Chapter 120 POINT
GALLAHAN'S POV
"You are an idiot," Zuleika said, sounding utterly tired of my bullshit.
I gave her a shrug and a weak chuckle before going even more limp on the high wingback armchair in her bedroom's lounge area by the tall stained glass window. Then, with very apparent self-flagellation and depreciation, I replied, "That's me, I guess."
"Look," she said with a heavy sigh, gently setting down a tray of tea things and a plate of plain heart-shaped butter cookies on the circular coffee table she had magically conjured. "I get it. Seeing a certain pattern in your relationship with Willa is concerning, but don't you think it's normal? All couples fight, and then they work it out."
For a moment, I didn't say anything back, opting to watch her transform a purple cushion pillow into an armchair that was identical to the one I had claimed for myself. Except, the newly transfigured chair was burgundy instead of white.
It was only when she had perched herself comfortably that I finally carried on with our conversation, quietly saying, "But do they fight as often as we do?"
My tone almost made me sound like an unsure child, but I found myself unable to care at all. So, with the same tonal quality to my voice, I added, "Do they lose their patience and logical mind as easily as Willa and I do when it comes to each other?"
Zuleika hummed as a pensive look settled on her face. But it only lasted for a couple of moments before it was gone.
She gave me a pointed stare, one that was obviously meant to remind me that I wasn't dumb.
I returned her gaze unflinchingly, my face remaining impassive.
This went on for nearly an entire minute before Zuleika sighed, looking up at the ceiling as if praying for patience from any heavenly deities that were paying attention to us at the moment. "Seriously, Gallahan. We're all capable of growth. Of learning and unlearning things."
As she spoke, she gave a lazy wave of her right hand, causing the baby blue teapot painted with dainty daisies to levitate and began pouring tea into the awaiting teacups of the same design. From the scent that wafted along with the swirling steam, I immediately knew it was lavender with mint.
While the tea's aroma was soothing and nice, I couldn't say the same for its taste, and I gave no effort in masking my opinion, which showed on my face through a disgusted grimace.
"It's sweetened," Zuleika assured with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.
"Anyway," she went on with a huff, primly fixing her silk sleeping robe over her lap while the teacups with their respective saucers floated towards us in a slow and steady pace. "The two of you are adults, Gallahan. You can work it out together. Communicate. Comprehend. Compromise. Be better."
I hummed, plucking the steaming tea from mid-air, and shifted my lousy posture on my chair.
Then, while I took a small and careful sip, Zuleika continued with her little sermon.
"If not for the relationship the two of you share, then for your children. Just because it's a little rocky right now doesn't mean it will always be rocky going forward. Well, unless you and Willa let this fester instead. But I highly doubt the two of you will do so."
"Of course not. Neither of us would willingly subject the twins to a dysfunctional family dynamic."
"Exactly," Zuleika said sagely with a serene smile.
"Shouldn't it be easy for us, Zee?" I asked, setting my teacup back on the coffee table, unable to stomach the taste despite the generous sweetener added. "We're fated mates, for fuck's sake. And yet we're fumbling with our relationship. Fight after fight just pops up."
"Being fated doesn't exempt you from the effort that all relationships require. Fated or not, relationships take hard work to keep."
"I know that," I shot back a little waspishly with a glare.
When she lifted a brow at me, I deflated a bit, and my glare withered significantly.
"But it's just..." I sighed. "It often feels like we keep getting tested. Falling in love with her and staying in love with her is as easy as breathing, Zee. But somehow, keeping our peace isn't."
Zuleika considered my words, her eyes going a little hazy as they stared at the moon that looked blurry through the colorful shards of glass of the window.
"Perhaps peace will forever be a foreign concept for someone like me," I said with a dry laugh.
But my attempt to lighten up the air fell horribly flat.
Zuleika pursed her lips, clearly unhappy with my little jest.
"Only if you let it be that way."
"I have so much red in my ledger, Zee. Maybe this is karma. That even with the woman fated for me, I will struggle to find peace that is steady and stable. One that is not threatened by one thing or another."
"Perhaps it's because the foundation your relationship stands on is soiled by your disparate backgrounds and values on top of the dark history of the war," she replied evenly once she had swallowed down the delicate sip she took of her tea. "You simply have to find a better way to navigate the pits and landmines. You and Willa are far from empty-headed fools."
"But what if we don't?"
"You will figure it all out, Gallahan," she insisted firmly and fiercely, as if daring me to challenge her.
But with her eyes burning with the faith she had in me, I found myself nodding in acquiescence.
"Good," she said with a satisfied smile.
"But didn't you just tell me I was an idiot?"
"Indeed, you are."
I raised a brow at her in askance.
"It's because you are here so late in the night."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said with a voice dripping with playful sarcasm. "Did I disrupt your beauty sleep?"
Zuleika emptied her teacup and let it and its saucer float back to the coffee table. Then with an irate tone, she said, "It's not because of that you, simpleton. You are aware of the danger lurking near your lovely little home in Wolverham. You knew the creature hunters have been recently pursuing you relentlessly, and yet your pea-brain thought it was okay to leave your mate and your children on their own in the middle of the night."
Shame swelled in my chest as dread swirled in the pit of my stomach.
"They wouldn't dare attack so brazenly," I replied, though I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Zuleika or myself. "They will be making an enemy out of the Alfieros, who are the greatest and strongest allies of humans since before, if they try to openly and directly attack our home."
"Sure. But my point still stands, Gallahan. You are an idiot for leaving them when the target on your family's back is large and glaring. May I remind you that you do not have the mind link ability, rendering you parental blood link wonky and dysfunctional at best and null at worst."
Just then, as if to prove her point, Calisto's and Gillian's frantic voices suddenly resounded all over the room from nowhere.
"Aunt Zee! Aunt Zee! Help! Please help!"
"Daddy! We need Daddy!"