Chapter 219: Until The End

“You know nothing, Celine. Don’t get involved in this.”

“I’m not trying to interfere in your past,” she said gently. “I’m thinking about what’s best for you. If you never face your past, you’ll never find peace.”

“The only people who need peace are already dead!” Tristan snapped, his voice rising.

Celine froze.

His eyes burned with pain now, not just anger.

“Will standing over their graves bring back my mother?” he demanded, his voice splintering with a rare vulnerability.

“Will it undo everything she suffered? Will it erase what he did to her?”

“Tristan…”

“Will it give me back the childhood I lost? Will it change the fact that he cast us out and destroyed everything?”

She stepped toward him, but he stepped back.

“I don’t want anything to do with him,” he said hoarsely. “Even if he’s gone.”

Celine sighed softly.

Then she crossed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a firm embrace.

At first he resisted, tense beneath her touch, but she held him tighter.

“I’m sorry, Tristan,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for everything you went through. I know I can’t understand your pain completely, but I know what it feels like… believe me, I do.”

He stiffened as he recalled how she’d cried in his arms several nights ago when she recalled a memory of her mother.

“The only feeling I have for my father is hate, just like you… So many times I think about ruining him for everything he did to my Mom, for everything he did to me but…I can never bring myself to think of his death. I know what it feels like to lose someone the way you did… But do you know what hate does to you?”

She slowly pulled back and looked into his eyes. “It tears you apart from the inside, and everytime, you have to carry a huge weight of it. I want to be help carry your pain, Tristan. I want to help you heal. I don’t want you locking all this hurt inside forever.”

Her hands cupped his face.

“To find peace, you have to let it go. And I’ll be here every step of the way. Through every wound, every storm, every burden, until the end.”

The hardness in his expression cracked.

His gaze softened.

Slowly, he lifted one hand and caressed her cheek, his fingers trembling ever so slightly.

She saw the faint shine in his eyes, the tears he was fighting back as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

She embraced him, rubbing his back gently.

“Do you know how much she suffered?” he said at last, his voice breaking. “She suffered so much… until she couldn’t endure it anymore.”

“It’s over now,” Celine whispered. “You have to let her rest. Let her find peace by letting go.”

They stood together in silence for a long while.

When she finally pulled away, she held his face in both hands again.

“Don’t keep carrying this alone,” she said softly. “Tell me everything. I’m here to listen.”

She had heard Aldrich Blakewood’s story from the family, now she wanted to hear Tristan’s.

Looking into her steady blue eyes, Tristan realized she was the only person in the world he could truly share this pain with.

After a long moment, he nodded.

—

Outside, in the quiet memorial garden beside a tower like structure built in the memories of Aldrich and Delilah Blakewood behind the estate.

Two elegant marble headstones stood beneath the shade of flowering trees. Fresh flowers had already been placed before them.

Leah stood in front of the graves holding a small flower in her tiny hand.

“Grandmother… grandfather… this flower is for you,” she said sweetly, laying it down carefully.

Old Master Blakewood beamed beside her.

“Oh my, how lovely. Just like little Leah.” he commented about the flowers she had carefully picked for her grandparents in the garden.

Leo stood silently nearby, his composed little face unusually solemn as he studied the engraved names.

“So these are Daddy’s parents?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” the old man replied, his tone gentler than usual. “This is where they rest.”

Leo lowered his gaze, for once, he had no clever question ready.

Leah wandered a little farther through the garden paths lined with white lilies, curiously admiring the flowers.

Old Master Blakewood began quietly telling Leo stories of Tristan’s childhood, small fragments of the boy he had once been.

“You know your Dad was always like you, but he adored his mother more than anyone else in his life.”

Leo smiled faintly. He loved his Mommy a great deal too, he was very similar to his Daddy in that regard.

“And he was also very protective of his little sister, just like you. That’s why I think when you grow up, you’re going to be a lot like your father.”

Yes, Leo nodded to himself. Someday in the future, he would…

“Ahhh!”

A sharp scream suddenly rang out from deeper inside the garden.

Leo shot to his feet in panic, the screaming voice had sounded awfully familiar…

“Leah?”

Without hesitation, he ran toward the sound.

“Leo, wait…” Old master Blakewood called after the boy.

The scream had indeed sounded like Leah, the older man wanted to rush to her too, but he wasn’t as fast as the little kid and he didn’t want the latter running into any danger either.

“Leah!” Leo didn’t wait to hear whatever his great-grandfather said, panic flooded his usually calm voice. He searched frantically among the hedges and stone paths, unable to find her.

His heart pounded rapidly. Leah had been with them just a while ago, he thought she was going off to pick more flowers, that was why he didn’t stop her from leaving their side, but he hadn’t noticed when she wandered off.

Something was wrong.

He turned, intending to run back for help, but then his eyes caught sight of something ahead.

He slowed, approaching cautiously, and the moment he saw what was there, his eyes widened.

He opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, a dark hand clamped over it from behind and everything went black.

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