Chapter 148: I Will Never Leave You

Stephanie's POV

He pulled me into his arms, resting his chin gently on top of my head.

"It's not your fault. I just never explained it to you properly."

A long silence passed before he spoke again.

"Back then, the restaurant owner wanted to adopt me. But she'd just been diagnosed with late-stage cancer—she was in no shape to raise a child. In her final days, she took me from city to city, tracking down any lead she could find about my father. She spent every last penny she had, brought me to Averton City, showed up at my father's door, and tore into him right there in front of everyone."

"What happened after that?" I asked softly.

"My stepmother came out and took me in. The owner left alone. I never saw her again after that."

I leaned quietly against his chest, my tears already soaking through his shirt.

"When my stepmother found out what my father had done, she went after him hard, divorced him on the spot, and threw him out. After that, she raised me alongside my sister. They were always good to me—never once looked down on me because of where I came from. They're the reason I made it through. They put me through school, and eventually I joined the military."

I reached up and wiped the tears from my face.

It finally made complete sense—why he'd always poured so much of himself into Scarlett and Lorenzo.

It was never just about responsibility. It was because he knew firsthand what it felt like to lose the person who mattered most.

He understood that helplessness too well. That's why he'd fought so hard to make sure Lorenzo wouldn't end up like him—that scared little boy trapped in an alley in the middle of the night, giving everything he had to save someone and still coming up short, crying out with no one to answer.

What he never expected was that all that love and patience would end up spoiling Lorenzo, letting him get away with so much for so long.

I couldn't hold it together anymore. I turned and pressed my face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, one hand resting gently on my back, holding me close.

The waves rolled in one after another, then slowly pulled away.

I stared out at the water he'd been gazing at for so long, and something shifted. The sea felt different to me now—warmer, somehow, in a way I'd never been able to see before.

Somewhere out there, a gentle woman lay at rest. She'd spent her whole life struggling, and never got to see her son grow into the man he became.

And her son was sitting by the shore, finally telling the person he loved most everything he'd kept locked away for over a decade.

Christopher suddenly took my hand and pulled me toward the water, moving fast.

"Mom!"

He stood at the edge of the waves, cupped his hands around his mouth, and called out to the sea.

"This is my girlfriend—my love—my future wife, Stephanie!"

"Mom, can you see her? You told me once that when I was a month old, you had someone read my fortune. They said I'd find a gentle, warm-hearted woman to marry. I found her, Mom. I'm about to have a real home of my own. You don't have to worry anymore."

As he kept calling out, his voice began to crack.

"You can see us, right, Mom…"

I stepped forward and held him tight.

We'd known each other for so long, and in all that time, he'd always been the steady one—calm, capable, unshakable. Strong enough to hold me together whenever I fell apart. As long as he was there, I never had to be afraid.

Yet I never saw past his steady, tender exterior—deep down, he was still that terrified ten-year-old boy who'd tried everything to save his mom, yet stood helpless as she slipped away.

"She sees you," I whispered close to his ear.

"She never left. Just like you said—she followed the waves out to sea, turned into mist, into clouds, into rain, and fell into every corner of the world. Every breeze, every drop of rain, every blade of grass—that's her."

Christopher tightened his arms and held me close.

"Thank you, Stephanie. Meeting you is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me."

We stayed on the beach for a long time that day, walking the full length of the shore hand in hand, quietly keeping him company as he made his peace with the past.

By the time we got back to the hotel, the sky had gone completely dark.

We'd barely reached the door when I spotted Emily standing there, staring at me with the most put-out look on her face.

"Why are you still up?" I hurried over to her.

Emily held up her phone and sighed. "Stephanie, didn't Christopher get you a new phone? You've been completely off the grid all day!"

I blinked, pulled out my phone, and turned on the screen. It was covered in missed calls and messages.

I gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry—I left my phone in the car. I didn't check it once all day."

"Sure, sure, I get it. When you're wrapped up in your little couple's bubble, your best friend's calls and texts are just background noise!" Emily shot me a look.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was? You were gone all day, you didn't pick up, Christopher didn't pick up either. You two might as well find a deserted island and date there! I'm never going anywhere with you again!"

I grabbed her arm and spent a good while coaxing her back into a good mood, promising to take her to the best seafood barbecue spot on the beach the next day. That finally did it—she softened up and headed off to bed, satisfied.

I watched her go, smiling to myself.

Christopher came and stood beside me.

"Emily's a good person," he said quietly. "All those times I wasn't around, she was there for you. She made sure you weren't alone. I should thank her properly—maybe pick out a gift for her."

I laughed. "You'd better brace yourself. Emily is absolutely going to make you pay for it."

Christopher smiled and put his arm around my waist, steering me toward the room.

"Worth every penny. Keeping my girlfriend's best friend happy is a smart investment. Otherwise the second we have any little argument, she'll be telling you to break up with me."

I was still grinning as he gently nudged me through the door.

That night, Christopher slept more soundly than I'd ever seen him sleep. The faint crease that usually sat between his brows was completely gone.

I reached up and gently touched his face, murmuring softly, "Sleep well, Christopher. I'm never going anywhere."

We spent two more days in Aetheria before finally heading out.

The drive took several hours. The coastal road was beautiful, and the weather had been clear and bright every day. Looking out to the horizon, the sea and sky blurred into one endless stretch of deep blue.

But the closer we got to that small town, the tighter the knot in my chest became.

Finally, the car reached the exit of the cross-sea bridge.

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Without thinking, I reached over and grabbed Emily's hand.