speak much about the past, he was different with me now. I didn’t know the right word, but he was… more kind? Like a father should’ve been in the first place. I knew there was no fixing our relationship, but at least we could learn to be cordial.

“Hello,” I said, and what he told me next had my pulse skyrocketing.

Bella frowned, going stiff at the look on my face. “What is it?”

“It’s Mother.” My shocked eyes flew to her. “She’s awake.”

An hour later, I found myself walking the familiar steps of my childhood home. Nothing about that house felt memorable or nostalgic. Instead, it was all wrapped into a neatly packaged box of trauma stored deep in my brain somewhere.

“You’ll be fine.” Bella gave me a smile, squeezing my hand, almost as if she knew I needed her at this moment.

And I did.

I wasn’t ashamed of admitting that I was weak for my wife.

My chest tightened when we reached the door, and I hesitated, halting by the doorstep.

“I’ll open it for you,” Bella offered, her hands curling around the knob. “And I won’t leave your side.” Her eyes gleamed with the words of her promise.

I couldn’t help but smile as I nodded.

The space was filled with my entire family. The wide, airy room had enough daylight slipping through the large windows, and my eyes went straight to the woman who showed me a version of love that I never did understand.

As if sensing my presence, her eyes found mine.

She was frail. Her once shiny raven hair was now dull and flat as it fell over her bony face. It was a sight ingrained in my brain for the past thirteen years, only now those wide, gray eyes were staring right at me.

“Ark…Arkane,” she whispered, trembling as she got up to a seat. Chi and Ame, who were by her side, helped her up. “My boy,” she gasped, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as she extended a shaking hand toward me.

Something stiff clogged my throat as I made my way to her. “Mama,” I said for the first time in twenty-four years as I brought her into my arms. “I missed you so much,” I whispered, sounding more like the lost boy who searched for her love.

“I love you, Arkane.” Although she sounded weak, her words rang with a certain truth. “I love you so, so much.” Her delicate fingers cradled my cheeks. “I mean, how can I not? I think I truly understood the meaning of love the moment I held you in my arms.” She smiled at me like I was her whole world.

I didn’t know if it was because I was hearing it after all these years or because I had love in my life now, but for the first time in a long time, I believed her.

The family soon gathered around, all taking turns to dote on Mother. Her memory was fragmented and all over the place, but she seemed to recall everything about her previous years, except for the day of the incident. The doctors told us she was completely healed, and it would eventually return with time.

I introduced her to Bella, and she was shocked to learn that I actually married out of love, but she soon understood why after a few interactions with my wife.