{Cold Stormy Night} (GabeNath)

| Chapter 46: Uncle Silas | 5/8/2024 |

''...from Uncle Silas.''

Nathalie's eyes widened; it would be an understatement to say she was surprised.

''What do you mean? This better not be a joke,'' Nathalie crossed her arms, staring at Ellise.

''What makes you think I'd joke about this!?'' Ellise scoffed.

Adrien sat up in his seat, watching the two girls with wide eyes.

Nathalie took the envelope and ripped it open. She was angry, did someone send this as a prank!?

It was a long, well written letter. She turned the page to face Ellise, who was shocked upon seeing it.

It was their uncle's hand writing, as his penmanship was unique, and similar to Nathalie's.

''Read it!'' the brunette looked at Nathalie with teary eyes.

Nathalie looked back at Adrien, ''Do you mind if we take a moment to read this?''

Adrien shook his head, ''Not at all! Go ahead.'' He sat back in his seat.

Nathalie began at the top of the letter, ''To my...'' she stopped, looking at the nickname which referenced her eyes, ''...precious Sapphire.'' She sighed, ''I have made arrangements for my lawyer, and friend, to personally deliver this to you years after my passing.''

Adrien and Ellise listened, taking in each word.

Nathalie continued,

''You and Ellise have been all that is on my mind lately. I think about you two every day, and I just pray that when this letter finds you, you are doing well,'' Nathalie took a deep breath, ''I have enjoyed my time on earth, but I know that God will soon be calling me home. I never used to be afraid of death, however, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you two alone; I have recently been anxious about that.''

''So I went to the Lord, and I asked this of Him: that He would always be with you, protecting you wherever you go and watching over you. That He would send his angels to guard over you at all times, making sure that no evil prospers against you,'' Nathalie held in tears as she read, ''I know the Lord sees me, and how much I care for you and love you.''

She began reading the next paragraph down, ''I truly appreciate being alive because of all the wonderful memories we made. I thank God every day that I was able to be there for you. Watching you grow into such a beautiful young woman has made this life worthwhile. The Lord saved me from my place of death all those years ago, when I was younger than you are now. He saved me from myself, and I couldn't be more grateful.''

Nathalie took off her glasses, lowering the letter. She wiped her tears and dried her eyes, continuing to read right after, ''You are such a strong and determined woman. With the lack of support you received from your parents growing up, you still managed to become hard-working and resilient. I admire the strength and bravery you had to keep going and dealing with them all those years you did.'' Nathalie softly smiled.

''And recently I got to see you on TV, with Gabriel Agreste himself. I'm so proud of what you have accomplished, but something felt different; I felt the disappointment, and the pain of rejection coming off of you. It broke my heart to see you look so cold.''

''It hurts me deeply that I cannot be there for you with whatever is going on. I want to hold you in my arms and tell you that it will all be okay. However, since I can't be there physically, I can leave you this,''

''The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.''

Psalms 34:18