Half-an hour later Caleb dried her with a nice fluffy towel and wrapped her before picking her up in his arms and placing her on the bed. He went to the wardrobe to pick a nightdress for her. He saw that all of Pia's clothes had been replaced with the new ones and that made him smile. Dawn was very thoughtful.

When Elize was fully dressed, he ordered the servants to bring in food for her.

​​

"You are very rich," she said with wonder in her eyes.

He shrugged. "If all this can buy your life, I would gladly trade it."

Elize's eyes became round. The man loved her so much and she couldn't give him back the same love. "I— I don't know—"

He placed a finger on her lips. "Don't say anything. Let our life flow in whatever direction it is taking us in. I don't want to discuss anything…"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Thank you for understanding." The man in front of her was the most amazing guy she had ever met. It was like a dream come true and she had so little time to cherish him, to fall in love with him. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes. "I hope you met me long back."

"I hope so too baby," he replied and squeezed her hands.

A soft knock on the door drew their attention. Caleb opened the door to see Daryn and Dawn waiting on the outside with food trays. Surprised, he opened the door wide open for them.

As Dawn walked in, she said, "We wanted to spend time with you. I hope it's okay to break your lovey-dovey!" She winked at Elize and Elize blushed crimson.

"Not at all!" she replied with a chortle.

Dawn placed the trays on the centerpiece and started to serve them all in the plates. Daryn sat on the couch near the glass wall that faced the garden. He saw how much his brother had improved over the last month after Pia had left him and he had found Elize. He looked better and anchored and… sad. But what could be done? Caleb went and sat next to his brother and rested his hand behind him on the couch. He sighed, "Is there a way we can enhance her life span?"

"We can start with fresh investigations, if you like?" Daryn suggested.

Caleb pursed his lips. "She doesn't want more tests. Everything has been done, and the reports are bad. They are too discouraging…" his voice drawled. "In a few days she will deteriorate further." A lump formed in his throat and he couldn't speak further.

"I am so sorry brother," said Daryn.

Caleb had no words. The brothers watched the two girls as they giggled on a joke. "Do you have any news about Cire or Oscar or Mairin?"

Elize shook her head. "Some people do no' change. Although Oscar left the town, he returned a few months back and the last I heard was that he was wedded to Mairin. Apparently he went on his knees in front of her to beg her forgiveness. Mairin melted and her father had to eventually get them married."

Dawn jerked her head back. She said, "My God! After all that was revealed in the video, she ended up getting married to Oscar." She laughed and Elize joined her.

"Oh! That's no' all," said Elize. "I also came to know that Cire was pregnant with Oscar's child. She and her family had gone quiet for a very long time and when they came back, Cire was carrying a child in her arms—a four-year-old bairn. When she went to Oscar to tell him about his baby, the bastard refused to accept it and along with his wife, Mairin, he drove her off."

"That's very sad…" said Dawn. "That man was up to no good."

Elize held her hand and squeezed it. "I am so glad that you came out of that sticky situation so beautifully, and I am very happy that you found a good man like Daryn. I keep on hearing about him from Caleb. You had been through a lot, and I partially feel—"

Dawn placed her finger on her lips. "Don't blame yourself Elize. It had to happen."

Elize nodded. "Hmm… it had to happen."

Daryn narrowed his eyes and quipped to Caleb, "Your girl has a thick Scottish accent!"

"She does! Ain't it lovely?"

Daryn gave a throaty laughter. "There are a lot of things I would like to talk to you about. So if you have time, we can go to my study and let the girls talk."

Caleb frowned, not liking the idea of leaving Elize.

Daryn understood. "It's very important. From what I feel, Elize doesn't know what you are, else I would have said everything here."

He nodded. "Okay, let's eat the food and then go."

"Sure!"

Lunch was fun with Dawn and Elize recounting their days at the university and the brothers enjoying their chattiness. This was one thing Daryn had always imagined—their family cozying up together over lunch or dinner. He wondered what it would be like to have their children running around. But seeing Elize's condition, he felt emptiness in his stomach. It hurt him all the more to think that Caleb would follow his mate and the worse was that his mate didn't even know that she meant the world to him. He looked at the ceiling and exhaled. "Skadi, show me a way," he murmured.

After Caleb had helped Elize wipe her face and helped her clean, he left with Daryn for the study.

Daryn closed the doors behind him. He had poured wine for himself and Caleb. Handing his crystal glass with red wine, he settled on the leather sofa and Caleb sat opposite to him. Without wasting time, he said, "Caleb, you remember what I told you about being in Ixoviya?"

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Man! That was one harrowing experience you guys had! Why didn't you tell me about it earlier?" The grip on his glass became tight and his face muscles tightened. "I could never imagine that mother did that to father and she hid her true identity? That woman was deep!" He had so much fury in his chest that he could shift any moment.

"Calm down brother!" said Daryn. "That's not what this is about."

Caleb frowned.

"I wanted to talk about Elize."

"What about her? I already told you that her condition is not curable."

Daryn turned his face away from him and when he looked back, his eyes flickered an orange.

"What was that?" asked Caleb as his eyes widened.

Daryn blinked and his eyes turned the original black. "Being Sedora's offspring, we both are half sorcerers." He closed his fist and opened it with a shake. Blue flames started to dance around his fingers. They crackled as he played with them and twirled them around his fingers.

Caleb went completely still as sudden coldness hit at his core. "Wh— what is this?" he almost squealed in surprise. "How did you do that?"

Daryn sipped his wine from the glass he was holding with the left hand and waved his hand. The flames disappeared. He looked up at Caleb's amazed expressions and after waiting for his surprise to sink in he gave him a smile.