Since Saint’s recoverya week ago, I hadn’t been to see my mother and a nagging feeling kept shadowing me. Deciding there was no time like the present, I took dad’s car and drove myself to my mother’s cottage. As I drew closer, the first thing I noticed was Saint’s bike and I immediately tensed before my gaze shifted to the second vehicle, parked in front of his.
“Cops?” Not bothering to park the car properly, I killed the engine, jumped out and ran down the cobblestone path. I was breathing hard when I opened the door with such force, it bounced off the wall at its rear. With a hand up, I stopped it from closing, my eyes riveted on Saint and my mother as they both turned to look at me. They stood in the open plan lounge, their expressions severe but with no hint of fear of getting caught. Regardless, dread curled its way down my spine. “What are you doing here?” I looked from Saint to my mother. Then I remembered the cop car parked on the roadside. “What are they doing here?” I jerked at thumb at the two policemen who’d followed me and now stood just outside the main door.
Saint was the first to speak. “Come here, baby.” He held out a hand and I neared him, my movements slow, tense. Then he smiled and it was like the sun had just peeked from behind dull grey clouds. I slid into his embrace. With my back to his chest, he circled my waist and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Go on, Sandra, tell her.” When my mother said nothing, he added. “Your mother confessed, Levana”
“Confessed?” I tilted my chin back to look up at him and he dropped a quick kiss on my brow. Lowering my gaze back to my mother, I waited.
“The cops are here because I confessed...” she began, her gaze drifting between me and Saint. With my back to him, I couldn’t see his expression, but I felt the reassuring tightening of his hold around my waist. “To all the recent jewel heists.”
“What?” Heated tension flushed my skin, and a sudden heaviness I couldn’t explain, pushed down on my shoulders. I sagged against Saint. “That’s not—”
“Let her finish, baby,” he cut me off, his tone terse.
I should’ve argued but I didn’t and waited for my mother to continue.
“Everything I did was out of pressure to right a wrong,” she said.
“Right a wrong. You’re not making sense, mother.”
“Eliana, Saint, the thing with your father it...you won’t understand, Levana, I did all of this for you.” Desperation lined her tone.
For one stupid second, I froze then I burst out laughing. Saint’s grip tightening around me, forced me to sober up. “For me. Really,” I scoffed, glowering at her. “How is treating me like shit my entire life, pretending to sleep with the man I’m in a relationship with, taking me away from my father, all done in the name of maternal love.” Slipping out of Saint’s embrace, I took a step toward her.
She shook her head and for the first time I saw pain reflected in her saddened brown eyes. Running a hand through her hair, she walked away to stare on the window. Saint and I shared a look, his distrust and mine, confusion.
A few silent seconds passed before she slowly turned to look at me. “No matter what I say, you’ll never believe me.” Nearing me, she unclipped the chain she wore around her neck and held it out to me. “This belongs to you now, it’s an heirloom passed down the line from generation to generation.” She reached for my hand and placed the chain attached to a locket I hadn’t seen before, in my palm, her eyes meeting mine. “I’m sorry for everything, Levana. Maybe I went about it the wrong way, but fate still played its hand. I knew you’d be the one. You broke his curse without even knowing about this.” She curled my fingers around the locket, her words taking root for just a second before she walked away.
My gaze flew to Saint’s, mirroring my surprise. “What do you mean?” Running after my mother who was already handing herself over to the cops standing outside the door, I grabbed her arm, forcing her to face me.
She was crying. “It doesn’t matter now, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart?Never in my almost eighteen years had she lavished me with any endearment. My heart clenched at the look in her eyes. Despite her hatred, something in me reached out to her pain. “It does,” I whispered.
She shook her head. “What you two have is eternal. Just be happy.” She turned away. “Let’s go, officer.”
Something in me urged that I stop her from lying to protect me. “Wait.” When she paused to look at me, I hesitated then said, “you’re not responsible for those heists, why—”
“Let her go, Levana,” Saint’s quite tone had both of us looking at him. Slowly, he shook his head and shifted his gaze from me to my mother. His brow lifted, his expression non-argumentative.
I glanced back at my mother catching her nod to him before her eyes met mine. And for the first time in my entire life, my mother smiled at me—a pure, untainted one, I’d never had the pleasure of meeting before.
“Take care, sweetheart.” Then she was stepping out the door.
“Holy cow, what just happened,” I mumbled more for my understanding. I stood there on the porch watching her walk away, taking my secrets with her until she climbed into the cop car. Only when the taillights disappeared, did I stare down at the locket in my hand. An ancient black metal work of art with a deep lattice pattern on the front. As I stared at it, I frowned. I’d seen this somewhere. Although the design was small, it looked familiar.
Saint came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders with a gentle squeeze. “Are you okay?”
“What was all that about?” Turning around, I looked up at him. “She knew about the curse, about me breaking it. What did she mean about our love being eternal? God, I’m so confused. And why was she handing herself over to the cops, Surely, they can’t believe she stole those jewels.” My mother, a thief? That was unimaginable. “I mean I know she’s not responsible—”
Saint placed a finger to my lip, shaking his head. “Let it go, baby.”
“But—”
“Levana,” this time, his tone warned I shouldn’t argue.
Sighing, I nodded and held out the locket. “I don’t even know why she gave me this.”
He glanced down at the jewel, stared at it for a moment before his gentle expression changed, morphing into surprise. “She had this all this time?”
