Although Arwen laughed, tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, hinting at the emotion twisting inside her chest. Shaking her head slowly, she stared at Catrin and asked in a mocking tone, "Don’t you feel pathetic now?"
Catrin tilted her head to the side, her gaze empty, revealing more about what happened to her. "Pathetic?" she repeated blankly. Her voice felt weak, detached —like a broken record that had forgotten its rhythm.
Arwen’s jaw tightened, and keeping it locked, she nodded. Her eyes were sharp as she looked at Catrin. "Yes, pathetic," she said, taking a small step closer. "You spent your entire life chasing the perfection that was never needed, the power that held no aning, the control that never mattered —only to end up in the state ..." her hands spread to gesture towards her, "... like this. It’s pathetic."
Her voice trembled —not with pity, but with the ache of sothing deeper. "So, tell how it feels being there? I am sure it must not be as bad as it is because for you, it was never a big deal. That drug was simply ant to rectify the mistakes without keeping any guilt. Isn’t it?"
Catrin blinked, her brows pulling together as though trying to rember sothing ... understand sothing. "I ... I don’t know. How could one feel sothing? Can you teach ?"
Arwen’s chest tightened. There was no satisfaction in seeing her mother in this state. What she felt inside her chest was just a hollow ache that ca from all the resentnts she could never forget or let go of. It would stay rooted forever ... and ever.
Her fingers clenched, and she closed her eyes to hold her tears back. Then, opening it, she looked back at Catrin and said, "I don’t think you have yet received enough because what you did to wasn’t just cruel, it was inhumane. And no punishnts could ever compare to inhumanity. So, even seeing you like this isn’t satisfying for . I so wish ... to see you suffer the worst because you deserve every bit of it. Every single bit of it."
Catrin tilted her head again, her lips parting in a faint laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. "You ... sound familiar," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Did I ... love you?"
Arwen froze. For a mont, her heart faltered, torn between anger and an old longing that refused to die. But the very next mont, her expression steeled. Looking into her eyes coldly, she took a step closer and leaned down a little. "You didn’t love at all. Not even a bit. Never. So, don’t confuse it anymore. You loved no one but yourself. You chose no one but yourself. Not once, but always. And that’s what resulted in your situation today. You are left lonely —not just for today but for the rest of your life."
Those words made sothing shift in Catrin’s gaze. A fear, along with desperation, crept up her soul. She grabbed Arwen’s hand and shook her head, unwilling to let go. "No! No, I can’t stay alone. I can’t stay lonely. Please ... please stay with . Will you?"
Arwen stared at her. A self-mocking tear slipped from her eyes. All her life, she wanted this —her mother asking her to stay by her side. But today, when it finally happened, she no longer carried the sa craving. Instead, the idea repulsed her.
She yanked her hand off her grip and took a step back, creating the distance between them. "I won’t because you don’t deserve it. All you deserve is to be alone, and that’s what you will have from now on."
Catrin shook her head and tried to grab her hand again, but Arwen only took another step behind.
"I ca here to confront you today, but it now seems useless. Stay and enjoy what you have gathered all your life. This isolation. And trust ...", she paused briefly, only to add with a smile, one that was cold and cruel. "Here, no one will question your control. You will have it all as you have ever wanted."
With that, she gave one last glance at Catrin before turning to leave.
Aiden was still standing near the door. He stared at her, but Arwen didn’t respond to his gaze. She just t them with nonchalance as she walked to him. "Let’s go."
Aiden didn’t need her to respond. He just wanted to be with her, and as long as she wasn’t refusing him from that, he didn’t feel the need for anything else. He gave a nod to her and turned to open the door for her.
But just when Arwen would have stepped out, Catrin’s voice halted her. "You are my daughter, aren’t you?"
Arwen froze.
"You are my daughter. How can you leave ... your mother lonely here. Stay with . Mama would always love you. She would also give you the best toys and candies, okay?"
That begging would have even lted the stone, but Arwen —she had grown numb to it.
Her lips lifted at the corners in a disdainful smirk as she smoothly dismissed it as though she were heartless.
"The drug is doing wonders for her. She seems completely insane now. Suits her!"
And with that, she didn’t linger for another mont. Ignoring Catrin’s calls, she left, letting Aiden close the door behind them.
She didn’t stop until they were completely out of the building. When her steps halted, she felt him stop by her side. She expected him to question her, but when he didn’t, she turned her head to him and asked, "Don’t you feel I am cruel?"
Aiden stared at her, pausing at her eyes for a mont before he shook his head, gently. "You have been the kindest soul I have ever t in my entire life, Moon. You haven’t even been cruel. Because that’s not in you. It never was."
The trust with which he said that to her almost made her see herself in the light of an angel. But then, she got reminded of how she acted just now, and a soft scoff left her lips.
"You sure see through the pink lenses." She shook her head. "Just now, I was so heartless to leave him like she had no ounce of contribution in my existence. And you still say I am the kindest. Really?"
Saying that, she gave him a brief glance and was about to step away, but his hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back where she belonged.
She gasped for a second, but then eased when his warmth. Letting him hold her like that, she breathed in his cologne that was mixed with her type of comfort.
"Perception matters, Moon," he whispered. "Whether you consider yourself kind or not depends on how you define kindness in your books. For , anything less than terrifying death is kindness to anyone who tried to harm you or even had a thought of doing so. Thus, when I let her live, breathe in the air that she was surely not worthy of — I was already being kind to her. As for you —"
He took a deep breath, "You did nothing to be called cruel. If you had, trust ... trust , more than anyone, I would be happy. I would have celebrated it. But knowing you ..." he paused, only to shake his head, "I know you would never do that. Never do anything that would that could actually ... really categorize as cruel."
Arwen stared at him. His words only made her heart beat faster. Not knowing what she should say or do at that mont, she chose the only way that seed easiest.
Leaning in, she pressed her lips against his and let herself lose completely in his embrace. Her hands moved and wrapped around his neck, while his moved to hold her by her waist, only to keep her close to himself.
The mont lasted for as long as everything started feeling still around them. When Arwen finally pulled away, her breathing was ssed up. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to bring herself back to normal.
"She has been an awful mother. I don’t want to be like her, Ide," she said, finally revealing the worst fear that was scaring her inside. "But given that I carry a part of her, I fear I will end up becoming one. I —"
"Shh!" Aiden shushed her, pressing a finger against her lips. "You will never be like her. Never."
"How can you be so sure of that?" she asked, tilting her head up at him with tears in her eyes.
"I just know it because I know you," he replied, cupping her face. "Our kid will be lucky to have you as the mother. Trust on that." His eyes were brimming with confidence that she simply couldn’t ignore.
"Then will you love him?" she asked, her fears simply not leaving her.
But Aiden held his patience. He read through her anxiousness and smiled, reassuring her, "As long as it will carry a part of you, I would love and cherish it for life."
Arwen wanted to refute him on that, but then, she couldn’t. His words only made her blush. Letting her lips curl, she smiled and nodded, "Then I am looking forward to seeing you beco the best dad in the world."
Aiden paused at that. His brows furrowed a little in confusion as he stared at her, only to see her smile back at him. Her gaze wasn’t simple. It held sothing that he was hesitant to speak out loud.
"You —"
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