Page 83 of Losing My Siren Luna
He nodded, like he expected that. “Did you get your questions answered?”
I quirked my lips to the side of my face, not sure if I did or not. “For the most part. I’m still wondering who my father is, but he told me it was not safe for it to be known I was his daughter yet, so I’ll have to wait.”
He pursed his lips. “Did he tell you till when you would have to wait or what you were waiting for?”
Anxiety at telling Lachlan the truth about me makes me shiver for a different reason. I can’t tell him that I have to wait until I am 20 again, because that is the day my magic will be unleashed and I will gain my siren abilities. We are finally comfortable around one another. I don’t want to ruin that.
“He just said it was not yet safe,” I lied, and Val groaned at my dishonesty. Lying isn’t sitting right with either of us, but it’s better than going back to facing his hatred and wrath every day for something that we can’t change. I can’t change my genes. Just like in my first life, I couldn’t change that my uncle forced me into this marriage. I still don’t trust Lachlan not to be that man from before, and Val, even if she doesn’t like lying, feels the same.
“Hmm,” is his only response, but he grips my shoulder a little tighter, as if he is scared I may run away from his hold.
When we get back to my room, our room, Lachlan calls for Mimi to help me dress down for bed, and he retreats to get tea and snacks for the evening.
Mimi gushes over me, like she always used to. There is a slight change in her in this life too. She would fawn over me while helping to care for me in my last life, but she would also have this underlying solemnness in all her deeds and words, like she was feeling sadness on my behalf. Now, she is bursting with energy, her aged smile bright on her wrinkled face, making her eyes crinkle enduringly in their corners. She seems so full of life, talking endlessly about how adorable she thinks me and my husband are together. She even mentions how he came to check on her progress with her move again, and how much it meant to her.
By the time I am in a new nightdress, a gift from Lachlan for my birthday, and cleaned for bed, my head is filled with all Mimi’s positivity about my new husband.
I’m sitting in front of the window overlooking the ocean when Lachlan comes walking back in with a tray of fruits, little desserts and herbal tea.
He smiles at my appearance, complimenting my new nightdress as he sets the tray in front of me. I thanked him softly, then noticed there was only one tea cup on the tray.
“I thought it would help you to sleep. I don’t usually drink tea, but wanted to get it for you.”
He then leaves me for a few brief minutes as I ponder over his kindness, wondering if everything is really as simple as Val has been suggesting and this really is a new Lachlan on an entirely different timeline. Maybe we really are getting a chance for happiness with him. Maybe everything will really be alright this time.
When he comes back out of the ensuite, he has a nervous expression on his face and a hairbrush in his hands.
“Um, Lira. Killian has been hounding me all evening to ask you this. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can say no.”
I pull my eyebrows down questioningly. “What?” What would Killian want to do with my hairbrush?
“Can we, uh….brush your hair?”
My mouth drops, not expecting that request. It’s….I don’t know.
“It’s adorable!”Val screamed in my head. “You better say yes.”
It is adorable. Mimi had already brushed my hair, but there was no harm in doing it again.
“Yes, Lachlan,” I smiled, “you are both more than welcome to.”
I start to move my chair back, but he tells me to sit still, lifting me and the chair easily and moving me to where my back is facing the room. I try to casually continue drinking my tea, but I feel a weird buzzing in my body as he gently pulls the brush through the strands of my hair, his hand always following after the brush, like he is testing my hair to see if it’s soft enough.
When Val begins purring in my chest, I give up my attempt at acting casual. He seems elated hearing the sound, and the action makes me feel adored. Truly adored and cherished for the first time in my life.
This is so much different from when my mother or when Mimi brushed my hair. This feels more intimate. It feels like he is treasuring me in a way that I could never have expected to feel these kinds of emotions.
When he is finally done, satisfied with his work, he sets the brush on the table, then moves my chair and me back to where I originally was.
“You have beautiful hair. I’ve been wanting to touch it since I first saw it,” he tells me.
“Thank you,” I looked down at my hands to hide my blush from his compliment.
“You’re welcome.” He grins, then looks at the tray with the snacks and tea. “You didn’t eat anything. Can I convince you to have some of the cookies, or at least a grape or two before we go to bed?”
I eye the food warily. I am already still over full from dinner. My body isn’t used to eating so much, and I feel like everyone has been constantly trying to feed me all day.
“I really couldn’t eat any more. I’m not used to eating so heartily. You should help yourself if you want to, though. Don’t let it go to waste.”
