Chapter 269

Emeriel’s tears flowed freely now, impossible to contain. “Please stop. Seeing you like this is tearing me apart.”

A third tear fell, his face contorting in anguish. “I am so sorry-”

“Do not apologize, please.”

“I am so, so, so sorry, Emeriel. This was all my fault. It was all my-”

“Stop blaming yourself!” she hissed fiercely. “Every misfortune that happens is not your fault, do you hear me? It was meant to happen! It was unavoidable! We must try to move past it! We mourn what could have been, but we cannot blame ourselves endlessly.”

Another tear fell, and she wiped it away, her own tears flowing like a river. “We are living beings, Daemon. We are bound to make mistakes, and sometimes… accidents happen. Some things are simply meant to be. Some things cannot be prevented.”

As she spoke, her words resounded deeply within her.

All these years, she had blamed herself. Some nights, in the darkness, she had even blamed him. She had hated them both for what happened.

“Casting blame solves nothing,” she continued in a softer tone. “It only makes the pain worse. How can we heal and move forward when we let guilt take the reins?”

“Riel… it hurts.”

“I know.” She wiped his tears on her sleeve. “It is okay, let it out. I’ve got you, my dearest Beloved. Let it all out.”

She pressed his head to her midriff, her arms encircling him passionately. As his body trembled in her hold, she stroked his hair soothingly, petting him.

“It is okay to release it all. Do not give guilt the power it craves. Guilt peels away the salves on a wound, leaving it raw… scarred… never to heal.”

The wind swept through the meadow, tugging at their clothes, whispering through the grass.

muttered, his tears soaking into her dress. “Everyone

he held

things, I am done running,” She threaded her fingers through his hair. “And you, Your Grace, cannot run from me. Because this time,

her contracted, pulling her impossibly closer. The raw emotions

sent you away, none of this would have happened.” “You made the right decision. Look at me.”

this, but you did the right thing sending me away, and I’m so sorry it took

that.”

needed to find yourself! needed to find myself. I was a slave, and you had been

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Chapter 269

did not choose. Someone from the very species that took your family, who has the potential to replace what you lost. How could anyone expect

meet her eyes, but

reasoned, brushing her hand against his jaw. “It would have helped greatly. Neither of us was ready for the severed bond or the pain it brought. But that separation was necessary. It forced us to grow. To understand what we truly wanted. We needed that time apart, Daemon. We needed to find

returned to rest against her middle, and Emeriel resumed stroking his hair.

to ebb, taken over by a sense

she found

had carried for so long–the self–recrimination and what ifs–they started to dissolve like smoke in the wind.

felt so much lighter. Freer. The burden she carried

slipped away unnoticed. She lost track of how long they

night moved on. The stars, the moon, and the wind bore witness to this vulnerable time. This

she didn’t move.

from standing too long, and her waist ached from the strength of his grip. Emeriel didn’t move a muscle because he

hold loosening as he

“Do you

asked in a

he replied, his eyes soft, a hint of gratitude shining through the pain. “You, Emeriel, are

never need to thank me. Not for

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