Don't mind me. I'm just taking advantage of my sporadic hyperactiveness before I spiral into my usual slump lol. Happy reading <3
Tristan's POV:
I take a brisk inhale as I place my feet on the familiar doormat, pressing on the bell and waiting for an answer. For the first time in my life, an undercurrent of tension wound its way through my every thought.
Emerging from the dead and finding myself nonchalantly standing at my family's doorstep doesn't exactly scream an average homecoming.
I nervously tap my foot against the floor and tense my muscles as I anticipate a response. Suddenly, the door flies open and my mother's pale and distraught face greets me. Her woeful eyes take on a new demeanor as she squints at me...
I watch as her features twist in a frown and a loud scream errupts from lungs, loud enough to shatter glass and apparently summon everyone inside the household. She collapses to the ground as she sobs while my peripheral vision catches my father running towards the door.
"Tristan!" He exclaims loudly, rushing towards me as I catch my mother just in time before she faints. He clasps me in a strong hug as my two siblings join in. Gasps and cries surge from everyone as they attempt to adjust to the reality of my unexpected return...
My mother, overcome with emotion, clings to me tightly, her tears streaming down her face. My younger brother and sister, with a mixture of disbelief and confusion, are rendered speechless.
I try to remain as composed as I am but even I have to admit this shit is heartbreaking. Watching my family, the one thing I care about most, in this state is messing with my head. The agonizing, excruciating events that I've been through these past seven months couldn't compare to the pain that fills the atmosphere in the Black Manor this moment.
~~~~~~~~~~
After a few hours, things were slowly beginning to calm down and before I knew it, I was swept into a third degree interrogation with my family requiring every meticulous detail since my departure. But I made sure to leave the crucial details out.
No one needs to know what I've been up to.
Other than that, my mother's emotions still haven't quite stabilized. "This is just unbelievable." She says. shaking her head in disbelief. "I thought I lost my sweet boy forever." She mutters, sniffling back the tears as I amusingly roll my eyes. Although, I try my best to comfort her. "They can't get rid of me that easy, mother." I reply, attempting to lighten the sordid mood.
"But they did beat the shit out of you quite a bit, huh?" Isaac jokes as his eyes scan my dishevelled attire and my bloodied arms. Not to mention, the scars that lingered on my arms and unknowingly to them, the stab wound that lined my abdomen.
"Detonated bomb." I casually reply and I watch his face drop. Tales of my falling off the face of the earth are best swept under the rug. I don't need to relive what happened to me. But quite frankly, I'm surprised I'm still alive.
"I better get going now." I announce as I painfully stand up from the couch, feeling my body giving out on me. Their confused faces urge me to answer the question that is undoubtedly running through their minds.
"I need to go see Aurora." I firmly state. Now, don't get me wrong. I am pleased to see my family and that they're doing well. But one of the reasons I came here was to shower, get a change of clothes and go home to Aurora and Eric. I've missed them both tremendously. I could've immediately showed up at her door but I didn't want to startle her with my current appearance.
At the mention of her name, they all awkwardly stare at each other, making me knit my brows. Something's up. My first instinct is to panic, fisting my hands at my side and trying to calm myself. "Where is she?" I shout, losing my temper at the mere though of her in harm's way.
"Sit down, sweetheart." Mother ushers, nodding towards the couch with a concerned look but I stubbornly shake my head. "Just listen to her, man." Isaac sighs, enabling her and angering me in the process.
"Isaac." I warn, sending him a death stare. "What happened to her?" I question, yet again. "Why the fuck is no one aswering?"
"She's fine!" Aylina blurts out and a slight relief takes over me. Although, my worry doesn't fully subside. I cross my arms as I wait for them to elaborate. "It's just that it's been a while since anyone's seen her." She sheepishly admits, almost hesitating to do so.
"What do you mean?"
"Since your 'funeral'." She says, forming air quotes with her hands. "She basically shut everyone out. We haven't seen her or Eric in six months. She'd answer Mom's calls from time to time but other than that, anyone who goes over is escorted out the property."
A rush of strange feelings suddenly swarms me. I was under the impression that all this time, I've been doing her a favor. That I've been protecting her. I now realize that the best way to achieve that would've been to stay with her and our son. I failed miserably as a husband and as a father. I am unaware of what she's been doing these past months but I sure know that she didn't seclude herself out of cheer joy.
"I have to go." I inform them before going upstairs, avoiding any potential conversation. I rush through my shower and my change of clothes and before I knew it, I was driving towards our house with my entire family as well as Elijah. I still can't wrap my head around what I've just been informed of.
Aurora had never been the type of person to neglect people. She grew up wanting a family and that's what my family was to her. Between the cooking for Isaac, the shopping dates with Aylina and the dinners with my parents, every single one of them was obsessed with her. How can you not be?
