But still…
She couldn’t just give him up.
Even if she was the worst mother in existence. Even if she had made mistakes so terrible they were beyond forgiveness.
She was still trying.
Trying to make it right. Trying to be better. Trying to change things.
If Lucian told her to die right now, right this second she would. Without hesitation. Without a second thought. Without blinking.
Because she deserved it.
But even more than that
She wanted him to be happy.
She didn’t want to just atone. She didn’t want to just wallow in guilt and regret. She wanted to fix it.
To undo all the pain. To replace every scar she left on his heart with warmth, with love.
Was that selfish?
Maybe.
But it didn’t matter.
Because the only thing keeping Olivia alive the only thing stopping her from drowning in her own guilt
Was the fact that it hadn’t happened yet.
Lucian didn’t know.
He hadn’t reached that breaking point. He hadn’t lost himself to despair.
He hadn’t chosen to die.
Not yet.
He didn’t hate her that much yet.
And she wouldn’t let it get to that point.
She wouldn’t let history repeat itself.
She would change it.
She had to.
Rather than letting Lucian get so broken, so exhausted, so detached from the world that he would legally erase himself from their family
Rather than standing outside his funeral, unable to even see his face
She would rewrite everything.
She would be the mother he always wanted.
She would make sure that he never even thought of going that far again.
She would save him.
—
With trembling hands, Olivia wiped her tears.
Then, she inhaled deeply.
A breath to steady herself. A breath to steel her resolve.
Her eyes, which had been filled with weakness, with regret hardened.
“I will fix everything.”
Her voice was unwavering, filled with absolute conviction.
She lifted her gaze, meeting Celestia’s mocking eyes head-on.
“I will make sure it never happens. Never. Ever. Again.”
—
Celestia let out a dry chuckle, tilting her head slightly.
“Oh?”
She crossed her arms, smirking.
“And what’s your grand plan for that, Miss Olivia?”
Her voice was laced with amusement, but her eyes…
There was something unreadable in them.
“Honestly, I feel bad for Lucian.” Celestia sighed, shaking her head. “I wish he could’ve known. Or better yet been just like us.”
She took slow, unhurried steps across the room.
Stopping in front of Lucian’s still, motionless body.
Time had frozen him in place. He stood there, unaware of the conversation happening around him. Unaware of the chaos. The confrontation. The emotions boiling over.
Celestia’s gaze softened as she looked at him.
“Don’t you think it would be interesting, Miss Olivia?”
Olivia’s entire body tensed.
Celestia continued, a cruel smile playing on her lips.
“If Lucian had come back in time like us… he wouldn’t have to go through all these stupid things again.”
Her fingers hovered just above his skin, not quite touching him yet.
“Just imagine…”
Her voice was low, almost hypnotic.
“If he knew what had happened to him.”
She let out a small, almost delighted hum.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t even want to look at your faces.”
The words sent a cold chill down both Olivia and Rose’s spines.
A horrifying thought crawled into their heads.
Their hands shook.
Their breathing turned shallow.
“Maybe…” Celestia tilted her head, voice filled with cruel amusement, “he’d even want to kill you two himself. Just for the madness and hate he must’ve felt.”
Her eyes gleamed, watching the terror ripple across their faces.
“Can you imagine it?”
—
Rose’s heart pounded violently in her chest.
Her breath felt stuck in her throat.
She could imagine it.
Lucian, knowing everything.
Lucian, remembering everything.
Lucian, looking at them with nothing but cold, burning hatred.
Lucian, wanting revenge.
She could see it in her mind. That empty, broken expression. Those eyes that once held warmth now looking at her with nothing but loathing.
Rose felt sick.
The thought alone made her shudder.
But then
Celestia sighed, shaking her head.
“But sadly…”
She finally let her fingers gently brush against Lucian’s cheek.
So gentle. So delicate. As if he were something fragile. Precious.
Her hardened, cold gaze melted into something soft. Something warm.
“He didn’t come back like us.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Because if he had… he wouldn’t be frozen in time like this.”
That was the only reason Olivia and Rose were still alive.
The only reason.
Lucian didn’t know.
And that fact alone was what was keeping their hearts beating.
Celestia’s fingers caressed his face, her thumb brushing along his jaw with the utmost care.
A softness that she had never shown anyone else.
A voice filled with nothing but pure, undying devotion.
“Darling,” she whispered, “I will get you out of this hellhole.”
A promise.
“For sure.”
A vow.
“I promise you.”
The purest love in the world.
—
Rose, who had been silent who hadn’t dared to look up out of shame and guilt
Suddenly snapped her head up.
Her breath caught.
Her entire body went stiff.
She saw it.
Celestia’s hand on Lucian’s face.
Saw the way she touched him.
Saw the way her eyes softened only for him.
A switch flipped inside her.
The shame. The guilt. The regret.
It all burned away in an instant.
Rage.
Pure, unfiltered, uncontrollable rage.
Rose screamed.
A Dangerous Line
“YOU BITCH DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!”
Rose’s scream cut through the air, wild and raw with desperation.
She wanted to lunge at Celestia.
To rip her away from Lucian.
To beat her senseless.
But her body weak, bound, still under the lingering effects of anesthesia betrayed her.
She couldn’t move.
Not with her wounds. Not with the stiff ache pulsing through her body.
She could do nothing but watch.
And it burned.
Because how dare she?
How dare Celestia touch him like that?
How dare she act like she was the only one who loved him?
How dare she act like Lucian belonged only to her?
How dare she act like she was the only one worthy of him?
Rose’s body trembled, not from weakness, but from sheer rage.
And then
Celestia turned.
Slowly.
Her hand still resting on Lucian’s cheek.
And she smiled.
Not a warm smile.
Not a loving smile.
But cold.
An icy, piercing expression.
One that made Rose’s blood freeze.
—
“Oh?”
Celestia’s voice dropped into something lower, dangerous.
Her cold, detached eyes locked onto Rose.
“When I was talking earlier, your lips couldn’t even move. You couldn’t even find your voice.
And now?”
She tilted her head.
Mocking.
“Now you suddenly have the strength to yell?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Celestia’s fingers curled just slightly against Lucian’s skin.
Her gaze sharp, ruthless never left Rose.
“Listen to me carefully, you useless bitch.”
Her voice was deadly quiet.
“If you try to stop me one more time…”
She smiled again.
A cruel, taunting smirk.
“I will strip him naked right here.
And I will cook the white rice.”
Silence.
—
Ahhh man, so much work… It’s getting kinda hard to even do daily chapters.
There’s just too much work, and I can’t even keep up with the challenge. Sorry, guys… I’ll try again tomorrow.