57. Goodbye

Chapter fifty-seven

Goodbye

*ARDEN*

I rummage through Eric's cupboards, trying to find the pan I'm looking for. "Tell me once more," Eric says, his gaze following each of my moves. "What exactly do you need my kitchen for?"

"I want to cook something," I say.

"You said that half an hour ago, but I have my doubts at your approach." Eric eyes the ingredients and my test tube rack skeptically.

"Cooking is just chemistry," I say.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was talking about," Eric mutters.

"I want to get Aurelia's mind off her worries," I admit. "Which is why I decided to cook something fancy. Saffron risotto and some medium rare steak."

"Risotto and steak?" Eric asks in disbelief before he sighs. "Couldn't do something simpler, huh? Alright, I will help you."

I look at him confused. "I didn't ask for help."

"You need it, though," Eric says dryly. "Toss that sheet of paper aside and grab the rice instead. I can't believe that you wrote equations down there."

"But—"

"You are testing my patience," Eric says. "I've been watching you for almost half an hour. Believe me, I'm your savior. So, say thank you like a good kid and do what I say."

"When did you turn out so bossy?" I say but do as he told me to.

"I've always been, just hid it well." He grins.

Then, under Eric's instruction, I indeed manage to make dinner for Aurelia and me. I first thought it was just rice and that Eric was being overly fuzzy, but I'm glad I accepted his help. Without him, I'd have been doomed.

"Please tell me you can set the table on your own," Eric says when we are done.

I can't help but glare at him. "I am a functioning adult."

"Of course you are," Eric says with an infuriatingly nice smile. "Well, make sure to do other functioning adult stuff today. Just not in Val and my apartment, please."

I know he is teasing me; probably has been the whole afternoon, but I can't help but smile when I grab a serving tray and put two plates with risotto and steak on it. Then, I grab a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. "Thank you, Eric," I say.

He chuckles. "Have fun."

My date with Aurelia is amazing. We spend it on the highest floor of the building, in a loggia I had booked for us. "This tastes amazing." Aurelia beams. "I didn't know you could cook that well!"

"I can't," I admit. "Eric tutored me."

She looks amused. "Then I should probably feel sorry for you."

"Yeah, he enjoys teasing me," I admit, trying to sound annoyed, but in fact I feel happy that he treats me like a brother.

Aurelia tilts her head, smiling. "Let's make sure to visit him and Val as much as possible."

"And invite them over to us," I say.

Aurelia looks happy at my suggestion. "I'd like that," she says. "And I bet Val would like that too. Also, Eric is hellbent on having my father take leadership of the Council and claim the throne, so it's a win-win for Eric, too."

"If Eric has his mind set on it, it will happen," I say.

"That's what Mom and I keep saying." She chuckles.

She looks a lot happier and more relaxed than during the last couple of days, ever since she heard the news about her brothers going missing. There is no new information, though in this case, no news is good news, I guess. I make sure to distract her further by talking about all kinds of things.

Tomorrow would be Vander's birthday, and we want to go to his favorite coffee shop and then go to Disneyland with Léna. He wanted to take her to it but .... Léna is still mourning him, but she is doing a little better. I'm glad about that. She is still so young, and I hope she will move on with time. Not that I want her or anyone to forget Vander, but I know he wouldn't want her to be miserable.

Eric and Val will come as well, and we even invited Gustave with Coralie and also Zoé. All of them want to honor Vander on this day. As for Coralie, I don't have any bitter feelings towards her anymore. She and I weren't supposed to be. I'm glad she didn't use me the way I thought she did and also that she was able to move on and found her mate. It's still weird for me when she is around, but she gets along really well with Léna. That's more important than my own awkwardness.

Aurelia's phone beeps, signaling an incoming message. "That's my mom," she mutters, reaching out her empty wine glass towards me. "I need to have a glass of wine before reading it." She pauses. "Or… could you?"

"Of course." I reach out my hand for her phone, opening the incoming message. It's indeed from her mother.

My heart jumps in joy and relief.

"They found them," I say. "Both of them are alive, and the kidnapped girl is too." I hand Aurelia the phone back. "She said she will update you with the details tomorrow."

Aurelia takes the phone with a shaky hand, staring at the message for a long while before she bursts into tears.

"Do you want a glass of wine now?" I ask, feeling helpless. "And I've prepared dessert too! Mousse au chocolat!"

Aurelia laughs between her tears. "Yes, I'd love that."

Aurelia and I head out early the next day to have breakfast at Vander's favorite coffee shop. It's a difficult day for me. I felt like I was able to move on, but being faced with his birthday and the knowledge I will never celebrate it with him again just breaks my heart all over.

My mate is great, though. She allows me to eat my breakfast in silence. When the memories of Vander start flooding my mind and I begin talking about him, she starts asking questions about him. I love that she wants to know more about him, and I tell her everything she wants to know.

"We better get going," I say after a while. "Eric is going to pick us up soon."

"Excited about going to Disneyland?" Aurelia asks innocently.

I groan. "Not at all. The noise and the masses of people there are already terrifying me. Good thing it's a weekday at least."

"If it gets too much, we can always take a break," she offers.

"Do you think it would be bad if I switch off my hearing aid occasionally?" I ask. "I don't want to insult anyone, especially since they are all here to support me and honor Vander."

"Not at all," she reassures me. "No one would hold it against you. And if they do, they can come to me with their complaints."

"As if they would do that." I chuckle.

Aurelia grins. "Exactly my point."

