NovelEnglishBut then there were moments like that night when I'd asked about children, when he'd immediately fallen back
on the contract like it was the most logical thing. Or the way he'd mentioned extending our contract when he'd
markedat the hospital.
| couldn’t figure out how he really felt about me. Did he care aboutas his mate, or was I still just a
convenient arrangement to him?
Sometimes | wished my mother were here. | wished | could ask her for advice.
Maybe if I'd had that kind of guidance growing up, things would have turned out differently. Maybe | would have
known how to recognize love when | saw it, or how to protect my heart from getting broken by someone who
might never truly want me.
But I'd never had that. My mother had died when | was an infant, and then my father and stepmother had
treatedlike an inconvenience at best, a burden at worst. They'd never cared enough about my happiness to
giveadvice about anything, let alone something as complicated as marriage.
To them, | was just a pawn.
The thought made my chest hurt in a hollow, throbbing sort of way, and | realized | was crying again. Not for the
locket this time, but for everything I'd never had. The mother who should have been there, the family who
should have supported me, the childhood that should have preparedfor moments like this.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut then I thought about Lilith, and the ache in my heart softened slightly.
1 did have someone. Lilith had been a mother to me. She'd been the one to comfortwhen I was sick, to hold
And it was Lilith’s precious locket that Gabriel had destroyed. While | was sitting here moping about my own
feelings and touching Alexander's expensive gift, she was probably downstairs missing her family heirloom just
as much as | was.
| needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and go check on her.
After quickly changing, | made my way downstairs to the kitchen. It was late-past nine o'clock by that point-but |
knew she would still be up. Lilith wasn’t there, but I could hear her humming on the back porch.
| put the kettle on and pulled out her favorite tea blend, along with sof the cookies she'd baked yesterday.
By the tI'd arranged everything on a tray, the water was ready.
“Lilith?” I called out as | pushed open the door with my hip. “I brought tea,”
She looked up from the knitting project she was working on on the swinging bench, and her face lit up. “How
lovely, dear. How are you feeling?”
1/3
“I'm better now.” | set the tray down on the small table by the window and reached up to unclasp the diamond
necklace. “I wanted to give you this.”
Lilith’s
eyes
widened as she took in the sparkling stones. “Ella, | couldn’t possibly-"
“Please. Alexander gave it to me, but you're the one who lost something precious today. You should have it.”
“Absolutely not.” Lilith shook her head firmly and gently pushed my hands away when | tried to give it to her.
“That necklace suits you perfectly. Besides, diamonds were never really my style anyway.”
“But your locket-"
“Ella, darling, the necklace itself was never what mattered most to me.” Lilith set aside her knitting and cupped
my face, thumbs smoothing over my cheekbones. “What mattered was that it made you happy when you
needed it the most, even if only for a little while.
| felt the familiar sensation of hot tears pricking at the backs of my eyes again. “I'm so sorry it’s gone.”
“I am too. But we still have each other, don’t we? Lilith smiled and gestured to the tea tray.” Now put that
beautiful necklace back on and pour us stea.”
| fastened the necklace around my neck and poured the tea, sitting down on the bench next to Lilith. She handed
laughing, feet swinging as the bench swayed back and
forth.
And for a little while, that was all that mattered the two of us together, enjoying each other's company.
Diamonds and lockets could never compare.
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