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Mei decided to go all or nothing this time.
“I would never use my powers on you, Mei,” said Troy.
Yep, I lost them for good.
After dinner, we returned to the castle. I went to see Athena, but Mei said she wanted to see the garden and requested Troy to guide her around. Of course.
Gabriel left in the morning and planned to return that night. An unusual occurrence as most of the time, he would leave for a week. Since working again with Vedoma, Gabriel was rarely home. He promised me not to involve himself in illegal dealings, and he kept the promise. But that meant he had to work overtime. Most of the time, he would return when Athena had slept already and tell me about the art they sold. He still feared touching Athena in case it would trigger his fatherly love. So he would admire our daughter from afar while she slept.
As I searched for Gabriel around the castle, I mistakenly opened Mei’s bedroom door without knocking. To my surprise, I caught Mei in a kissing session with a half-naked Troy. They were so busy frolicking. They didn’t even deem to notice me. Mei acted fast on her intentions, but Troy didn’t look like the innocent party either. In a way, I was happy for them. Troy always avoided tending to his heart’s matters. And here Mei came in with the force of a tornado and swooped him out of his comfort zone. Then again, I feared he would inadvertently use Mei as a rebound to forget Kira.
In the end, I went back to my bedroom, where Gabriel already awaited me. He kissed me but seemed to avoid kissing Athena. To be honest, I couldn’t take the coldness he had to maintain in order for us to mimic a normal family. So that evening, I went the extra step and placed Athena straight into his arms. The shadows of emotions sketched on his face surprised and horrified me. His eyes turned silver, and he barely could contain himself. Nevertheless, he said, “Hello, my sweet little pea. Daddy is home.” And kissed Athena on the forehead. His nostrils began to flare, and I could see he fought his beast with every inch of his being. Then under the pretense of being tired, he handed Athena to me and went into the bathroom. Gabriel stayed there for a good while, then emerged looking like his old self and said, “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back soon.”
But I could see it in his eyes. He didn’t plan on returning. He couldn’t risk it again. Not with his beloved daughter.
Chapter 15
Hours later, Mei found me on the bedroom floor, leaning on the bed and trying to hold my tears. “Is everything all right?” Mei asked.
I looked at my friend, blurry-eyed from all the crying. “I don’t know what to do, Mei.”
“I wish to help you, but I don’t know what’s going on.” Mei sat next to me.
“It’s Gabriel. He’s cursed, and the only way to free him from it is to get rid of an incessant witch that never gets a rest. When was the last time she went on vacation? That’s what I want to know.” I said, wiping tears off my cheek.
“Why aren’t you doing something with Gabriel to stop her?” Mei asked softly.
“He’s…been through a lot. She’s hurt him too many times, and losing me would destroy him. But at the same time, he cannot be here with us, fearing he’ll hurt Athena.”
“Hurting Athena is part of the curse?” Mei asked.
I nodded, too overwhelmed to speak.
“So, no matter how you look at it, it’s a lose-lose situation.”
I nodded faster and leaned on my friend’s shoulder.
“Then there is only one way out of this,” said Mei.
“What do you mean?”
“We have to get rid of the witch,” she said.
“That’s easy for you to say. Gabriel and I have tried and failed already.”
“Well, you didn’t have me. Now that you do, I’m sure we can figure out a way.”
I appreciated Mei’s confidence. What wouldn’t I give to have some as well? But the word “impossible” flashed before my eyes every time I thought of a way to rid ourselves of Vedoma.
“Let’s start with the witch’s weakness.” Mei put on her metaphorical investigative glasses.
“I’m not sure she has any.” I didn’t want to mention she was also gorgeous on top of being the bane of our existence.
“Nonsense. Everyone has a weakness. Try to think of one.”
“Well, she has to travel in time to regain her youth,” I said. “But I don’t think a wrinkly face would stop her from doing her evil work.”
“So she can time-travel. Interesting. How can she do that?” Mei asked.
