âWhy?â Alexcent slurred.
âWell, maâam is saying that she needs to see you right away. I told her that you were working, but she insisted on going to the palace. Theyâre trying to delay her, butâ¦â
Gen wasnât able to finish before Alexcent slapped his own face to sober up, then rose and headed back to the mansion. The moment he walked in; he could hear Amethyst yelling.
âIf you canât bring a carriage, bring me a horse. Now!â
âMaâam, a horse is dangerous to ride with the sun going down,â Pon informed her.
âFine! Iâll walk then! Move!â
âMaâam, Iâll take you tomorrow.â Pon insisted. âTonight justâ¦â
âEveryone is dismissed,â Alexcent ordered, entering the room. Pon, Lunia, and the other servants quickly left.
Amethyst looked at Alexcent, with his rumpled clothes and a bit of a sway in his stance.
âAlec, were you drinking?â she asked.
âA little.â
Amethystâs heart fluttered as she saw him for the first time in a while. Though his hair was a mess, he was still incredibly handsome. But his cold voice hid something sinister and angry.
âAlec, please sit. I have something to say.â Amethyst pointed to a chair.
âItâs late. Letâs talk tomorrow.â
âAlec, sit! Itâll only take a moment!â
Amethyst reached for his arm to move him to the chair, but Alexcent pulled away. His refusal to be near her became too much and she began to cry.
Alexcent sighed and he turned to her. âDamn it, Ash, donât cry.â His words only caused her to start sobbing louder. âAsh.â
âI knew nothing about the rumours about you before I came here! But why are you saying these things? Why are you being so cold? I was just afraid. No about you, but about me! I was afraid!â Amethyst continued sobbing, as she choked on the words. âI was afraid that I might not become a good mother. That I might not have the right. I was just scared, so scared.â
âAshâ¦â Alexcent tried to interrupt.
âYou know nothing about what it feels like to become a mother. That I might yell at the child, might hit the child, that I might be a bad mother. You donât know how scary that is! That I might get angry, just because the child is being a picky eater, or that the child is messing up the house. If the child is crying all night, I might yell to stop the crying. Iâm scared that I might be a bad mother.â
âThereâs no way you would be,â Alexcent said, trying to comfort her.
âI wasnât born with motherly love to begin with. Thatâs why I came to this world. You donât know how scary it is for a person like me to have a child. I canât be certain that it is right for me to be a mother. So, I need some time. When Iâm readyâ¦ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âAsh. Thereâs not a right way to be a parent. What you said is true, fatherly love should be the same as motherly love. But look at me, thatâs not the case. Itâs ludicrous to say fatherly love and motherly love to begin with. Thatâs not the way it is. Everyone tries their best. Thatâs what love is. Doing it together.â
âTogether?â
âYes. Together. We just have to do this together.â
Amethyst stopped crying. She looked at Alexcent as she wiped away the moisture with the back of her hand. It was the most ironic thing for him to say the words that even he wasnât certain about, just to comfort her.
âYouâre going to help me?â Amethyst asked. âIâm not good enough. I canât do this on my own, but by my side, with you helping meâ¦â
âAsh. Thatâs not the right way to say it. Iâm not helping you. Weâre doing it together. Thatâs what a family is.â
âTogether.â
âYes. Together.â
Amethyst felt like the impenetrable wall that held her back collapsed at the word âtogether.â She looked deeply into Alexcentâs eyes.
âAlec. Youâre not a monster. No matter what people may say, youâre not a monster. I hope you donât think like that anymore.â
âI will try,â He said, smiling as if unsure.
âBesides, Iâve never seen or heard of a monster that looks as handsome as you. Only in books are monsters ugly.â
Alexcent laughed and took Amethyst in his embrace. She said he wasnât a monster. And, even though it was only the opinion of one person, he felt like his life had just been saved.
Amethyst, after feeling relieved to be in his arms once more, quietly whispered his name.
âYes?â he asked gently.
âPromise me to never run away again, and that we will always tell each how we feel. Even when weâre angry at each other. The reason why we drifted apart, and why we had to take the long way back to each other this time, was because of a stupid misunderstanding since we didnât talk. Weâll definitely be fighting more in the future, so letâs not run away from each other next time.â
âAll right.â He embraced her once more.
Marriage is when two people, whoâve been living different lifestyles, come together and adjust to being around each other all the time. Amethyst was only realizing the necessity of this now when Alec had said about them being together. She knew now that she did not need to run away anymore.
âAlec, thank you.â
âAbout what?â
âFor saying âtogetherâ.â
âIt was obvious.â
There was only one thing Amethyst wanted and that was him. Youâre the only one whoâs looked at me for what I really am. Just you. Amethyst finally felt complete.
Amethyst breathed calmly in his arms, her mind clearing. Then she looked up into his eyes and said, âAlec. I love you. I will always love you.â
âAsh, weâre always going to love each other,â he replied.
Always together. Those words defined everything that was in her heart. She whispered softly in his arms. âWeâre always going to be together.â