Leira [Completed]

Chapter Twenty Six

"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew it."

—

LEIRA'S POV

Oliver claimed that the portrait Kai drew was the most extraordinary thing he had ever laid his eyes on. I couldn't agree more. It was as if she was careful in every stroke and incapable of mistakes—an impossible assumption.

Only in imagination would someone be truly and utterly perfect. However, we could always try. Perhaps we would not ever reach that stunning point, but we could get remarkably close to it.

I wanted to be a person free from imperfections, I told myself when I was a child, only to discover it was absurd. In truth, I wanted a family. One that felt like home.

Andrew gave me that, but so did most of my family before. They simply made a mistake because they were capable of making them and it was up to me to forgive.

Kai probably did create errors while drawing but she had an eraser. I had options that could erase the past and it all came down to two. Forgive or cling onto the past.

"Go on, you can do this," Justice's voice pierced through my thoughts.

"Yeah, I can," I reassured myself as I glanced at the large patch of grass. It was where Maddie and I always played tag.

"Go on. I'll wait outside for the results." He gently nudged me towards the house. I shared more about my family and he agreed that I should quit clasping on vengeance.

I was anxious since the last time I had met my parents, I had a gun in my possession.

After letting out a shaky breath, I pushed myself to close the distance between me and the entrance. With my unstable hand, I knocked on the door and anticipated the faces of my parents when they see their most unexpected visitor.

I could feel every cacophonous and rhythmic thump of my heart as it raced.

I glanced at Justice behind me and received a small nod.

"Ariel?" the whisper of my father did not go unheard. He was scared of me. His feet instinctively stepped back and his eyes scanned the room behind him, alert.

"I'm not hurting you," I said, pained that those four words needed to be said in front of my own father. "I'm here to talk."

"T-talk?" his words were stuttered and unclear. My mother stepped out of a room, widening her eyes when they landed on me.

"I have no men with me now, no weapons either. I just came here to explain and... apologize," I told them, forcing a smile to appear harmless.

I could tell that they were reluctant to invite me in, but they did it anyway. I settled down on the couch, fiddling with the hem of my shirt while contemplating what to say next.

"I'm sorry," I told them, mustering sincerity. I meant it, I really did.

They were lost and unable to reply. Silence hung in the air, persistently tugging our thoughts to negativity. The stillness in the room was only shattered when my mother spoke.

"Who are you?" she said.

I was taken aback. I went through questions that might be asked while I was being driven to my childhood home, but the words she uttered did not once cross my mind. It had me frozen and without a response.

"I'm—" It had me thinking. Who was I? Ariel or Leira?

"—I'm your daughter," I say instead. I did not quite have the answer to the earlier question.