Episode-985
Chapter : 1969
"I am building a new world," Lloyd said. "I am building engines and weapons and medicines that will change everything. I need a partner who understands that. I need someone who can look at a schematic and see the potential, not just the ink."
He looked back at her.
"Rosa is powerful," he admitted. "She is a queen of ice. She understands politics and duty. Amina is brilliant. She understands spies and networks. Faria is passionate. She understands art and fire."
He paused, his voice softening.
"But none of them understand the machine," he said. "None of them know what it’s like to fix a broken engine in the rain. None of them know the man I used to be."
He lifted her hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart.
"You are the only one who has the key to the old house," Lloyd said. "You are the foundation. Without you, the rest of it... the empire, the power, the alliances... it’s just noise. It’s just work."
Airin felt his heart beating under her palm. It was steady and strong.
"So," Lloyd said, his voice firm. "Here is how it is going to be. You are going to finish your studies. You are going to be the best scholar this Academy has ever seen. You are going to master that light power of yours until you can outshine the sun."
He leaned in closer.
"And while you do that, I am going to deal with the politics," he promised. "I will talk to my mother. I will talk to the other wives. I will smooth the road for you. I will build a fortress around you so high that no insult can ever reach you."
He smiled, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"And if someone is stupid enough to try," he added, "I will remind them that my wife... my partner... knows how to turn herself into a laser beam."
Airin laughed. The tension that had been squeezing her chest for weeks finally broke. She felt light. She felt safe.
"You make it sound so simple," she said.
"It is simple," Lloyd said. "Engineering is simple. Life is complicated, but we are engineers. We fix things."
He let go of her hands and stepped back, straightening his vest. He took a deep breath, his face settling back into a more serious expression.
"But there is one thing I have to do first," he said.
"What?" Airin asked.
"I have to tell Mina," Lloyd said.
Airin froze. Mina Siddik. Rosa’s sister. The woman who was currently Lloyd’s wife in the eyes of the public (even if the public story was a lie to cover the pregnancy). The woman who was carrying his child.
"Oh," Airin whispered. "That... that will be hard."
"It will be," Lloyd agreed. He didn't try to sugarcoat it. "Mina is... she is special. She saved me when I was drowning in grief after Jasmin died. She gave me a reason to keep going."
He looked at Airin, making sure she understood.
"I love her," Lloyd said honestly. "I love her in this life. We have a child on the way. I cannot... and I will not... abandon her."
Airin nodded. She felt a pang of jealousy, sharp and hot, but she pushed it down. She remembered the dream. She remembered that Evan was a good man. A good man doesn't abandon his family. If he abandoned Mina, he wouldn't be the man she loved.
"I understand," Airin said. "I don't want you to leave her. I just... I want to be part of the family too."
"You will be," Lloyd said. "But I have to do this right. I have to be honest with her. I can't build our relationship on a lie to her. That would be disrespectful to both of you."
He ran a hand through his hair, looking nervous for the first time.
"Mina is kind," Lloyd said. "But she is also fierce. She accepted the situation with Rosa. She accepted the political marriage with Amina. But this... this is different. This is the past coming back to life."
He looked at the heavy door of the office.
"I need to go to her," Lloyd said. "Now. Before I lose my nerve. Before the rumors start spreading."
He looked back at Airin.
"Will you wait for me?" he asked. "Will you trust me to handle this?"
Airin looked at him. She saw the worry in his eyes. He was terrified of hurting anyone, but he was determined to do the right thing.
Chapter : 1970
"I waited eighty years," Airin said with a small smile. "I can wait a few hours."
Lloyd let out a breath of relief. He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. It was a chaste, gentle kiss, a promise sealed.
"Go back to your dorm," he said. "Rest. Eat something. I will send for you when it is done."
"Good luck," Airin whispered.
Lloyd nodded. He grabbed his coat from the rack. He paused at the door, looking back at the messy office, at the blueprints, at the girl who held his past in her hands.
"I don't need luck," Lloyd said, his voice returning to that confident monotone. "I have a plan."
He opened the door and walked out into the hallway. He walked with a heavy, purposeful stride. He was a man marching into a different kind of battle. He wasn't fighting a monster or a machine. He was fighting for peace in his own home.
He headed straight for the exit of the Academy. His carriage was waiting. He gave the driver a single destination.
"Home," Lloyd ordered. "As fast as you can."
As the carriage rattled over the cobblestones, Lloyd stared out the window. He watched the city pass by. He thought about Airin. He thought about Mina. He thought about the complicated, messy, beautiful web he was weaving.
He wasn't just a survivor anymore. He was a builder. And he was about to try and build a family out of ghosts, soldiers, and scholars.
He just hoped the foundation was strong enough to hold them all.
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The carriage ride back from the Royal Academy felt longer than any journey Lloyd had ever taken. The wheels bumped over the stone streets of the capital, making a rhythmic clack-clack-clack sound that echoed in his head. Outside the window, the city was moving on with its normal business. Merchants were shouting about their prices, children were chasing stray dogs, and guards were patrolling the walls. But inside the carriage, the air was thick and quiet.
Lloyd sat perfectly still. His hands were resting on his knees, but his fingers kept tapping against the fabric of his trousers. It was a nervous habit he thought he had lost a long time ago.
He was a man who had fought literal demons. He had stared down a giant made of fire. He had built machines that could level a mountain. He had walked into the most dangerous places on the continent without blinking. But right now, he was terrified.
He was going home to tell his wife, Mina, that he had fallen in love with another woman.
It wasn't just any woman. It was Airin. It was the woman who carried the soul of his first love from a different life. It was a love that defied time and logic. But trying to explain time travel, reincarnated souls, and eighty years of memories to a pregnant wife was not a good strategy. It sounded like a crazy excuse.
"Keep it simple," Lloyd whispered to himself. "Tell the truth. Don't hide."
The carriage turned through the iron gates of the Ferrum Estate. The guards saluted as he passed, but Lloyd barely noticed them. He was running through the conversation in his mind for the hundredth time.
Mina, I met a student. No, that sounded terrible.
Mina, remember the vegetable seller? Too casual.
Mina, I have an another fiancée. That sounded like a political report.
He rubbed his face with his hands. This was a mess. A beautiful, happy mess, but a mess nonetheless.
The carriage stopped in front of the main house. A servant opened the door, and Lloyd stepped out. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in deep purples and oranges. It was a beautiful evening, but Lloyd felt like he was walking to the gallows.
He walked up the steps and entered the house. The servants bowed to him, but he just nodded quickly and kept moving. He headed straight for the family wing of the estate.
He reached the heavy wooden entrance to their private suite. He stopped. His hand hovered over the handle.
"You can do this," he told himself. "You are Lloyd Ferrum. You don't run away."
He took a deep breath, pushed the handle down, and walked in.