Alie woke up late in the evening. What she had intended as a brief nap had turned into hours of sleep; the exhaustion of the previous day had claid her body entirely. Shifting slightly, her eyes landed on Noah and Gabriel, still peacefully asleep. The sight of her son tucked against the man who protected them both made her heart flutter with a warmth she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling.
Moving quietly to avoid waking them, she slipped out of bed. She draped a thick shawl over her shoulders and stepped onto the palace balcony. The sky was covered with clouds, a bruise purple shade could be seen at the distant, near the horizon.
’Noah will never be like Alex. He is my son,’ she thought, clutching the railing until her knuckles turned white.
Alex’s venomous words continued to echo in her mind that she couldn’t silence. Though she had stood tall and pretended to be unbothered when he spat those insults at her, the truth was far more fragile. Her heart knew the depth of her fear. Even now, in the safety of the palace, the re mory of his face made her hands tremble beneath the folds of her shawl.
"My lady," Ashna’s soft voice pulled Alie back from the mories of Alex. Alie turned her head, the wind whipping a few loose strands of hair across her face.
"Yes?"
"Carlos ca to see you about an hour ago. Since you were resting, I told him I would inform you the mont you woke up," Ashna replied.
"I’ll see him now. If Gabriel wakes and asks for , tell him I am with Carlos," Alie instructed.
"Sure, my lady," Ashna murmured, bowing her head as Alie brushed past her.
Alie made her way through the quiet corridors to Carlos’s chamber. When she entered, she found him seated on a velvet sofa, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his eyes pressed shut. He looked unusually tense.
"Carlos, are you sleeping?" Alie asked, a small, weary smile playing on her lips.
His eyes shot open instantly. "No," Carlos replied, his voice slightly raspy. "I’ve been concentrating my thoughts, trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn’t want to be solved."
"A puzzle?" Alie furrowed her brows in confusion, lowering herself onto the sofa opposite him. "Is it about Flora? The fact that she survived? Gabriel ntioned your vision didn’t beco true."
"It isn’t about that, Alie. And my vision wasn’t wrong," Carlos answered. "I simply presud wrongly that her life would end. I’m sorry for the distress that caused."
"Oh." She watched him closely, noting how his eyes were blinking rapidly, a tell-tale sign of the restlessness vibrating through him. "What are you trying to solve then? What has you so unsettled?"
"I can’t answer you now. I have to go back," Carlos replied abruptly.
"What?" Alie exclaid, her heart skipping a beat in shock. She took a breath, steadying herself as she licked her dry bottom lip. "Okay. If that is your call, you must go. But this is so sudden."
"Thanks for understanding," Carlos said. "I’ve already packed my luggage. I don’t know when you’ll see again, but I’ll keep calling you, though I can’t promise it will be frequent."
"You’re scaring , Carlos. Is everything okay?" Alie asked, her frown deepening.
"Alie, it’s about . I have to find sothing about myself. That’s why I have to go. There’s nothing to worry about," Carlos stated, his voice softening as he offered an assuring smile. "Trust . I wouldn’t lie to you."
She reluctantly humd, though the unease still flickered in her eyes. "If I can help you with anything, Carlos, anything at all, just tell ."
"For now, I don’t need it. But maybe in the future. I’ll definitely contact you," Carlos promised. He paused with a perceptive gaze. "It must have troubled you deeply, seeing the man you never wanted to see again."
"Huh? Hmm." Alie nodded slowly, the shadow of the encounter falling over her face once more. "It did. Do you know what he said to ? He said that Noah would grow up to be exactly like him. It made so angry. My Noah is nothing like him. He isn’t, and he will never be what Alex was." Her eyes brimd with tears as her lips began to quiver, the suppressed fear finally breaking through.
"Indeed. Noah knows what his mother went through, even if he is small. He will be like you, Alie. I am sure of it," Carlos said, his conviction acting as a shield against Alex’s poison. "Don’t let his words live in your head anymore."
Alie wiped the dampness from her eyes with her thumb, taking a shaky breath. "Thank you, Carlos. I needed to hear that."
"Anyti, Mimi," Carlos said, using the affectionate nickna that always seed to ground her.
Alie took a deep breath, steadying her emotions, and t his gaze again. "Carlos, have dinner with and Gabriel tonight. Since you’ll be leaving tomorrow, I suppose, we should have one last al together before you go."
"Sure. My flight isn’t until the morning," he replied, his tense posture relaxing just a fraction at the invitation.
"I will go back now. Gabriel and Noah were still asleep when I slipped away," Alie said, rising to her feet. Carlos stood as well, nodding respectfully as she made her way toward the door.
As she walked back to her own chamber, she found the room bathed in the soft, golden glow of the lamps. Gabriel was sitting up, leaning against the headboard with Noah balanced on his lap. The toddler was rubbing his sleepy eyes, while Gabriel looked toward the door, his expression shifting from concern to relief the mont he saw her.
"Where did you go?" Gabriel asked, his voice low and husky from sleep.
"I was with Carlos," Alie said, removing the shawl as the chamber was warm. "I’ll freshen up," she murmured and headed to the washroom.
Gabriel sensed the tension in her. "Your mother is stressed, Noah. We need to make her happy."
Noah lifted his tiny head, not understanding the words but humming.
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