"Aurelia, Arden!" Val calls out to us, successfully distracting us from our conversation. "We are here."

We hurry to her and Eric, and get into their car. Eric has made sure we have fast-lane tickets and some exclusive entrances, so we don't have to stand around for hours. Once there, the others are already waiting for us.

I give Léna a wordless hug, noticing how she clings to me for a while before we all make it into the amusement park. For Zoé it's the first time in such a place. It's adorable to see her excitement. She is not the only one, though.

"Goddess." Eric looks around. "I love it here!" He takes Val by her waist and twirls her around. "This is the perfect place for us." He offers her his arm. "My princess."

She giggles. "My prince."

"Is he always like that?" Gustave whispers towards me.

I grin. "Better be prepared for a lot of surprises, now that you are working for him."

The afternoon is fun despite being noisy and crowded, but we all make the best of it, and as usual Eric has planned for all eventualities. He isn't in his position for nothing.

Break? I link Aurelia when I feel the noise is getting a bit too much. The others are currently in line to ride a roller coaster, minus Eric who is skipping that one and buying something to drink instead.

She takes my hand and nods. Let's sit down a bit further away from the attractions.

We sit down at an empty bench. Slowly, I can feel my strained mind recovering and my ears stop ringing. I did it without having to switch off my hearing aid, which makes me feel proud. It might be silly to see this as some sort of accomplishment, but it's a huge step for me.

Sitting here with my mate reminds me of something I wanted to ask her about for a while.

"Aurelia," I ask. "Don't get me wrong for asking this… it's just something I heard."

"Don't be scared to ask me anything," she reassures me.

"I've heard your grandfather is in Paris," I say tentatively. "I heard it coincidentally because Eric told Emilien that he needed to send someone to check on his grandfather. That he doesn't want to do it himself. You have the same grandfather, don't you?"

Aurelia looks at me for a moment, furrowing her brows.

"I said something wrong," I mutter. "I know I shouldn't have asked."

"No," she says. "It's not you. It's just whenever I think about him, I get mad. He is in exile here," she explains. "He is basically on constant house arrest in a place close to Paris. I don't know him personally, but I know he abused my father and did terrible things to him and my grandma. He also was pretty terrible to Eric's mother."

It's right at that moment that Eric decides to join us with three cups of frappuccino in his hands. "You look so serious," he says. "Is everything alright?"

Awesome, now I'm not just crossing my mate with my stupid question, but also him.

"Yes, everything is okay," Aurelia says. "Arden just asked about our grandfather."

Eric grimaces. "I tend to forget that he even exists."

"Sorry for butting into family business that isn't mine," I say, feeling terrible for poking my nose in.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Aurelia assures me. "I just didn't realize I hadn't told you about him."

"Yeah," Eric agrees. "It's so natural for me not to talk about him."

"Just ask what you want to know, Arden," Aurelia encourages me.

"How are you all related?" I ask.

"Well," Eric says. "My dad is Uncle Elden's younger half-brother and the illegitimate son of a mistress. My father was an ass, pretty much like my grandfather."

"But your parents were mates, right?" Aurelia asks.

"Yes, but that didn't stop him from being an elitist. Mom was never good enough for him for being a commoner . Dad's always been fighting for Grandfather's attention. The thing is, Grandfather never cared for either of his children, but Uncle Elden was at least his heir and legitimate son, so Dad couldn't win against him," Eric explains.

"I didn't know these details," Aurelia says quietly. "I'm sorry, Eric."

"Nah, it's okay. Uncle Elden and you lot were my family," Eric says with a smile. "For Dad, I was always too much like Mom, and not enough like him or Grandfather. But Uncle Elden accepted me. He could have disowned me for being the child of his illegitimate brother, but he never did."

"Dad would never do something like that," Aurelia says. "Family is so important to him. I know it hurt him how little he got to know the remainder of his family due to what Grandfather did. Dad has a half-sister, too, but they are only in loose contact with each other. He has a funny great-uncle who lives far away and sometimes visits, but that's about it. His great-aunt died when I was still little. We don't have a big family. There isn't anyone on Mom's side either. That's why Mom and Dad always tried to make sure we siblings get along and are there for each other, and why they both tried to keep Dad's few family members close. He loves you, Eric, and he always mentions how happy he is that you turned out the way you did."

"This is all so fucked up," I say to Eric. "But I am glad you have a supportive and loving uncle." I sigh. "Man, why are our dads so shit?"

"Beats me," he says quietly. "I stopped searching for an answer long ago, Arden, because I realized sometimes there isn't one. At least, none we can accept, not a logical one."

I nod to myself. "That's what I think, too," I admit.

"For what it's worth, you will get a great second family now through Aurelia," he says. "Sometimes family is who we choose."

Aurelia wraps her arms around me and kisses my cheek. "Eric is right. My family will love you. You are one of us now."

"Once an Alcott, always an Alcott," Eric grins. "The moment they have you in their clutches, you won't be able to escape."

Aurelia punches him playfully, while I can't help but laugh. Part of me is still sad to leave Paris, mostly because Eric and Valerie are here, and Eric has become like an older brother. He was always a mentor to me, and I only realize now how he truly saved me when I was a teen.

But I'm also excited to start over again in Silverlake, where not every memory is haunting me. Where I won't constantly be reminded of my father and what he did to us.

I can finally build a family and life of my own, and I'm going to make the best out of it. In case Vander is watching, I want him to be proud of me.