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The concern in Astrid's voice was unmistakable, and this was just so like her, too, with the way she always placed everyone else's needs above hers—-
It was just too much, and before Pippi could even think of what to do, she was already running, falling into her knees with a sob as she took her mother's hands in hers.
"I'm so sorry, Mom."
"Oh, hon."
She felt Astrid lay a comforting hand on the top of her head, and she wept harder. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, baby."
"But it is. You know it is. We all know it is."Between sobs, she told Astrid of how she something in her had just snapped and she found herself coming into the defense of Acheron's ex-lover. "I can't prove it yet, but I know - those women are behind this, and it's not fair - it's n-not right that they'd go after you—-" Her voice broke anew. "I'm so sorry, Mom."
The sound of her daughter's weeping hurt, and yet in a way, it also gave Astrid the strength to ignore her own pain. Her daughter needed her, and Pippi and her girls would always come first.
"Hush, baby. It's okay now."
Astrid pulled Pippi up and made her daughter sit on the bed next to her.
"It may be as you say it is, but that still doesn't make things your fault. All the signs about Dolph being a married man were there, but I chose to close my eyes to all of them. I loved him, and I didn't want to know anything that would tell me I couldn't love him."
"You were young—-"
"But I also knew what I was doing, and now I'm paying the consequences for it—-" When Pippi started shaking her head, Astrid said quietly, "This is how it should be, and in a way I'm glad to finally have it in the open." Her lips formed a wry smile. "As the cliché goes - nothing like the truth to set us free, darling." Astrid's slim shoulders moved in a shrug. "And now, it's going to get interesting, being Isla de Flores' aging Jezebel—-"
The description had Pippi choking back a teary giggle."Mom!"
Astrid simply smiled, and seeing it, the urge to cry and laugh grew stronger. That smile said everything, reminding her of the family motto.
Together.
Everything was possible...together.
And maybe, just maybe - because she loved Acheron...
Pippi swallowed hard, but before she could say a word, Astrid had already reached for hand, saying softly, "The answer is yes."
You love Acheron, and that makes him family.
So don't give up on him.
Instead, face your troubles...
Together.
