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“For what?” I ask. There’s a list of things I can think of, but really, it’s Mother who owes us the biggest apology.
“I know your mother and I were not the best role models for you, but I didn’t realize how much damage we’d done. There are some things that you don’t know about Sylla, things that won’t excuse her but maybe would help you to better understand her.”
I sit back in my chair, crossing my arms. “And will you tell me these things?”
“It’s more her story to tell,” Father replies. “You know how your mother hates to be seen as weak, but you need to hear it from her.”
A few minutes later, Mira returns with Mother, who sits rigidly straight in her chair.
“There’s something I should tell you,” she says, her voice tight. It takes me a moment to realize that she’s trying not to cry. I’ve never seen my mother shed a tear in her life.
Mira gazes at her compassionately. “Go ahead, Sylla.”
“I wasn’t supposed to marry your father,” she begins. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath in, centers herself, and continues. “Before your father and I met, I was engaged to be married to a Kiphian named Mortex. I loved him more than anyone else I’d ever loved in my life.”
Father studies his hands for the next part, his shoulders hunched in on himself. This isn’t a pleasant story for either of them.
“I was happy,” she says bitterly. “It wasn’t fated, but it was quite pleasant. It was nice. And then I met your father. We both knew the moment we laid eyes on one another that we were fated to be together. But I didn’t act on it. I stayed faithful to my fiancé and never said a word to anyone.”
I can feel my eyebrow arch, not having had an inkling of this dramatic backstory.
“I was torn, of course, between the person I loved and the person I was destined to be with. And your father couldn’t seem to stay away from me. He wanted us to fulfill our shared destiny,” she continues.
The bitterness in her voice is unmistakable, but she keeps going.
“One day, your father went to confront me about our destiny. I tried to shut it down, but then Mortex came home. Your father explained what was going on and Mortex, not wanting to stand in the way of a fated pairing, broke off the engagement. Three days later, he was dead.”
She looks away, studying her hands. “He was driving his snow skimmer. They say that it hit a patch of black ice andhe struck a tree, dying instantly. But I don’t think it was an accident. I think he took his own life.”
I blink as all the puzzle pieces click into place. Suddenly, all Mother’s resentment towards my father and why he took it makes sense. Her grief makes her lash out and his guilt for the role he played in Mortex’s death makes him accept it.
She looks to Mira. “It has been brought to my attention, though, that carrying this resentment is a kind of weakness and the terrible way that we met is not Torrin’s fault.” Her eyes meet my father’s. “It’s too early to ask for forgiveness, but I will try to be better from now on.”
I stare at Mira, awestruck. She did it. She really did it. She got my mom to open up and actually apologize for the way she’s treated my dad. More than any fated mate, that is a miracle unto itself.
“Thank you for telling us,” I say. “I know it must have been hard to admit your wrongs, but it means a lot. At least, it does to me.”
Father reaches over and squeezes her knee. For perhaps the first time in my life, I don’t see her flinch away from his touch.
Her gaze returns to me, her ice-blue eyes softening. “Don’t make the same mistakes I did, okay? Don’t let the past destroy your future with Mira.”
“I have another confession to make,” I blurt out. All eyes are once again on me, this time giving me odd looks. From the outside, it probably looks like a non-sequitur.
I swallow, my throat dry. “I’ve decided that I’m going to stop competing. I want to stay here and train some more.” The room erupts into exclamations of surprise.
“Did you know about this?” Father asks Mira.
She shakes her head. “No, I had no idea.” Then, she turns to me, her eyes wide and pleading. “What about your dreams of joining the Intergalactic Competition Circuit?”
I flash her a warm smile. “I mean, maybe I’ll get back to it someday, but I have something that I cannot leave behind.”
“What is it?” she asks, glancing at my parents as though they might have the answer. They both simply shrug.
“It’s a very special woman,” I say, kneeling in front of her. “So, Mira, will you marry me?”
Her gaze lights up, transforming the room with her supernova smile, and she throws her arms around my neck, practically toppling the both of us over onto the hard wooden floor.
“Of course I’ll marry you!”
