Chapter 44: Chapter 44

It took Evander hours to explain that Havana didn’t need to die and tell the whole story behind everything, apologizing for how he let his sadness and anger cause him to be a bad king and all that shit. He even apologized to Stefanos and watching him cry, I could tell Stefanos had been waiting for that for a long time.

After that, it was time for all of us to rest because it had been really long and we were all tired. I was meant to go back home to make it up to Brielle but Hiro told me she had already dealt with that and I had to stay back to rest. After much convincing on her part, I agreed to it.

Even though the room I was in was comfy, I couldn’t sleep. Everything had a happy end but I couldn’t get myself to sleep because my mind wasn’t stable. I stood up then walked out to go and find a spot to stay in.

After minutes of searching, I found a garden but Leon was already seated there lost in his thoughts. I wasn’t sure we were good so I didn’t know whether or not to talk to him. I bit my lip and tried to talk to him again just one last time.

“Hi,” I muttered.

I didn’t expect it but Leon turned around, smiled, and said, “Hi.” I think the fact that I wasn’t expecting him to reply was what made me freeze. “I’m really sorry. I’ve been a crappy person by ignoring you and that is not one of my finest moments.”

I sat down beside him and sighed. “Why did you avoid me?”

“What did you expect me to do? I’d had all these feelings for you for years and you had no idea so I thought I could take it. Seeing you in love with Emrys hurt me more than it should have and I couldn’t help but feel like it was choking me.”

“Emrys and I broke up,” I said as I looked up at the starry sky suddenly interested in the beauty of the world. “He was cheating on me barely two days into our official relationship. I also found out he has a daughter and he had been lying to me about everything from the start.”

I felt Leon’s eyes on me as he said, “He was a fool to let you go. My mother always told me never to let the right person for me go because she never did that with my father. I believed her and…and Paris, that was why I could never let you go no matter how tempted I was to do that.”

I turned to look at him and sighed. “I’m sorry if I ever hurt you but…”

“I understand, Paris. Trust me, I do,” he said and I knew that there was another meaning to that. It probably had to be Teagan he was referring to. “I’ve always wanted to know why you really went after Emrys.”

“I crave a love so deep that even the seas would be jealous and I thought he would give it to me.” I looked up again and sighed. “Once in a while, I want someone to love me unconditionally and it might just be me daydreaming but it would make me the happiest woman on earth.”

“Funny enough, I’m sitting beside you,” Leon muttered but I wasn’t sure if that was what he actually said.

“What did you just say?” I asked turning to look at him again. “Nothing important,” he replied waving it off. “You were saying?”

“Nothing important,” I said and went back to stargazing. “What did you really think of me the first day we met?”

“My mother used to read me bedtime stories and one day, I asked her to tell me about my father and her. She told me a lot of things and being the child, I was, I told her I was interested in finding love like hers. She said I would find a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair. The first day we met, you had flowers in your hair.”

I couldn’t help the blush that crept up to my cheeks. “We were only four.”

“Weregriffins age differently from humans. A four-year-old weregriffin is as smart as a fifteen-year-old human or older. I just had to pretend to fit in with humans.”

I nodded finally understanding how he could have chosen me as his mate at such a young age. “Right. Emrys told me I’m your mate or something.” He nodded. “I’m not perfect so I think you may have made a mistake.”

He chuckled deeply. “People usually have this idea that a mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. That’s what we want. We just don’t see that your soul mate is actually someone who mirrors you. The opposite of who you are that brings attention to the kinds of behaviors you need in your life.”

“It could be anyone else,” I said suddenly interested in the hem of my clothes. “Is it that you don’t realize that you’re the only woman in my life?”

“Why?”

“If I try to tell you how I really feel about you, I’ll have to spill everything and there will still be so much that can’t be put into words.”

“I don’t get it. What do you even like about me? I mean, clearly I’m not enough for the guy that I’ve wanted to be with all my life so what is there to me that has you so head over heels?”

“Just because Emrys doesn’t feel the same way you do doesn’t mean that you are not enough. You are enough and you need to remember that every time you wake up.” I bit my lip and found myself fighting the urge to cry. “I think I just liked the fact that you were different.

You always had your head in the clouds and I found it interesting.” “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I don’t think feelings are supposed to make sense. They usually drive you around until you’re crazy and drop you right back where you began.”

