Brenda closed her eyes. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to protect Arwen from the ugly truth. But how could she refute what had always been true? How could she lie again now when the weight of her choices had already begun to crumble the bond they once shared?
Arwen watched her silently, her lips curling into a bitter, almost broken smile. Her heart clenched painfully.
As expected ... her guess hadn’t been wrong.
The one who had drugged her wasn’t so unknown enemy lurking in the shadows, nor a distant figure she needed to hunt down.
It was soone no one would have ever suspected of harming her.
Soone she had trusted without hesitation ... almost all her life.
Her mother.
"You know ..." Arwen began again, her voice trembling as a cracked smile ford in her lips. Her eyes shimred, but she stubbornly held back the tears that no longer deserved to fall. "I ca here today to get answers from you. But when I sat in the car, I realized ... I didn’t need to think too hard about it. It was an easy guess. I just had to look at things through right lens. I just had to start seeing the people ii called my own ... as my enemies. And suddenly, the missing pieces started falling into place on their own."
Brenda’s fingers gripped the sheets tightly, her chest rising unevenly. She knew she was getting misunderstood, but she didn’t care about that at the mont. All she cares for was Arwen. She could see the pain in her granddaughter’s eyes —pain that no words could soothe now.
"Wennie, what happened ... happened in the past," Brenda said shakily. "Over the ti, the things have changed. What Catrin did was very wrong, but pushing you away from her would have made things harder for you. You needed her and that’s why —"
"I don’t need your explanations anymore," Arwen cut her off sharply, standing up on her feet. Her voice was no longer trembling —it was firm, cold. "You should have given them to before. Now, I don’t need them anymore."
Brenda shook her head, her gaze growing anxiously desperate. "Wennie, listen to once. You —"
Arwen turned away, refusing to et her grandmother’s eyes anymore. "Today ... I didn’t co to visit you. I ca to tell you thank you. Even if your intentions might not be purely to save , you still deserve it. After all, I heard neither the drug was an easy one, nor its antidote. Yet you still did everything it took to get it. So, thank you for that. You saved my life —not once, but twice."
She turned over her shoulder to glance at Brenda one last ti. But just when Brenda was about to speak, she turned away and walked out, not sparing her another look.
Brenda tried to reach for her, wanting to hold her back by the arm. But her reflexes had grown too slow. Before she could even touch her shadow, Arwen had already moved away.
"Wennie —" she called again, her voice frail, echoing through the quiet room.
But Arwen didn’t stop. Keeping her pace steady, she walked out as though she hadn’t heard at all.
Only when she was out of the room did she pause in her steps. Her hand reached to hold the wall on the side, seeking its support ... as though she needed it desperately to stay on her feet.
Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her breathing. Only she knew how hard it had been to maintain her composure in front of her grandmother. She was upset ... betrayed ... but at the sa ti, she couldn’t bear to see her Granna in such a state. A state where she looked so fragile ... like she could leave her forever at any mont.
"Moon!"
The voice made her glance up, and the mont her eyes t with Aiden’s, the tears that she had been holding back broke all the bounds, rushing down her cheeks like they intended to drown the entire state.
When Aiden saw her like that, his eyes widened slightly and he imdiately rushed to her side, his movent swift and panther-like. "What’s wrong?"
Arwen moved her hand from the wall to his arm before leaning into his embrace, seeking the solace she could only find in him. "I can’t see her like this, Aiden. I can’t. Please ... please do sothing. Please save her for . I can’t bear to watch her leave us ... not so soon. Not when I am still clueless about how to react to everything that’s happening around ."
Aiden’s brows drew tight. His arms wrapped around her securely, and his chin rested over her head, holding her close and shielding her with his warmth.
"Shh ... it’s fine, Moon. Everything will get better," he cooed, but she pushed him, shaking her head violently.
"No, Aiden. It won’t. You —" she pointed her finger towards Brenda’s room, her voice breaking, "you haven’t seen her. She doesn’t look good at all. She has grown weak ... too weak. In my whole life, I haven’t seen her like this. To , she has always appeared elegant and graceful —never like the woman lying on that bed. Seeing her like that is scaring . Please ... please," she clasped his hands in desperation, imploring, "I beg you. Please bring my Granna back to normal. Back to how she used to be. I can’t see her like this."
Aiden stared at her, his expression darkening as he watched her cry. Only heaven knew what her tears did to him. It shattered him a million tis over.
Every ti he saw her like this, he had the urge to destroy everything in his way —to do anything to make her smile again. But today, even he couldn’t promise miracles.
"Moon ..." his voice lowered, deep and steady, as if anchoring her storm. "You have to stay strong."
She was about to shake her head and refuse, but before she could, his hand went to cup her face, holding her firm.
"Listen to first, Moon," he insisted softly as if begging her. "You can’t lose your calm like this. Especially in this situation."
"But she —"
"She is fine right now. We will talk to the doctor and see what he says. If there is a way we can turn the situation, we would turn it together."
His words felt like a promise — very warm, steady, and reassuring. The kind that could lt away fear and anchor a storming heart.
But for once, Arwen couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
Her eyes dimd as she heard him finish before whispering, "And what if there is no way to turn it? What will happen then?"
She knew her Granna too well —too well to be fooled by comforting words. There had never been a fight in which her grandmother hadn’t raised her sword with full strength. And if even after fighting with everything she had, Brenda was still falling now, that could only an one thing.
There was no chance of winning this battle.
Aiden stared at her, his heart tightening at the hollow look in her eyes. "We can’t lose faith in sothing like that, Moon. We need to —"
"Aiden," she interrupted him softly, her voice no longer sounding as desperate as it was a mont ago. "Take back ho. I want to go sowhere where I can breathe. Sowhere where I could feel peace. It’s too chaotic here. I can’t take it anymore."
Aiden searched her eyes for a mont, then nodded. Without another word, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her out.
Margaret was ascending the stairs when she saw them. "Arwen —" she called out.
But Arwen didn’t respond. She kept walking, her steps steady but heavy, as though every inch away from that room was both a relief and a burden.
Margaret turned to Aiden with a hesitant questioning gaze, but Aiden only gave her a small, firm shake of his head —signalling her not to push her right now.
Margaret nodded and watched as they headed out. Only when they disappeared outside did she turn to look in the direction of Brenda’s room.
Outside, Aiden led Arwen to the car. Helping her in, he went to get inside from the other side. Arwen rolled down the window, letting the cool air brush against her face. She tilted her head back slightly, letting it soothe her heated skin, but the turmoil inside her didn’t fade.
The ride back was silent. Her eyes remained fixed on the blur of the passing streets. Her hand rested on her lap, fingers intertwined so tightly that her knuckles turned pale.
Aiden glanced at her from ti to ti, wanting to say sothing —to comfort her —bring back the smile that was missing from her eyes and lips —but he knew nothing he said would fix the ache in her chest right now. So, instead, he stayed silent, his presence steady beside her.
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