Page 41 of Noctis

When he was standing next to the table, he said, “I hate to cut this short, but it’s already after visiting hours, and I don’t want to disrupt things too much.”

Mora and Hugo remained sitting as I stood up. “We’d like to begin the process of removing Hugo from the care of the hospital,” I told him. “Now that he has family, there’s no need for him to remain here. We can take care of him at home.”

Dr. Simms blanched a bit. “Mr. Dreven, Mr. Draka suffers from-”

“We’re very aware of what he suffers from, Dr. Simms,” I said, cutting him off. “While we would like it very much if you kept treating him, we’d like it done on an outpatient basis.” I straightened to my full height. “I’m not asking, Dr. Simms. We are fully prepared to take this to court if we have to.”

“No, no,” he stammered. “That’s not necessary. As long as we can work something out that will allow his treatment to continue, I don’t see a problem with releasing him into your care. After all, he’s been a model patient for the past twenty years.”

Mora stood up, and as soon as she did, Hugo followed suit. He was looking at her with both hope and sadness, and it was strange how he could look that way. Granted, I’d never had to live my life locked up in an insane asylum, so what did I know about the man’s emotions?

My chest jerked with a sharp pain when Mora threw her arms around Hugo, hugging him, her emotions vibrating inside my ribcage. No matter what was in store for us in the future, Mora and Hugo were going to be okay. Though Mora loved her adoptive parents, her relationship with Hugo was going to be something else entirely.

Hugo hugged her back, and it felt sacrilegious to break them up. You had a father and daughter that had been separated twenty-five years ago, so nothing and no one should be ruining this moment between them.

When Mora finally let go, she said, “We’ll see you soon, Hugo.”

He stared down at her seriously before saying, “She would have been so proud of you, Mora. No matter what, she would have been so proud to see you as the woman that you are today.”

“Thank you, Hugo,” she whispered emotionally.

As soon as Dr. Simms escorted Hugo out of the room, I reached for Mora, then turned her around, pulling her into my arms. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll never be okay again,” she replied, referring to her new life. “But I’m going to stop worrying about a future that’s going to come for me, no matter what I do to try to prepare for it.”

My arms tightened around her. “I never fucking know if you’re deciding that you’re all in or if you’ve got one foot out the door.”

“I know,” she sighed as her arms tightened around my waist. “I’m all over the place.” She sounded so goddamn beat that I could barely stand it. “I just need more time.”

“You’ve got an eternity of it, baby,” I reminded her. “And I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”

Mora pulled back, then looked up at me. “I know. I know you will.”

“I love you,” I told her. “All that you are, I love every bit of it.”

“I love you, too,” she replied, and I knew that she meant it, even if she didn’t want to mean it.

“C’mon, let’s get going,” I said, tugging her closer. “We’ve got a lot of things to take care of before we bring your father home with us.

“Okay,” she replied. “But only after you make me forget for a while again.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice.

Epilogue

Mora – (One Year Later)~

Staring out the window, the city’s lights were twinkling as far as the eye could see. With the manor being our primary residence, Kalon had kept his penthouse, even though it had taken me awhile to get over my resentment of the place. Nevertheless, now it was home.

It had taken us three months and countless appointments for Hugo to be released from Pharoah, and as soon as he’d been discharged, he and I had both moved into the Manor with Kalon. Those three months had given me time to talk with my parents and Zaire about finding Hugo, and it had also given me time to introduce them to Kalon and talk to them about our new ‘courtship’. Though Kalon and I had gotten legally married one week after returning from my vacation, my parents and Zaire still had no clue. We planned on giving them a traditional wedding next year.

As for Brander, Phaeron, Thorin, and the covens, as far as I knew, we’d been left alone. Kalon still attended their meetings, and he still associated with his family, but I still refused to have anything to do with any of them. I had my own family, and I had my own priorities that needed my attention. I was still adjusting to my new life, and I couldn’t care less about what Kalon’s family expected of me.

Now, while I still went to work, my afternoons were spent with Kalon before he headed to work, and my evenings were spent with Hugo, learning everything there was to learn about him and Emmaline. Luckily for me, my parents and Zaire had been super understanding about Hugo, and everyone was doing their best to be supportive of my relationship with him. There’d also been a couple of family dinners that had gone beautifully, and I really couldn’t ask for more from my family right now.

“What are you doing, baby?”

I felt Kalon’s arms wrap around me from behind, and my body automatically leaned back into his embrace. “Just thinking.”

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