A month later.
Because Madron and I have been so deeply bound all these years.
He resolutely refuses to sever our mate bond.
As a result, the ceremony to sever our mate bond has reached a stalemate.
Today is Grandpa's 80th birthday.
Even though things are strained with Madron, Grandpa has always been very good to me.
"Amara, I'll come pick you up at noon."
Looking at the new number on my phone, I block it without a second thought.
This is already the twentieth new number Madron has gotten recently.
He tirelessly harasses me.
At noon, just as I'm heading out the door with the gift box ready, Madron stops me.
"Amara," he says, looking at me, his usually calm and self-possessed face holding an almost imperceptible plea. "Can we at least not let Grandpa see that anything is wrong today?"
I get into the car calmly. Why turn down a free driver?
Am I supposed to act like some heroine in a novel, covering my ears and yelling, "Go away! I don't want to see you!"
Melodramatic.