Goodbye

(Long chapter.)

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She did not expect that seeing her son again would make it harder for her to part with him. As she stood before him and Lucian now, with a huge lump rising in her throat, she felt every bit like she was dying inside.

Their drive back to her estate was in silence. Cal had come to pick them up when Lucian called him, and they both sat in the car in silence, holding each other and trying to get strength from one another. Ave had laid her head against Lucian's chest, and one of her legs bent on his, and his one arm was around her waist while the other was intertwined with her fingers.

They had not said a word until the car came to a stop in front of her house. When they came down from the car, she drew back and halted in her tracks. Lucian, who was holding her hand, stopped and turned to her. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from the tears she had silently shed in his arms.