Page 76 of Hollow Child

“After several months of awful things, I was finally able to escape,” Harlow went on. “Before I did, though, I managed to take out a few of the Loths for all the terrible things they had done.”

“Did they burn you when you escaped?” Stella asked.

“No, these scars happened much later,” Harlow said. “I thought the Loths were dead and gone, but it just took them many years to find me.”

“And what happened when they did?” Stella asked.

Harlow frowned at the memory. “They set our house on fire. We lost so much, but my family made it out alive. And all I have are these scars.” She forced a smile then. “Now I have my boutique, and we’re safe in Emberwood, and I’ve gotten to spend time with you and Remy. Life has a way of working out the way it was meant to.”

“Do you really think so?” Stella asked.

Harlow nodded. “I do.” Then she blinked, clearing away the dark memories, and she looked over at me. “You look so rad in that, Remy, but we have got to accessorize that just right.”

44

Remy

I hated to admit it, but it was a beautiful night for a festival. The air was crisp with only the slightest of chills, and it smelled like bonfires and autumn leaves.

The festivities began at dusk, so we had plenty of time to get ready. Except for Serg, who was down cooking at the Public Cafeteria. Harlow had sent Stella and I home with clothing for everyone: in addition to our dresses, button up shirts for Max, Serg, and Boden, and an adorable knitted red romper and matching hat for the baby.

Mine was a body hugging loose knit black dress with a pair of thigh-high socks and my regular shoes. Harlow had even forced me to take a few rings, and when I slipped one on my finger, I noticed Boden given me an odd look. We were both up in the loft, and he’d been sitting on the bed, watching me get ready.

“What?” I asked.

“Is that for keeping up appearances?” he asked, and I must’ve looked confused because he said, “You put the ring on your wedding finger. Are you pretending that we’re married again?”

“No. I wasn’t thinking that.” I shook my head. “It was just something that Harlow made me get, and it fit that finger.”

“Sure,” he replied flatly, and he got up and started toward the ladder.

“Boden,” I said, and he paused at the top of the ladder.

“Are you two ready up there?” Max called from the main floor great room. “Me and Stella and Rafaella have been ready for ages.”

“I won’t be able to stay out too late with the baby, so I want to be there as soon as it starts,” Stella added.

“Let’s just go and try to have a good time,” Boden told me quietly, but he sounded resigned to being miserable already. “The kids deserve a fun night out.”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, and I followed him down to join the others.

Stella did seem quite excited about going. Jovie had given them a stroller, and the baby was safely tucked into it with a blanket around her. Max pushed the stroller, Stella walked with her arm looped through his, and the three of them looked like a perfect happy family. Even with the baby, they walked faster than us, but Boden was practically dragging his feet.

“If you don’t want to go, we could go back to the house,” I told him as we walked down the road toward the fest. “Max and Stella will have a fine time without us.”

“No, I wouldn’t want to deprive you of any more happiness,” he muttered.

I stopped short. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He stopped and raked a hand through his hair before turning to look at me. “Why did you tell Nova that you were my wife?”

“What?” I asked. “That was so long ago. Why is it bothering you now?”

“It never stopped bothering me. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted anyway, for us to be husband and wife,” I said.

“Yeah. I wanted that, and I wantedyouto wantthat, but you didn’t, and that’s fine,” he said, but it didn’t sound fine. “I could handle that. Until you heard Lazlo was married, and suddenly your tune changes. And so I have to know… was it to make him jealous? Or was it because you’d been holding out hope that you’d be reunited with him? If he wasn’t with Nova, would you be here with me right now?”

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