ANMELDEN# Darien's POV "I'll get going now." Velra announced, standing up from the comfortable chair she'd been sitting in for the past few hours. She stretched slightly, her back making a small cracking sound from sitting for so long. "Hopefully we see each other before the ceremony again or maybe just after then." She was clutching Kaelen in her arms, the baby who had finally stopped crying about thirty minutes ago. The child's face was red and puffy from all the tears, his eyes half-closed with exhaustion. His small chest was rising and falling with deep, tired breaths. "Yeah, you should get going. It's getting late." I agreed, standing up as well. My knees protested slightly from sitting for so long, but I ignored the discomfort. I reached down and picked up her bag from beside the chair—a large, expensive-looking leather bag that probably cost more than most people made in a month. She collected it from me with her free hand, adjusting Kaelen in her other arm so she could grip the
Darien's POV "I'll get going now." Velra announced, standing up from the comfortable chair she'd been sitting in for the past few hours. She stretched slightly, her back making a small cracking sound from sitting for so long. "Hopefully we see each other before the ceremony again or maybe just after then." She was clutching Kaelen in her arms, the baby who had finally stopped crying about thirty minutes ago. The child's face was red and puffy from all the tears, his eyes half-closed with exhaustion. His small chest was rising and falling with deep, tired breaths. "Yeah, you should get going. It's getting late." I agreed, standing up as well. My knees protested slightly from sitting for so long, but I ignored the discomfort. I reached down and picked up her bag from beside the chair—a large, expensive-looking leather bag that probably cost more than most people made in a month. She collected it from me with her free hand, adjusting Kaelen in her other arm so she could grip the bag
# Darien's POV "I'll get going now." Velra announced, standing up from the comfortable chair she'd been sitting in for the past few hours. She stretched slightly, her back making a small cracking sound from sitting for so long. "Hopefully we see each other before the ceremony again or maybe just after then." She was clutching Kaelen in her arms, the baby who had finally stopped crying about thirty minutes ago. The child's face was red and puffy from all the tears, his eyes half-closed with exhaustion. His small chest was rising and falling with deep, tired breaths. "Yeah, you should get going. It's getting late." I agreed, standing up as well. My knees protested slightly from sitting for so long, but I ignored the discomfort. I reached down and picked up her bag from beside the chair—a large, expensive-looking leather bag that probably cost more than most people made in a month. She collected it from me with her free hand, adjusting Kaelen in her other arm so she could grip the
Mira's POV "What are you talking about?" Rhea asked, her voice rising sharply with disbelief. Her eyes were wide open, so wide I could see the whites all around her irises. Her mouth hung open slightly and she took a step forward, staring at Nathan like he'd lost his mind. "Yes, that's literally the best thing we can do right now." Nathan responded firmly, nodding his head. "If Thorne is here with us, we can help him regain part of his memory, if not all of it, before the ceremony happens. And that would make it so much easier to get Kaelen back and ruin the whole ceremony. We just need Thorne on our side." The room went quiet for a moment as everyone processed what he was saying. I could see people's faces changing as they thought through the implications, their expressions shifting from shock to consideration. "But how's that going to be possible?" Briane asked, throwing her hands up in frustration. Her voice was high and stressed, her eyebrows drawn together so tight they
Mira's POV "How could all these be happening?" Ava cried out, her voice breaking completely. Her whole body seemed to give out and she collapsed onto the floor, her legs folding beneath her. Her hands hit the ground first, catching her fall. Briane immediately rushed to her side, moving so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet. "Everything would be fine." Briane reassured her softly, grasping Ava's left arm with both hands. She was trying to lift her up, to support her weight, but Ava wasn't moving. She just stayed there on the floor, crumpled. "When? When would it be fine?" Ava demanded, her voice rising. Her head lifted and her eyes were wild, filled with tears and fury. "Is it until my whole family dies? Is it until Darien really does what he has always wanted to do? Is that when everything would be fine?" Her voice cracked on the last word and more tears streamed down her face, making tracks through the ones that had already dried. "Every time I decide to summon the cour
Chapter 35 Sophie's POV Why is Julian not back yet? I thought, glancing at the clock for the umpteenth time. He had said he would be back soon, but it had been hours since he left for his meeting. I couldn't help but worry that something might have gone wrong. I wanted to call him, but what if he was still at the meeting? I paced around his room, my mind racing with thoughts of what could be keeping him. He had stopped me from going to my room, except when I wanted to wear something, and now I felt trapped in a cycle of anxiety and restlessness. I wanted to go downstairs, but I was only wearing his shirt, which stopped mid-thigh, and I was sure he wouldn't like it if I went downstairs like this. So, I decided to wait, hoping he would walk through that door any moment. The door suddenly swung open, revealing Julian. He looked wasted as he moved closer to me, his hair tousled and his expression clouded. He wasn't even wearing a shirt. Did the meeting not go as he planned? "J







