Chapter 242: No Mountain Too High
Soleia’s response was to wrap her arms tightly around his neck, clinging onto him as though she would never want to let go. The fact that Rafael was still living and breathing was nothing short of a wondrous miracle. Somehow, she had stolen Rafael’s life straight from the jaws of death.
Tears of relief welled up within her eyes at the realization that she could have lost him for good, and Rafael could only shoot her a loving, indulgent smile at her display of emotion. He patted her hair softly, relishing in the familiar embrace.
A stray blood whip flew at them, intending to spear Soleia when her back was turned. But Rafael was not the same man he was mere minutes ago. With a sharp bark of laughter, he crooked his fingers. Immediately, a dome of blood formed over both of them, causing Ricard’s paltry attempt at assassination to bounce harmlessly off the protective shield.
Any other time, Rafael would have loved to see the look of incensed indignation on Ricard’s face, but now he only had eyes for his wife, Soleia, who was sobbing unrestrainedly on his shoulders. He hugged her tightly, his own eyes growing wet with unshed tears.
He had found her again. He had made it in time.
And she wanted him. She loved him. With every teardrop that soaked his tunic, he understood Soleia’s true feelings. If Soleia could still cry this hard because she cared about him, their marriage could still be salvaged. There was no mountain too high for him to scale if Soleia was waiting on the other side.
"I’m sorry," Soleia gasped out, her breath coming out in a watery sob. "I’m so sorry― I shouldn’t have left you, now Orion is dead, Oliver is dead... this is all my fault!"
"No, sweetheart, none of it is your fault," Rafael said. He cupped her face with his hands and tenderly wiped away her tears with the pads of his fingers.
"There is only one― okay, technically two people we can blame for this, and one of them is rotting underneath the ocean waves. I can handle the other. Also, you’d be glad to know that Orion is alive and kicking. He was the very reason why I could come and get you," Rafael admitted with just the tiniest reluctance.