Chapter 489: Ten Heartbeats Plus Mine
The house didn’t so much as whisper tonight. After dinner, after more conversations with the guys and Papa Khaos, after everything was said and done... everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Even the house itself seemed to exhale after holding its breath for so long.
I would like to think that the house had been concerned about me, that when I had vanished for three days with Papa, it was worried about its creator. But I was pretty sure that it was more worried that its little genie was never coming back.
When I did come back, the house was more than willing to accommodate me. For once, the walls didn’t shift. The rooms didn’t rearrange. The air didn’t carry wishes or warnings. There were no added doors where there had never been one.
Just warmth, like a peace offering.
Even the massive bed was made. My pillows were fluffed, and the blankets were turned down. It was like an olive branch, as if the house wanted to remind me this was still home. That no matter how far I went, it would always wait for me.
I stood at the doorway for a long time, not moving.
Part of me expected someone to speak. For the floor to crack or the windows to rattle. But nothing came.
It was at that moment that I realized that I was holding my breath just as much as anyone else had been. I think I was actually... worried... that another wish would come in and I would be called away.
However, when that didn’t happen, I walked into the bedroom.
I didn’t have the energy to change. My dress was torn at the hem, dirt still clinging to the edges. There was blood on my knee that I didn’t remember getting, and my poor feet were covered in caked-on dirt.