Strong For Too Long Trilogy ✔️

40. A Legacy Untold

(Author's note: this chapter will blow your minds! It replaced the most recent, and confusing chapter before, that was not the chapter I wanted. Now, this one...I'm so freaking excited to share! Comment and share, please!)

CHAPTER 40: A Legacy Untold

Celeste deserved a funeral. One where her stories were told and one day, that would become true, instead, her gravestone-marble and white-in front of me, right next to her mother and Soren, her father. I still felt like I didn't know her, not well enough at least. Aaron moves closely towards my side, I lean against him and his long coat, "She didn't deserve this." I whisper, staring at it.

He sighs above me, "Her death will not be in vain." He whispers, darkness on the tip of his tongue, if our plan was to set in motion, I would have to separate him, only for a little while, until we can confuse our enemy long enough to end the game of chess we're in, just to play an even bigger game. One of life. Another of death. And more, in the shadows of survival.

The SUVs parked behind us soaks at the rainfall lightly heading our way. Aaron kneels and presses a long kiss to my belly, his expression one of pain. He didn't want to separate, not even for a second and neither did I, but in order to beat my own blood, I needed to be as unexpected as possible. It would be expected if I stayed with Aaron. My mother was a ticking time bomb, one I wanted to stay clear of if I was going to remove her from the possibility of changing the entire human race. Adapted in a way where life was more long-lasting, but more dangerous. If only it weren't unethical, damaging and destructive, she may have gotten away with it.

He lifts me into the seat, sliding my seatbelt on and meeting my eyes. His forehead rests against mine, I cup his neck, "I love you." It's all I could think to say. Stay safe, stay strong. Maybe it was enough, but leaving him didn't feel real, nor did I want it to.

"I love you more." He whispers, cheeks crunching with his thoughts and feelings clear on his face. He kisses me fiercely, not holding back while Pierce and Fern sit awkwardly, stoically in the front and Fern clears his throat. Aaron sighs, cradling me against him, he kisses my hair, hard and warm. I inhale his scent one last time before he turns away and slowly closes the door. I stare out the window as his figure gets smaller and smaller.

"It's only a week at most." Pierce says in the driver's side.

I lean back slowly in against the soft cushion of the back, packed bags in the boot and a bottle of water in front of me. I grasp it in one hand, the other against my stomach, I look down, "If only our lives could be normal." I murmur, tired of not knowing the definition of normal, tired of a game I cannot end. I promised Aaron that we'd never leave each other again if he promised to not let me go, that was exactly one week ago now. Our promise too short-lived for the safety of us all.

Pierce meets my eyes in the mirror, I stare at him, "Where are we going?"

"Aaron has the numbers on his side, what with those who showed up at your guys bridal party, and Reed's team, but it's Cassandra we need to locate. She has the eyes of too many, wherever we go, it needs to be somewhere she won't even think of, and while Fern's underwater idea was strategic, it's difficult with the technology we need and hacking satellites is easier on land." Pierce explains, taking us to the airport.

I close my eyes for a long second. How can I know for sure that he's safe? How can I know for sure if anyone is after everything my mother has put us through? I remember every vivid point of time where she was there, where she was in that room, ordering Lucinda, Kaine, Vaughn and every other doctor who wanted me perfect.

The perfect subject. The best prototype.

Candidate Eleven. The programme I became under her demands.