Chapter 78
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Sephie
I was so exhausted that I fell asleep quickly, despite feeling as awful as I did. Adrik came into the room
and climbed into bed behind me. He was trying to be as gentle as he could, which I appreciated. I
wanted him to hold me, but I was still so mad at him that I couldn’t tell him that.
I had no dreams at first, but eventually I found myself back in the ballroom. I watched Adrik fall to the
ground, screaming for him. Then I would look toward Ivan, running away from me. I would scream for
him, and the vision would restart.
This time, when I screamed for Adrik, I heard his voice. The scene around me faded and I was back to
the abyss. The void where I could see my body, but nothing around me. I heard his voice clearly now.
“Sephie, I love you, solnishko. Pleasee back to me. I can’t live without you.”
I tried to go toward the voice. It felt warmer. It was a stark contrast to the cold of the void. The warmth
was surrounding me, making me feel safe. I lost his voice though. I couldn’t find it and I was back in the
ballroom, screaming for him once again as I watched him go down.
“Sephie, I love you. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how many times I need to tell you for
you to believe it again, but you’re my everything.”
The warmth was back with his voice. I could feel it envelope me. I looked down at my arms and legs.
They were brighter. I could see them more clearly. I could see just barely in front of me.
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“I’ve loved you since the first night I saw you, when you were standing at the bar. Your eyes were so
wide when you saw Viktor and Andrei walk in. It was adorable. But then you locked eyes with me and I
saw the look in your eye immediately change, giving me that spark that only I can see. Your friend Max
had to push you toe show us to the meeting room. You almost tripped on your way to us. I was
trying desperately to control myself as you walked closer. You were so different from any woman I’d
ever seen. When you asked what you could get us to drink and Viktor told you waters for all of us, you
cocked your head to the side and said “different.” Then you immediately got worried you had offended
me. It was all I could do not to kiss you right then. I stepped close to you, able to smell the floral scent
of your shampoo. It dr ove me crazy. I sat down at the table and all I could think about was running my
hands through your hair and what it would look like not in a braid.”
The void no longer felt cold at all. I could see in front of me. I could see where I was going. I could get
out of here.
There was a path that I followed to a vaguely familiar house. As I got closer to the house, I could hear
musicing from inside. Something felt right about this. Like I knew this house, even though I didn’t
recognize it. I walked the path to the front door. I pushed on it, opening it slowly. The music was louder
now. I knew the song. It was my mother’s favorite song. Who would be ying that song?
I walked inside, trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t disturb the person ying. I couldn’t see them yet, but
the music was getting louder with each step I took inside the house. I could almost feel my fingers
wanting to y the next note before I heard it.
I peeked into the first room I came to, revealing a grand piano. A man was sitting at the piano,
absorbed by the music.
He hadn’t heard mee inside the house, he just continued to y my mo m’s favorite song. I stood,
motionless, watching him. Who was he? Why didn’t I feel scared of him? How does he know that song?
When the song ended, he sat for a moment and stared at the keys. He sighed. Without turning to look
at me, he said “Hello, Sephie baby. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen me.”
I looked at his back, confused. Just as I was about to speak, he turned around to face me. His face. It
looked so familiar, yet not, at the same time. Like I’d looked at his picture for years and now that I was
seeing him in person, it wasn’t the
same.
I gasped. “D-Dad…?”
He smiled, his eyes squinting like mine did when I smiled. He stood up and walked toward me, his
arms wide. “Hey peanut.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve missed being able to hold you, little
one. That’s the one thing I miss the most. But I’m so proud of you. I’ve watched you grow up. I’ve been
there the whole time and Sephie, I’m so proud of you.” He hugged me tight.
“How? How are you here?”
“Eh, the logistics are a bitplicated. You can say I’m a bit of a guardian angel, if that’s easier for you
to
understand.”
I stepped back to look at him, my eyes wide. “You saw…everything?”
He chuckled. “Well, not everything everything. I know when to give you privacy. But every tough
situation you’ve been in, I was there in case you needed me.” He looked at me thoughtfully, brushing a
curl from my face. “You know, you’ve never once needed me, Sephie.”
“No, that’s not true. In the…basement?” my voice cracked as I thought about that ho rrible night.
He closed his eyes, sighing. “That was the first time I thought you might need me. I was just about to
step in when you saved yourself.” He put his hands on both of my shoulders. “Sephie, look at me. What
you did that night, it was meant to happen. Sometimes Karma uses you to deliver justice, if you will.
You were simply the one that delivered his
sentence.”
I su cked in a breath. “So, I did. I did ki ll him that night?”
He nodded. “Nobody found him for months. The knife was mysteriously gone.” He looked at me, raising
one eyebrow.
“You?”
“Okay, maybe I helped just once. But I mean, seriously. Do you know how boring it is being the
guardian of such a… capable child? You gotta throw me a bone once in a while, peanut.”
I smiled at him. Clearly, he was where I got my sense of humor from.
“There’s my beautiful girl. You know you can light the way for ships into harbor with your smile? You
almost give Adrik a heart attack every time you smile at him. I’m not even joking about that one. We’ve
had extra angels on standby because it got close a few times.”
My smile faded, thinking about Adrik.