Page 94 of Sweet Venom

Aunt Kadra’s eyes softened even more, but there was a sharpness in them as she set her cup back down, studying me carefully. Then— I wasn’t talking to my Aunt Kadra but Azariel’s mother.

“Do you know, Poe,” she said softly, “that when he was little, it was hard for him to say the words ‘'I love you’ to me and his father?”

“I did not know that.” I answered.

I imagined it must’ve been easy adjusting to a life filled with love after so much chaos. It must’ve been so hard for him. Fuck.

“But we never needed his words. We could feel his love in the quiet moments he shared with us. In the way he used to sit beside me, drinking tea for hours, just letting me love him. In the way he spent his evenings training with his uncles. The way he helped his father take care of my roses. The way he held onto Raiza’s hand when she was born and never let go—not even now, when they’re both grown.” A look of pride crossed her eyes before they turned sad again. “Azariel’s love is raw and untamed. But he’s always been afraid to lose control, thinking it would hurt him or the people he loves. He’s been afraid of it his whole life. But you…” She paused, her gaze soft and full of warmth. “You managed to make him want to try.”

Me?My chest tightened, and I could barely breathe. Was it possible that he had been showing me his love all along, even without words? I think back to everything he has done. How was I so blind?

Aunt Kadra’s smile lit up her face. “Hearing that he wrote you those letters… it makes me happy. It makes me so damn proud.”I swear I saw her wipe a tear but it happened so fast that I think I imagined it. “I worried about him, Poe. I feared he would never let himself be happy. But those letters? They’re proof he’s trying. He’s trying because of you.”

My heart raced faster, pounding in my chest. “Is this really happening?” I asked. “It feels like a dream. Why now? Why is he suddenly ready?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then she leaned back slightly. When she spoke again, it was with quiet certainty. “Because he couldn’t lie to himself any longer. He finally woke up and realized what we all have known since you were kids.”

All? Who’s all?

“What do you know?”

Her smile turned a little cocky before tenderness took over her expression. “That you, darling girl. You’ve slowly made him believe, Poe. You’ve shown him that love doesn’t have to be feared. That it doesn’t hurt. You’ve taught him that he can trust someone with his heart.” She paused, a knowing smile on her lips. “You’ve made my sun believe he can trust someone other than his family. And trust me when I say, you are to him what my Russian is to me.”

Her Russian... Uncle Vitali. “What’s that?” I asked, feeling a little nervous.

She touched the gold chain around her neck, the one with the initials of her husband and children and smiled and I could see in that smile how much she loved them. “My one day in the sun.”

My one day in the sun…

I let that sink in, and my heart swelled with the beauty of her words. After so many storms, Azariel had finally found his one day in the sun.

Me.

And me? Well… I was finally embracing the beautiful storm.

Him.

Then Aunt Kadra’s voice broke through my thoughts, almost in a whisper. “Now, if you have any doubt about where Azariel’s heart truly rests… go beyond his garden.”

My breath caught. “Beyond his garden?”What did that mean?

That’s when I realized she knew exactly where I was. Of course. Yet, she didn’t ask why. She just let me be.

Aunt Kadra’s eyes met mine, unwavering and filled with secrets. “Go beyond his garden, Poe. And you’ll find the answers your heart seeks. It’ll all make sense there.” She smiled one last time before saying goodbye.

The call ended just as her words settled into my mind and heart. I stared at the screen, her words still echoing in my head. What will I find beyond Azariel’s garden? What answers would my heart find there?

I didn’t know, but I knew one thing for sure: I needed to find out.

So, I did.

Now,if you have any doubt about where Azariel’s heart truly rests… go beyond his garden.

Aunt Kadra’s words played through my mind like a loop as I stepped into the cool night air.

Azariel was still nowhere to be found. As I left my room and walked through halls, I could’ve sworn I heard movement behind a door I assumed was his. But I still don’t know which one it is. The manor is so vast, his room could be on the other side of it.

The rain had stopped, yet lightning still split the sky. The manor loomed behind me, its gothic silhouette stark against theblack heavens, while the garden ahead seemed to beckon me as if aching to reveal the secret of Azariel’s heart.

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