I can feel my heart hammer against my chest as the reality kicks in. I'm about to see her for the first time in what felt like forever. I was hanging on by a thread for quite some time during my mission and the thought of her was the only thing that kept me going.
The guards that stood outside the door were startled after seeing me. Nevertheless, they had no choice but to allow us in. With my resurgence, they now answered to me.
Stepping inside, an eerie atmosphere clinged to the place. It was nothing like I remembered. The curtains were closed, everything was quiet. It was depressing to see. To think she's been able to keep this up for six months... It's unsettling to think about.
The eagerness in me wanted nothing more than to go look for her, hold her in my arms and never let go. But I pushed aside my desire for the sake of her well-being. The last thing I would want is to frighten her. The alternative would be to wait for her down here. There's no doubt she's asleep...
~~~~~~~~~~
Not too many minutes later, I can hear footsteps coming down the flight of stairs. I shoot up from my chair as she enters the livingroom to find everyone seated and waited for her. I stood at the side of the room, she was unable to see me..
"What are you guys doing here?" She asks in a quiet tone. Her voice... It's been engraved in my mind all this time. Constantly playing on a loop and serving as a reminder of what my purpose was. Keeping me in check and chasing away my impatience.
My heart furiously hammers against my chest at the sight of her. Although, I haven't seen her face yet, I felt at peace. Her long brown hair moved with every turn of her head as she waits for an answer.
After being patient for months, I'd finally come undone. I step closer behind her and mutter out the one word I've been wanting to call out since what feels like forever. "Aurora." Her name slips out of my mouth and for a mere second, it felt like true bliss. Having her around me, in my presence, safe and sound was all I could ask for.
She turns around, her once cheerful face was emotionless. Every ounce of hope had been erased from her features, yet they still retained their enduring beauty. Exactly like the image etched into my mind..
Her eyes widen with disbelief and for a while, she remained silent, staring at me with tearful blue eyes and a downcast pout.
"It's really you." She sniffles, her eyes shifting across me and taking me in with pure distress.
"It's really me, angel." I nod, giving her a slight smile to ease her in. Hopefully, to remind her that I'm still the same person after all this time.
It all went downhill from there, with the back and forths. After she had learned that I purposely 'faked' my death to complete my mission, she wasn't pleased with the thought. Rightfully so.
I have to admit that fucking hurt. I expected a warmer welcome than how she's treating me at this moment. Somehow, I'd forgotten my family is witnessing this but at this moment, I couldn't give less of a fuck.
All my attention was directed to Aurora as I tried to reason with her and ease her pain. I refrained from revealing the truth of my departure for several reasons. All of them being for her sake.
"You don't know anything." She falls into a pit of anger, staring daggers at me. "You have no idea the hell I've been through." She argues as she continues her unyielding digs.
I wanted nothing more than to tell her what the reason behind my trip had been. Instead, I put her feelings first. But least of all, she had to know that I've been completely miserable without her.
"You think I haven't thought of you every single second I've been away from you?"I rehotirically ask. "Trust me, I know exactly how you feel."
She scoffs. "No one can know how I feel. Or what I've been dealing with."
"But I do. I know everything. Anything you went through, I was going through as well." I try reasoning with her but in vain.
"Really?" She questions in a challenging tone, as if she's trying to prove a point. I watch as tears fill her eyes.
"Did you know about this?" She asks, violently yanking open her cardigan and revealing her huge pregnant belly. It felt like a fucking punch to the gut. The air got sucked out of my lungs and all I was able to muster was a single word. "Y-You're."
"Yeah, I am." She nods.
This is beyond anything I could've ever imagined. I had spend the past half year being put through impossible, potentially fatal situations but in terms of being unexpected, this one takes first place.
"Aurora, I-" I start in hopes that she shuts me down which she does. "Please don't" She cuts me off. I'm thankful that she did because I don't know what to say. There is nothing I can say or do to make this better for her, to turn back time or to take away the pain she must've went through.
Suddenly, I wish I could retract the words I had said to her just now. There was no comparison. No matter how hard I'd try, I could never fathom what she was going through because at least, I knew she was safe. The sheer thought of her no longer being with me would drive me insane. I couldn't live with it.
"How can you possibly relate to how it felt like to be pregnant with our second baby?" She taunts. "Constantly thinking about how they'll never get to meet their father? How about the sleepless nights I had with Eric when he kept crying and couldn't sleep cause you weren't here? When he fell sick and I couldn't take care of him because I was having my morning sickness? All the nights I was scared and you weren't there to hold me. Where I go into your office and you weren't there." She bombards me and all I could do was stand there and take it. She's right and I deserve it.
"I-I didn't know." I lower my eyes, the shame and guilt eating me up. I know she's trying hard to hold back the tears but a whimper escapes her mouth before she storms out and leaves.
I rub on my temple as she runs away, leaving us all confused and quite frankly, stunned. Pacing around the room for a few seconds, I turn my attention to Elijah. "You knew about this? Why the fuck didn't you do anything?" I scold him, my eyes widening in anger.
