Rain Again (Completed)

Chapter 37

The court's procedure for delivering Maya's judgment sped up incredibly after Nolan's stunt to end Kate's life. Now, while Nolan lay in a hospital room getting treated for the intense damage Alex had done to his bone structure and facial muscles, Maya, on the other hand, was dragged away from the courtroom to be shoved behind jail bars for many years to come. 

Ashworths were ruined.

Justice had been served, yet Kate could not feel the gaping hole in her heart closing. There was the sense of victory for sure, the sweet taste of revenge too, but she was aware of how it could never bring back all that she'd lost. 

And when she looked over at Alex's glossy eyes as they blinked away from her, she realized he felt the same. While Victor, Ellie, and Neil - who had rushed back to Asthel to attend the hearing - cheered and clapped, it was only she and Alex sitting far away from each other who shared that same expression of loss. 

Kate had thought Alex was going to approach her after he was done talking to the lawyer, but then, proving her wrong, he left from there without a word. She stared the entire time at his retreating back until the sight of him went out of her aimless view. 

"Let's go," Victor's contented voice snapped her out of whichever world she was lost into.

She nodded up at him, bringing herself up, mirroring his smile. 

--

The night sky was lit with infinite stars that they were so out of reach with their mysterious beauty and secrets safely reserved impossibly far away, making Kate want to rush towards them so much more. 

It is the unfulfilled wishes that actually keep people moving.

"Close your eyes! Now." Victor's urgent command from beside her made her frown.

"Why?" She shifted slightly on the grass they were sitting upon. 

"Can't you see that shooting star?" he rolled his eyes, then pointed at the little ball of light gliding off between the millions of frozen stars, some twinkling, some absolutely still. 

"Oh," she replied dumbly, blinking at the playful glare he threw her way. She closed her eyes with a chuckle. But in doing so, she found she could see more clearly. Wishes gleamed like fireflies beneath her eyelids, luring her to them and making promises that were quickly turning her greedy. There was the loss, and there was the past, but there was also the call of the future flowing around her through the night breeze. She stood in the middle, waiting.

A thumb gently brushed across her cheek, making her flutter her eyes open. Victor's mysterious eyes which had always enchanted her to no end stared back at her with intensity. She could almost read them. And yet, was she going to hear?

"What?" she asked, she searched his face, urging him to speak. She owed him her life and she was bound to hear all that he had to say.

But Victor was quiet, for a long time he stared at her as if he was memorizing the details of her face with utmost concentration. His lips parted and she thought - finally. But then, just as quickly he sealed them shut. His mouth stretched into a smile, it was something in between regret and resolve.

Words were lost forever.

"You have been waiting for Alex." It was not a question. 

She shrugged, looking away. 

After nearly half a month and receiving the green signal from Dr. Gonsalves that she was at last free from the cancerous lump in her brain, Mary had called to inform that Owen's adoption papers were finally ready. It would be an understatement to say that Kate was all over the place in happiness over the news.