LOVE IS A GIFTED FLOWER | Ben X Luna ~ Fate: The Winx Saga

Chapter 13 - Broken Hearts

A few weeks passed, during which time Ben had come back to his suite and had developed his new variety of peony. A beautiful electric blue flower with generous petals. He still hadn't been able to see the woman he loved, and Stella had refused to tell him the name of the facility her mom had been admitted to. She was still angry at him for the fire, and Andreas was only fueling her resentment. He had done all this not for Stella, for she had been very unpleasant to him, but for Luna, his beloved blossom.
The botany professor had resumed his teaching activities, supported daily by his two friends, who helped him to overcome his grief, especially when he returned home alone. Finding himself in this suite without Luna was dreadful and took him back two months, to a nightmare he could never have imagined. And now the lack weighed on him even more. He was alone, desperately alone, and when he went to bed the space in his arms was empty. His partner's head wasn't resting on his heart, and her breath was inaudible. But he had to be patient, hoping that she would get out of the rehabilitation center as soon as possible and that they could finally resume their relationship.
He did not know, however, that soon he would receive a call that would change the course of his life.

***

Luna, meanwhile, had finally regained most of her abilities, thanks in part to Stella, who had been really present and supportive during the rehabilitation sessions. Andreas, for his part, had been more self-effacing than usual, he knew that the Queen had not at all appreciated his remarks towards Ben during their argument, but he had continued to control her private life, notably via the young fairy, who took his words as gospel.
Luna had missed her daughter's birthday, but was planning a party later to celebrate her coming of age in style and, fortunately, after a lot of physiotherapy, her follow-up had been spaced out, she was able to go home and access her phone, much to the annoyance of Andreas, who could no longer forbid her anything.

Comfortably seated on her sofa, she unlocked it and logged directly into her Instagram account. The only thing she wanted to know was whether Ben had sent her a message. She'd been thinking of him for two whole months, dreaming of hearing his voice whispering words of love to her and being able to snuggle in his reassuring arms.
Her heart quickened when she saw a number of messages in her inbox. One of them was from her lover, more than a month old, which she opened with a shudder.

"Luna love, if you only knew how sorry I am for ruining your life. I miss you so much, so much so that on Monday afternoon I escaped from the hospital to come to the clinic and visit you. You're probably wondering why I was in hospital, and I won't hide the fact that, racked with guilt and worry, I got so drunk I assumed an alcoholic coma. Pathetic, isn't it?
I heard your voice, my blossom, and that's what made me enter the clinic without permission. You were there, on that bed, and we were separated by a glass. I couldn't come in without a special suit, I might have killed you, and I couldn't bear that.
When I tried to put the suit on, they stopped me. I never got to go and comfort you and kiss you, they took me to police headquarters, they separated us.
I don't know when you'll read this message, but know that I love you more than you could possibly imagine and I think of you all the time."

As she read this message, the Queen's eyes misted over, to the point where she shed big tears of guilt and regret. All this time, Andreas had lied to her about him, and because her daughter had sided with him, she had come to believe him. She felt so ashamed, so weak, she, the light fairy and mistress of illusion, for being so naive and letting herself be tricked. He had taken advantage of her temporary weakness to manipulate her and try to lure her away from the man she loved. Ben had not abandoned her, he had thought about her, fought for her, to come and see her. He had even almost died for love of her. She remembered the unbearable pain she had felt at the clinic when the security guards had arrested him. Knowing that they had harmed him for no other reason than that he wanted to comfort her had broken her heart. She had not been dreaming, their souls were indeed bound.