As I gathered, Elijah was the only one able to get past security and check in on them once in a while. However, it's irrational to blame him for any of this.
"Is this the face of someone in the know?" Elijah scowls, cocking a brow at me. "She hasn't left the house in six months, Tristan." He reminds me. "The workers would bring what she needs, the maids cleaned up and left. She didn't want to talk to anyone." He proceeds, making me much more upset with every word he utters.
"What can we do? Drag and force her out? That wouldn't make things any better for anyone. Especially for her." He knocks some sense to me but all in all honesty, I'm spaced out.
I've never seen her this angry. I don't think she'll ever forgive me. She's forgiven me many times. And I put her through hell
Elijah notices my inattentiveness. "You were trying to keep her safe." He reminds me but I just bow then shake my head in disbelief. "There was a bounty on her head."
"Are you planning to tell her that anytime soon? Might cushion the blow of what you've been up to the past months." He suggests as I tune out again, staring towards the ground.
"No." I firmly state. "It's a done deal. She doesn't need to know about it." I confirm. She'll get scared and there's no need to tell her. It's over with. She doesn't need to know anything that will stress her out. She's been through enough.
"How noble of you." He jokes, clamping his hand on my shoulder. "Have I mentionned how much we've missed you around here?" He smirks as I keep my frown on my face.
"Thank you for holding everything down around here." I express my gratitude, sending him a nod. "You did a thorough job."
"Well, it's about time I got some praise around here." He airily primps. "But I just did what you pay me for. It's good to have you back, boss." He tells me and I give a faint half- smile.
"You can resume work for the day. I'll try to make an appearance tomorrow to announce my return." I state in a blank tone as he nods. He soon departs, along with my family.
I pace around and think to myself. I don't even know what I'll say to her. How can I confront her after this? Whichever way I try to approach this, I'll come off as the one in the wrong. Because I was.
But I wasn't going to not try. I love her too much for me to just stand here knowing she's crying upstairs. I had to say something. So I gather myself and head upstairs to our room. As I do, she's sat on the couch with her face buried in her hands, sobbing heavily.
"Aurora." I call out, softly. "Please let me talk to you." I approach her gently. The sounds of her crying tugging at my heart.
"You forfeited your right to talk to me when you left us for seven months." She spits, getting defensive. She's right. I can't make any excuses for myself this time.
"Look." I sigh. "I understand you're angry but-" I try talking to her her again but I'm met with the exact same attitude as before.
"But what, Tristan? I'm tired of this." She says, tears freely streaming down her face. "I lived with your title for years. But I'm just breaking my own heart waiting for you to put me and our children above it." She mumbles, shaking her head to herself. "It's just never going to happen."
"Baby, nothing comes before you or our family. You know that." I attempt to convince her. "Please, listen to me for one minute."
"Please, sweetheart." I hum, crouching down in front of her and trying to get her to quiet down. This can't be any good for her. This amount of stress while pregnant is worrying me.
"I am not going to pretend I know how you feel because I don't. But if you have any trust left for me, then you'd try to understand that I would never leave out of my own will. It wasn't business, I wouldn't leave like that if it was multi million dollar contract. It was a personal matter that I was obliged to handle." I explain to her, hinting but not revealing the full truth of the ordeal that clearly came at great personal cost.
"I'll give you your space, if you need it."I tell her, putting aside my selfish need to just hold her and feel her against me. "But I need you to know that I care. I need you to know you're my first priority and that anything I do is done with your best interest in mind." I continue. "I know you hold the notion that I'm a self serving asshole and I am, but not when it comes to you. I'm also not trying to dictate how you feel about me at the moment or make you feel guilty about the way you're reacting. Because you're right, and I'm wrong." I whisper as her tears quiet down slightly.
"So I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry I wasn't there with you through all of it. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'll do everything in my power to earn it. Just please let me help you get through this, my love. I'll spend everyday trying to make it up for you." I say my peace but she just sits there in the same position.
Knowing fully well she won't be answering me anytime soon, I stand up and stare down at her, my chest tightening at the sight of how upset she is. I bow my head and stride out.
As I do, my eyes land on the nursery that connected to our room. I slowly walk in and towards the crib where I look down to find my son, sound asleep. A strange calmness takes over me as I stare down at him but it's quickly chased away by how much bigger he's gotten.
I couldn't resist the urge to pick him gently and hold him against me. I slowly rock him in my arms and kiss him, taking in his scent and feeling the calmness that came with having my son with me at last. This was the most I've felt peaceful since leaving.
This was something I had to live with for the rest of my life. An irreversible action and an irretrievable time I could've spend with the people who matter to me most...
I hope you guys are enjoying the fast updates lmao. I'm even surprising myself tbh but let's not jinx it ok?
Thank you for reading <3
Lots of love xoxo.
Published: 24th February 2024.