“I think that’s where I am now,” I said with a humorless chuckle. “How can I ever get over Emrys now?”

Leon frowned. “I hate to say it but I warned you.”

“Yeah, you did. I just thought love was stronger than anything else that I didn’t think I could get hurt. Maybe I’ve been wrong about love all this while.”

“Are you kidding me? The love in your heart has done a lot of things and most importantly, it saved your sister,” Leon said and forced me to look at him. “Never judge what love is capable of with what one person has done to define it.”

I finally let myself cry. All the tears that I had failed to cry, the pain I had failed to exude, I let it all out. “I-I just wish I hadn’t been so stupid. It was right in front of me.”

Leon wiped my tears with his hands and looked into my eyes. “Stop hurting yourself. If anything, Emrys should be the one feeling like shit for losing someone like you. Do you know how many lives you touch without even knowing it? Look at you. Look at what you’ve done for yourself all your life. Paris, I don’t think you know how amazing you are.”

“It wasn’t enough for him.”

“He’s not the only person in the world.” “He was to me.”

Leon sighed. “What do you want me to do? I already kicked his ass for hurting you. Should I do that again? Would it make you feel better?”

“I really want to say it’s not worth it,” I said then looked away from Leon, “but he is worth it. More than you can possibly imagine.”

Leon pulled me into a hug and placed his chin on my head. “Love isn’t always easy.”

I leaned into his hug and sobbed while he kept rubbing circles on my back to comfort me. It worked but I knew it wasn’t that he was rubbing the circles. It was because he was the one doing it.

“You know, you told me that life isn’t all roses but it is. Roses have thorns that draw blood from you and make you wince in pain. You could get the rose-thorn disease and it can lead to you being crippled or dead if not treated.

“That’s how life is. We all love roses and we love life as much but a single prick from the thorn can cause you a lot. A single hit from life, from the universe, can cause you everything. So, yes, I think life is a bed of roses because roses don’t all come without thorns.”

His finger slid under my chin as we broke apart and he used his free hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. “You are right. I guess I didn’t see it that way.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t either,” I said as I went back to looking up at the sky that had gotten even more beautiful since the last time, I’d looked at it. “I just need a break.”

“From what?” “Just everything.”

I couldn’t help the smile that came to my face the more I looked at the sky. “Why do you have that weird smile on your face?”

“While staring at the stars, I realized that our galaxy is surrounded by beauty from every particle we cannot describe and somehow we are flattered by fake beauty.”

“Huh?”

I looked at him and sighed. “Never mind.” He looked like he was about to debate but thought about it and shut up. “I want to know something. Will you come back with me or will you stay here forever?”

He sighed. “I really want to leave with you but I’m not ready for that yet. I think we both need space especially right now.” I frowned and he placed his hand under my chin so I could look up at him. “Listen, I’ll always be there if you need me. I’m not going anywhere you won’t be able to reach me.”

“Leon…”

“I’m only one call away. I’ll be there to save the day.

Superman’s got nothing on me. I’m only one call away.”

“You’re not going to use my love for your voice and Charlie Puth to win me over,” I said, crossing my arms as I chuckled.

“There’s the famous chuckle I’ve missed,” Leon said with a smile on his face that caused me to smile. “I’m seriously one call away. You can’t understand how fast I’ll be there if you need me.”

“What if I need you forever? Isn’t that what BFF means? Best Friends Forever?”

“I’m still your best friend. I-I just want to be more and for now, I need to get used to the fact that it would never happen.”

We fell into an uncomfortable silence and I went back to stargazing. He stood up and left to sit somewhere far away, looking at the sky lost in thoughts.

I sidled up to him from behind. “Leon?” “Yes?”

“Nothing,” I said with a sigh of relief. “I’m just wanted to be sure you’re still here.” He wrapped his arms around me and leaned his head on mine. “Always, Paris.”

In a fight, we were lethal but around each other, we melted, and as I gazed at him through my lashes, I knew that Emrys had been right. I had been in love with my best friend all this time and I hadn’t even realized it.

Falling in love with someone you had no intentions on falling for is the most beautiful kind of love. No forcing chemistry or trying to save them. Just a pure, raw connection created on its own.

I had a feeling he knew, as much as I did, it as we cuddled. Time, distance, nothing could separate us because we knew.

It was right, it was real.

“There is no hurry. We shall get there some day,” I whispered. One day. Someday.