Page 158 of Love Me

Felix might think he loves my mom, but it’s in his intense look that I see him wanting to test her. He really is a monster. That’s not love. Love is selfless, trusting, and enduring.

“Please, don’t leave me alone with her,” my mother pleads.

If not for this desire to spend a little more time with her after all these years, I would have told him to take me away of my own accord. But I don’t want to cause her more pain.

“I’ll be back shortly. Have to check if everything is ready for our guest here.” He looks at me with evil delight.

I know after visiting my mother, my personal hell will ensue, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is knowing she’s alive and will be out of this place soon.

Felix closes the door behind him, and I cry while looking at her.

I follow her gaze and detect a camera in the corner. The green light switches off then back on, and she shoots out of bed, wrapping her thin arms around my body in a tight embrace. She hugs me so hard that we collapse on the floor. My heart constricts when she touches my face.

“We don’t have much time, Blake can only interfere with the camera feed for a few minutes.” She hugs me again, rocking us. “My baby girl. Look at you. All grown up.”

“Mom?” I croak, my brain not computing if she’s real or a figment of my imagination.

“Shh, it’s okay,” she says in a soft voice brimming with love.

“I thought I was going insane.”

She helps me up and we step outside. What I thought was a garden is an artificially created room to give you the impression you’re outside, surrounded by roses and greenery.

“I miss the sun the most. How is your father?”

“Searching for you.”

“I knew he’d find me.”

“I’m getting you out of here.”

“Let me look at you.”

She cups my face in her frail hands and relief flickers in her eyes. She presses me to her chest, enveloping me in her motherly embrace. Emotions choke me. It feels so good to be in her arms.

“My beautiful and brave girl.”

“I missed you so much.”

“Me too. You have no idea how much.”

A pause follows as we both look at the other.

“How’s Kaden?”

I feel heat fan across my cheeks.

“I knew you two would end up together. That’s why I wanted to send you back and not go with your father. We need to restore a new order.”

For one moment, can’t my parents focus on anything other than the Family’s legacy? A sigh parts my lips. It always comes back to that; nothing else matters.

“You can’t escape your legacy nor run from it. I was a coward then, but I swore to myself that I’d make things better when I escape.”

She senses my mood change, making me realize mothers are better at detecting those than fathers.

“But that can wait,” she adds.

“I thought you’d be drugged out of your mind or in a coma.”

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