Chapter 1037
The car rolled to a stop in front of a modest house with a small courtyard. The drive had been long and quiet; the silence between them stretched the minutes into what felt like hours.
Mavis stepped out alongside Uriah, pausing as her gaze fell on the familiar gate. For a moment, she simply stood there, taken aback by how much—and how little-had changed. She hadn’t set foot here in years, yet she remembered every detail as if it were yesterday. This place, after all, was where she had first met Uriah.
“Do you remember this place?” Uriah asked, watching her reaction.
“How could I ever forget?” Mavis replied softly, running her fingers over the worn gate. The wood felt almost the same as it always had, a trace of the past lingering in its rough grain. She found herself surprised by how little the house had aged-it looked just as she remembered, the setting sun casting a golden glow over the yard.
“Did you have someone take care of it?” she asked, glancing at Uriah. In an old countryside neighborhood like this, an abandoned place should’ve been wild with weeds by now, yet the ground was bare and tidy.
Uriah nodded and pushed open the gate. Inside, the courtyard was immaculate, with vibrant flowers bursting into bloom everywhere she looked. Climbing roses had claimed the walls, curtains of red, pink, and purple blossoms crowding every ounce
of space.
“The flowers are all in bloom,” Mavis said, unable to disguise her wonder as she stepped inside.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Uriah said with a faint smile. “You always said you wanted the walls covered with blossoms. Is this how you pictured it all those years ago p>
She looked around in amazement. The seedlings they’d once planted together had grown into the lush, blooming vision she’d dreamed of.
“You Mavis hesitated, studying him. “Do you come here a lot p>
“Every now and then,” Uriah admitted. “I check that everything’s alright, fix what needs fixing, and keep the flowers trimmed p>
“I thought you’d given up on this place. Why bother looking after it?” Mavis realized she herself hadn’t been back, even though she sometimes missed the old days with a sharp longing. Maybe life had just gotten too busy. Or maybe, without him here, coming back had never seemed to matter.
This house, this garden-it was
where they’d lived once, back when life was fragile and uncertain. She’d been little more than a scared, battered kid, until rian had found her, rescued her when no one else cared. Back then she was like a stray kitten too weak to fight, but he brought her here, cared for her, helped her reclaim life bit by bit.
He taught her everything. How to take care of herself. How to fight back. And later, he’d offered her a chojce not many people got if she
wanted she could be his apprentice, travel with him, work at his side. He couldn’t give her a normal life, but he promised she’d be able to stand on her own two feet-independent, strong, self-sufficient.
She’d had no real choice. All she’d wanted was to stay with him. So, she agreed-became his student, went wherever he led, learned whatever he would teach Pretty soon she could look after herself.
She went to school, started earning a living, carved out a new future. Her life got better, and better still.
Except for the leeching relatives who crawled out of the woodwork to stir up trouble —and Uriah’s rare but unwavering protectiveness—she’d built a life for herself, a good one at last.