The next few days were a mess. We tried convincing Dami that she didn’t need to give up her happiness for us but she was adamant that it was the only way forward. She said she only had nine months left so she would be going back home to spend some time with her parents. It was heartbreaking to watch her resolve and it was equally heartbreaking to watch how my mate beat himself up for his inability to help his sister. He didn’t say it but I saw the guilt in his eyes now and then. He must be blaming himself for what was happening with Dami. I too was at a loss as to what to do. I was throwing up a lot more these days and no matter how I tried to force myself to eat, I could not bear to stomach anything. Today, I was hanging out with my father after seeing Dami off and watching Valens bury himself in work to distract himself. “It’s nice sitting with you like this,” I told my father with a small smile, my mind on Dami. “Is it?” My father asked. “It’s a bit boring.” Teenage me would hav

* VALENS *It was too much. This suffocating feeling, this feeling like I had my hands tied never to be free, had gotten too much. Dami was suffering because of me and there was nothing I could do to help her.How do I stop a goddess? How do I register my displeasure with such a cruel being?If I set the world ablaze, would it bother her?For an insane moment, I had fantasies of everything burning to the ground but then what would I achieve? I had a mate to think about. Dami would blame herself forever if I hurt others for her.What do I do?It had been a while since talks of her being the next Oracle went around. Even when she was just born, her magic was phenomenal and we knew she would go on to do great things. Being an Oracle was just a joke. As time went on, the joke rarely came up. Dami had a lot of dreams for the future. As the only family I ever kept in touch with, she was the closest person to me and since my words were few, she always filled the silence between us with her d

“Did you know?” I couldn’t help but ask my father when Thelma went to the bathroom. “Did you know that Jackson tried to kill you?”We were at one of the many restaurants in Redville’s gigantic mall, waiting for Irene to join us so we could have a ‘family bonding time’ while shopping according to Thelma. I was more concerned with seeing what she had planned and I took this opportunity to have a conversation with my father.“Who told you?” He didn’t sound surprised. I crossed my arms across my chest as my blood pressure spiked. I could feel a pounding on my temple as I fought down a scream.“Does it matter who told me?” I couldn’t help but sound annoyed.“Yes, it does matter.” He maintained his expressionless face and it was starting to piss me off. I was angry that I cared about a man who took his life for granted. I was angry that no matter what I said, he would not listen. Above all, I was angry that I could not mirror his nonchalance. I was pissed that I could not stop myself from c

“I – I was going to the bathroom!” I slammed his laptop shut, realized I met it open and then struggled to open it back up. I didn’t know opening up a laptop would include so many technicalities. “Oh, never mind!” I left the laptop and escaped into the bathroom with a small chuckle behind me.Sitting on the toilet seat, my teeth tore apart my bottom lip as I wondered just what I stumbled upon. I’d gone red from head to toe and even my insides were tight with mortification. Shit. Why did I look? If I’d been looking straight ahead – if I hadn’t been so curious- Oh goddess.There was a knock on the bathroom door, startling me out of my raging thoughts. I rushed to finish my business, washing my hands hurriedly for fear of him walking in.“Research is good, don’t you think?” He asked with a smirk.“Y – Yeah – Very good! Great even. Wonderful.” To avoid his gaze, I looked everywhere from my palms to the sheets and the table. “Ah, I’m tired.” I climbed into bed and pulled the sheets over my

My phone buzzing beside me woke me the next morning. It was a call from Janet and for a minute, I contemplated ignoring it. The call ended the first time and she called back so I picked up.“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Came her frantic voice into my ear early that morning. “He is back! Greg – I can’t thank you enough.” I rubbed my eyes and winced at her loud voice.“What happened?” I asked, clearing my throat.“I had lost all hope but Greg just called me. Although I’ve not seen him, I’m thankful. I can’t thank you enough, Chantelle. As expected, you’re a good person.” She broke into a long rant. “I was an asshole to you but when I called you for help, you still helped me.”Truth be told, I had forgotten all about Janet and her mate. The last time I mentioned him to Valens, he’d gotten mad so I never mentioned him again. Greg hadn’t done anything for me so why should I risk my peace for him?“You’re welcome. Glad you found your mate,” I said. There was a small knock on my door befor