When I woke up, Callum wasn’t next to me.
He usually got up earlier than I did, no matter how late we stayed up. He bathed and made breakfast and read by the fire until I joined him. I usually smelled whatever was fresh in the kitchen the second I opened my eyes, but now I didn’t notice anything at all.
I got out of bed, found one of Callum’s shirts because his clothes were so much more comfortable than mine, and then made my way down the hallway. Ever since we’d wed, we’d been locked away in my villa, ignoring the world and everyone in it. But I really didn’t know where we would stay, if we would remain out here or move in to the castle, where I would be better protected. Because right now, guards were stationed around the perimeter of the villa, so it wasn’t exactly private.
When I stepped into the main room, I didn’t find Callum at the dining table. Didn’t notice the smell of whatever casserolehad been dropped off. I found him sitting on the couch facing the fireplace, so absorbed in his thoughts he didn’t even notice me enter the room.
It was an abrupt change.
I moved to the front of the couch. “Callum?”
His eyes slowly lifted, and he looked at me, his usual intensity gone. A deep emotion had replaced it, his eyes red and the bags under his eyes puffy like he’d been crying.
I dropped onto the couch beside him. “What’s wrong?” I’d thought the worst was over, that we finally had our happily ever after, but whatever had transpired must have been extreme to bring Callum to tears.
“Everything’s okay,Xivin.” He moved his hand to my thigh and looked me in the eye. “There’s something I need to share with you.”
I listened to Callum talk for almost an hour, sharing every detail that he’d just experienced, traveling to the past to tell his sons the truth so they didn’t grow up thinking they were unwanted by their own father. He told me Darius had shunned him at first but then embraced him when he was an adult. Told me how he said goodbye to them in the Realm of Caelum.
I knew how much this meant to him, so of course it brought me to tears to listen to it. My hand moved to his, and I squeezed his big fingers between mine.
He stared at the fire, quiet and overcome with emotion. “I wish I’d had more time with them, but I feel like I got enough. Felt like I made a positive impact on their lives. Made them feel loved. Made sure they knew how much I wanted to be there with them. They told me I was a good father…and Darius named his son after me.”
“Callum…”
“I feel like my broken heart has finally been put back together.”
“I know how heavy this weight has been for you.”
He turned away from the fire and looked at me. “They asked me about my life, and I told them about you. They told me I should have the joy of having children and watching them have their own children. I was already prepared to do that, but I feel differently about it now.”
“In what way?”
“I guess…” His eyes flicked away. “I’ve always felt a twinge of guilt about it. To have more children when I didn’t raise the ones I’d already had. But they’ve given me their blessing, and that means a lot to me.”
“They sound like great sons. I’m sure they get that from you.”
He looked away. “I’d like to hope so.”
“They may not have seen you every day, but they knew you were there every day. And that’s what matters. Your impact on them in a short amount of time is still exponential.”
He gave a slight nod and continued to look at the fire.
I scooted closer to him and rested my chin on his shoulder, just sitting in the silence with him while I held his hand in front of the fire. “Can I do anything for you?”
He turned and kissed my head, resting his lips against my hair for a moment before he turned back to the fire. “You’re already doing it,Xivin.”
It was a week before I left the house for the first time.
Locked away with Callum with no interruptions had been the greatest gift I could ever receive. Making up for lost time, enjoying the beginning of our marriage, just the two of us in our first home together.
My father and I took out a sailboat and sailed near the cliffs of the Great Sea. It was a beautiful day despite the fall chill, and the waves were flat this early in the morning. We dropped our lines into the water and waited for the fish to bite.
My father stared out across the sea as he sat on the opposite side of the boat. We chose a smaller two-seater boat because it was a lot easier to navigate with just the two of us. “How are things?” he finally asked.
“Good. He was quiet for a couple of days, but he’s bounced back.”
He nodded like he understood.
