Page 96 of Heir of Fire
Finn hadn’t heardanything from Gianna since she’d left that morning, so he had no idea whether everything was going well or not. Seeing how broken and distraught she had been about the whole situation was making him consider just driving down there himself, but he knew she needed her space to do this. She was stronger than she looked and stronger than she knew.
Still, he would have loved to have a chat with her mother. Maybe introduce her to his favorite crowbar. If Gianna said the words, he would. Until then, he had to sit still and fantasize about getting his revenge on the woman who continued to hurt his princess.
The day was boring otherwise. It was the weekend, so he didn’t have any work and everyone had their plans. His previous plans were obvious, but also unavailable because she was occupied, so he accepted when Luna invited him over once again for lunch. Seeing Valerio outside of work was fucking annoying, though.
These days, he was accepted by the security of the house, not patted down and questioned like he was before. He walked to the front door and was greeted by the same workers that were always kind and welcoming when he stopped by. They pointedhim to the living room and that was where he went, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who sat beside Luna on the couch.
It was his mother. Eleanora Kingsley.
She looked refreshed, maybe even younger since she had been out of the country. Her brown hair was cut short to her chin and her eyes held a sparkle that she didn’t have in them before. He hadn’t spoken to her since he helped her out of the country when she murdered their father. Seeing her hit him so hard, he nearly fell over.
“Finn? Oh my God, look at you,” she gushed, standing from the couch.
He didn’t say anything. Hell, what was he supposed to say? It was like seeing a ghost. This wasn’t his day to be visiting with his mother; it was Gianna’s. Why the hell hadn’t Luna said anything when she invited him over?
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused. “I’m here visiting.”
Finn turned to Luna. “I didn’t realize that you both were close.”
How could he have known when their mother had never defended them the entire time their father abused them? If anything, it seemed like Luna would have never wanted anything to do with her either because of that. However, judging by how close Luna sat beside their mother, she didn’t look even a little bit uncomfortable. How did Valerio even let her into this home? He would have hated her too for everything she did to Luna. What was Finn missing?
“Please, just sit down and I’ll explain everything to you,” Luna said, keeping her voice gentle.
He moved to the seat furthest away from them, which happened to be the couch beside theirs. He sat at the left end, making sure he had space to run just in case.
“I’m sitting, now talk.”
Luna nodded. “Well, that day?—”
“The day she killed Reece Kingsley,” he jumped in.
She could only give him a dirty look. “Yes, the day that Reece Kingsley died, we talked. Then, you sent her out of the country, and we spoke on the phone to work on our relationship. I managed to forgive her for everything that happened in our lives.”
Finn let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s great that she’s now mother of the year for you, but while he was beating the shit out of me my entire childhood, she never did anything.”
“You can talk to me directly, Finn,” Eleanora said. “Are you angry at me for killing your father?”
He clenched his jaw. Looking at her brought up memories for him that he didn’t like to think about. He was finally moving on from everything in his life, but now another demon stared him in the face. One that should have protected him and didn’t. She was almost so insignificant in his life throughout the years that it was hard to even consider her much of a mother figure at all. She was there, but she wasn’t. More like a ghost than anything else.
“I’m moving on from his death. My issues with that have nothing to do with you. My issues with you are exactly what I said. You never stood up for me or Luna. You stood by his side,” he said.
“I should have been there for you and my biggest regret in life will be not defending you both. I should have taken you out of that home when I had a chance. I should have been a better mother, and I’m so sorry I haven’t been,” she said. Tears welled up in her eyes and it almost startled him how much emotion she was showing.
Throughout their lives, she never was one for emotion. She kept everything locked away, including her smiles. She wasn’t the type of mother they could go to either with problems or good days at school. No, it was better to go to the nannies who cared more than their mother did.
But her apology did something to him he hadn’t expected. It hit him so deep in his chest he could feel an ache. Was it an ache for some kind of parental love? He wasn’t sure.
“Why didn’t you defend us?” he asked, feeling so small. He almost felt like that little boy again, trying to understand his parents to make sense of why they did the things that they did. His father was scorned, but maybe his mother still had some redemption left in her.
“Your father was a horrible man. Everything was a game to him. He always wanted to win and have the upper hand no matter what. He controlled every aspect of my life and kept tabs on what I loved to leverage his control over me. I learned that earlier on in our relationship, and I played the game back. I was never going to let him use you guys to control me, but he still hurt you in such horrible ways.” Eleanora wiped the tears from under her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself.
Luna grabbed her hand for comfort and suddenly he could see why they had bonded. Reece Kingsley had that same exact control over Luna’s life when he tried to set up an arranged marriage for her, and he did the same to their mother. They bonded over their trauma.
“It’s a good thing he’s dead now,” Finn said, clearing his throat. He was shocked by how much emotion swelled in his chest.
“I guess so,” his mother said, cracking a small smile.
