Chapter 37 - 38
Elodie’s POV
I don’t even know why my hands trembled on the steering wheel that night. Maybe it was the traffic, maybe it was the storm in my chest that refused to die down. By the time I pulled into the family estate, the sky had already bruised into deep gray, and the Pack House windows glowed like watchful eyes. It was past six. Late again. Always late these days.
My steps paused when I recalled about Liora. It’s been days and she has not reached out to me. My sweet little girl who always clung to me and called me always, wanting me to rock her to sleep while she was younger, now had Sienna. My chest extremely tightened and the urge to break down again overwhelmed me but I sniffled and took in a very large breath and stayed still in the car.
The moment I stepped inside, my grandmother’s eyes found me. Her smile wavered, just a fraction but I caught it. She reached out and brushed her fingers over my cheek, and her touch was so light it almost broke me in half.
“You’ve lost weight,” she whispered, like it hurt her to say it.
I swallowed hard and forced a small smile. “Work has been... busy.” My voice sounded thin, even to me.
Her sigh carried the weight of decades. “No matter how busy you are, child, you must eat. You’ll make yourself sick.”
“I will,” I lied. “I’ll take care of myself.”
I lowered myself beside her, my head leaning against her frail shoulder. She smelled faintly of herbs and warm broth, home, comfort, safety and for the first time all day, I let my body sag. The scent of lamb soup drifted through the room, so thick and heavy, but even that couldn’t stir hunger in me. My stomach has been hollow for weeks now.
She ordered a servant to bring me a bowl, fussing over me like she always did, her words soft, her eyes wet with quiet worry. I tried to blink mine dry. I couldn’t let her see how shattered I was.