No. Lise loved that dress. She loved how the dress complimented her skin tone and how it fit on her body perfectly. She had waited for that dinner party ever since her father told her about it. She even had her sister help her with her makeup. That was the first party that she attended with her family.
On the other hand, Gael chuckled when he heard that, since he knew the truth.
“You loved it, I heard you say it to your sister.” Gael overheard her excited claims when Lise told her sister about her dress and how good she felt that night. He remembered how excited her voice was and how lively she looked at that time.
Meanwhile, hearing Gael pointing out her lie, Lise only smiled softly. But then, she felt drowsy. She closed her eyes. The light was too bright for her, but she loved the warmth that it brought.
There was another beat of silence that engulfed them. This morning was so serene and beautiful.
“Do you love me?” Gael gritted his teeth when he asked her about this. He was well aware about the curse that he had, which said he would never be loved by the woman he loved.
However, there were a lot of things that happened, there was a lot of pain, tears and things that they had gone through together.
Though this was only wishful thinking, he wanted to know about it, about Lise’s feelings for him...
.....
Lise didn’t answer him immediately, there was a long silence before she finally spoke again. “I hated you...”
Yet, there was a little smile on the corner of hers lips, as she hugged him a little bit tighter. It was hard to feel, since Lise was very weak, but Gael managed to notice that.
“I know...” Gael said, he looked at the sand beneath his feet softly. “Are you sleeping now?”
There was no answer from her...
Gael could feel his heart in his throat when Lise’s arms that held his neck loosened and he could no longer feel her heartbeat against his back.
“You are sleeping now...” Gael said, his voice slightly trembling, when he tried to take another step.
The sand no longer felt so soft against his feet and the sound of the sea was no longer comforting. The light of the sun was too bright and this new day was too beautiful to grieve...
=========================
Liam stayed the whole night with his babies in the nursery room. He stared at his twins, who were sleeping in their cribs and this gave him a little bit of peace.
They were his flesh and blood and he loved them both, though he was a little bit concerned about Emma...
Liam caressed her chubby cheek and felt the softness of the baby’s skin, as it brought a smile to his lips when the baby caught his finger and held it very tightly.
“What will happen to you when you turn seventeen?” Liam muttered under his breath, vocalizing the concern in his mind.
The devil said that he would make her his bride, but he didn’t really know what that meant, because it was too ambiguous and Liam was not in his right mind to make that decision.
After all, he lost his first daughter and the only thing in his mind at that time was how to get her back. He was not in his best state to make a crucial decision like that and the devil knew for sure about that. He clearly came at the right time to wave this chance right under his nose.
The chance to see his daughter alive and well. To see how beautiful of a woman she would grow up to be, like her mother...
Liam shook his head when his mind dragged him back to Jasmine. He didn’t want to think about her because it would only set his mind and heart in turmoil when all he was looking for was peace with his children right now...
He stayed there until the sunlight appeared through the window, its warm light illuminated the entire nursery room, letting him know that a new day had begun.
There were a lot of things that he needed to settle down, but for now, he wanted to stay with his babies a little bit longer. He didn’t want to see Jasmine for a while.
The wounds on her body would take days to heal and he didn’t want to see it, since it would make his guilt eat him alive.
He didn’t want to have that sympathy toward her. She didn’t deserve that.
=======================
River woke up when she felt there was no one near her and when she opened her eyes, she couldn’t find Vanesha. Her spot was empty.
“Vanesha?” River called her, her voice was slightly hoarse, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
From the light outside, it seemed the sun had just risen, but it was still cold when River opened the zipper of her tent and the wind caressed her skin.
She returned to her tent again and put on her jacket, before she walked out to find Vanesha.
It didn’t take her too long to find her, because she was sitting on the beach with her father and mother.
From afar, River could see Gael holding Lise close to him, while resting his head against hers. They seemed to be having a good time. Why didn’t they wake her up, so she would have a good time with them as well?
However, the closer she walked, the more she felt there was something off with the whole situation.
There was something that was completely not right at this moment with them while this silence was too heavy...
“What happened?” River asked carefully, but she stopped a few steps away from them, as if she was afraid to get close and know what was actually happening right now.
======================
“How is he?” July asked Gaia, the healer in this manor, after she checked on Knox’s condition for the nth time.
Gaia didn’t have any change in her expression that indicated everything went well, but at the very least, something that made July slightly feel better was that she didn’t relay any bad news either.
“His condition is still the same as before,” she said, this was the same answer that she had been giving her for the last few days.
July held Knox’s hand, she wished he would open his eyes sooner. It had been ten days since they arrived in this manor, safe behind its walls and the protection spells of the witch, but he still had not yet regained his consciousness.
July sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She was tired of being worried.
“It’s okay, July, he will be fine soon.” Gaia patted her shoulder, she could understand her frustration and even wanted to help, but her hands were tied, since she knew nothing about Knox. He was an entirely different being.
Even Ciara didn’t know what happened to him.
It was not because of his health issue or even dark magic that Ciara could take care of. This was a completely different thing.
“You have said that more than ten times already.” July tilted her head and smiled at the healer. “You need to find other comforting words now.”
Ciara chuckled lightly when she heard that. She shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the chair next to the bed. “I think it is Chaos who has done this, in that case, it is only him who is able to fix it.”
July knew that. That was easy logic, but the problem was; they didn’t know Chaos’ whereabouts, even Zuri was missing.
Meanwhile, from what July heard, the dragon was still wreaking havoc in the East Draghar, that monster had burned down four more cities and the number would only add by time.
Even the organization from the Artzees country could only hold it back and was still unable to tame that beast.
While the number of its victims skyrocketed by every second that passed.
‘Please come back...’
July had waited for Knox for eight years in the past and now this happened again, the first thing that crossed her mind was; how long did she need to wait for him now?
Her heart couldn’t bear it...
Meanwhile, Sebastian rarely came to visit Knox, or even talked to July. He was busy taking care of other matters.
She was at a loss right now.
======================
Emily lowered her head when Eros came closer to her. She didn’t want him to see her. She felt like she wanted to disappear...
She couldn’t let him see her face, because he would feel guilty for what he had done. She understood that it was only an accident, an unfortunate accident, but the result of it was very devastating.
The left side of Emily’s face was covered in three deep, long wounds that traversed from her forehead to her neck, crossing her eyes that almost made her blind.
With those scars, Emily no longer wanted to see her reflection in the mirror or even went out of her room. She would rather starve herself than to step out of her bedroom.
Even when Eros brought food for her, she barely touched it.
“Emily...” Eros sat down in front of her, but she moved away and this broke his heart. “I...”
“Please, don’t say you are sorry...” she said softly. “It is not your fault.”