Chapter 93: the one that got away

Grace’s pov

I just froze at his questions.

How do I answer that?

Tell him it’s because I am also a Grayson?

That in some way I am also a Grayson witch?

“Grace is just a fast learner” Derek came to my rescue.

He winked when I looked at him obviously relieved that he helped me.

“wow, I didn’t expect her to be this fast.

This a great, if you practise it even more you might master it very soon. I am happy to be your teacher, you are a fast learner” he said and ruffled my hair a bit.

I just stood there, and Derek looked at me with a smile, but Harper seemed confused.

“lets leave her alone for now” Derek said to Harper who didn’t object but just tagged along.

Since when did they become so close to even listen to each other?

He didn’t even have to be told twice but just followed without a word.

Did he maybe also sensed that I need a moment alone?

What happened today has been so hard for me to process and I just need to be alone.

I sat down and processed everything that happened, I did it, I am a Grayson witch in some ways.

After some time, someone came and sat next to me, and it was Jason.

“can I paint you?” he asked in a small voice that I wouldn’t have heard him if I didn’t have my werewolf hearing.

I looked at him, paint me but why?

“I feel safe around you, I don’t know why. I want to talk to you and get closer to you. Mary and Mira feel the same” he said explaining.

“so that is the reason you want to paint me? there is no other reason?” I asked him.

He looked up and when he realised what I meant he looked mortified.

“hell no, it’s not like that,” he said, and I laughed.

The last thing I want is my younger brother falling in love with me.

that is incest isn’t it?

“it’s not like that, I see you as a cooler big sister. Much cooler than Mary and Mira” he explained, and those words warmed my heart.

A cooler big sister huh?

I followed him and he led me to the room he painted in, and the sisters were there waiting.

“well look at that, you actually managed to ask her” Mira said and looked at me with a big smile.

“Jason feels uncomfortable around strangers. We didn’t think he would be able to ask you” Mira explained.

“what do you mean stranger? We just met Grace I know but she feels like a part of this family” Mary said with an even bigger smile.

“please sit there” Jason said, and I sat down on the spot he showed me, and he started painting.

Mary and Mira stayed there to keep me company and those two girls could talk.

I didn’t get bored in all that time and before I knew it a lot of time had gone by.

Jason on the other side looked at me confused.

“I feel like I have painted you before,” he said looking at his painting and Mira looked at me.

“I didn’t want to say it because I didn’t want to perhaps make you feel uncomfortable. But you also look really similar in my eyes” she said.

I got up and looked at the painting, the way he painted me did remind me of someone as well.

it felt as if I was looking at my mother, my beautiful mother Reene was just staring back at me.

at least what looks like a younger version of her, I am a copy of my mother and its almost scary.

I didn’t realize it until now,

I guess it’s the painting that makes us look so similar.

I get that looking at this painting reminds me of my mother. I do look like her after all but how do these three think I look familiar?

Who are they comparing me to?

Jason got up and started going through some of his old paintings.

He smiled when he found something and put it next to mine and my jaw dropped.

“you look like the lady in the wallet” Mary said looking at me with awe.

The painting was definitely my mother, and I am surer than ever.

In my painting, we look alike but in hers it is definitely her.

But why are they calling my mother the wallet lady?

“the wallet lady?” I asked them and Mira nodded.

“there is a photo of a woman in our father’s wallet. We don’t know anything about her, don’t even ask our father. But I know that she is his one love” Mira said with a smile.

“our parents try to hide the fact that they are not in love, but we know the truth” Jason said with a small smile.

“they are not in love?” I asked them because Samantha and Joseph looked really happy in my eyes.

“yes, theirs was an arranged marriage. They have never told us directly that they don’t love each other but we know” Mira said.

“they do respect each other and love us. We can’t ask for anything more” Mary added with a smile.

“yes, because of this we grew up in a loving home” Jason also added.

“but when we found the picture of the woman in the wallet we knew it.

she is our father’s one love; we have been trying to find her but now luck” Mira said.

“what? Why would you look for her? You have a happy family? Aren’t you asked that your mother will be heartbroken?” I asked them.

“I asked them to look for her, my husband deserves to see the love of his life. He gave me mine” Samantha answered standing at the door.

“I will not be heartbroken” she added, and her eyes landed on the paintings and smiled.

“I see why my husband seems so fond of you. He probably doesn’t realize why because he is blind, you look exactly like her” she said.

should I tell them that the lady in the painting is my mother?

But then I also have to tell them that she died.

I don’t know how things ended between her and Joseph.

so I don’t think its, not my place to meddle in her matters.

Only one person can answer this question for me, and I will ask him.

“I will be back; I have a few things I need to do,” I said and followed Joseph’s scent.

he was sitting in the garden alone looking at a few lilies.

My mother loved lilies, she wasn’t capable of love then, but she would buy them.

I guess that was her way of loving them, always had them in the house.

They brought life to that very dull house and made it even a little warmer than usual.

I sat down next to him, and he looked at me and gave me a small smile.

“they told me I look like the wallet lady,” I said, and he chuckled.

“I knew that they knew about her. I was always waiting for them to ask me, for anyone to ask me about her” he replied.

“I am here, and I will ask. Who is she to you?” I asked him and he looked up as if thinking about her.

A sad smile graced his face as he did so, and he seemed deep in thought.

“I would say the one that got away” he replied and then paused.

“a girl I met years ago, was ready to spend the rest of my life with her. But one day she just disappeared off the face of the earth” he added.

I looked at him, he wasn’t lying at all when he said this.

why did my mother disappear off the face of the earth?

She loved him, didn’t she?

Isn’t that why when he broke up with her it broke her?

But he is saying it like he didn’t break up with her and I weirdly believe him.

If he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her then why did she leave?

Why go as far as to remove his mark?

She even lost her humanity in the process and all for what?

They wanted the same thing from what I gathered so what happened?

What went wrong?

Why in the hell changed that made her do something so extreme?

She even left her family all because if this. Then why? “I am sorry to hear that” I said, and he just shrugged.

“I don’t understand it, I have been thinking about it for years. Why would Reene walk away like that?” he asked, and I didn’t know what to say.

I felt my heart breaking for him because my mother is dead and gone.

He will always wonder why she did what she did.

I also have a lot of questions for her, but I don’t have the answers.

“I tried everything I could to find answers, but I couldn’t. She removed my mate mark, so we have no connection to one another” he added.

What does he mean no connection?

Did he try some kind of a spell that didn’t go well?

with magic spells some spell requires you to be somehow blood related to the person.

or to even have some kind of connection like the mate bond.

Did my mother have the mate mark removed because she knew this fact?

That he would be able to find her if she didn’t remove it?

but then it leads me to one more thing.

Why did she do what she did?

I got up and left him alone and he just sat there still thinking.

Reene really has left people with a lot of questions and with a lot of hurt.

But what hurt did she have to do through that would lead her to do what she did?

I went to my room and found Derek laying on the bed like he owns the place.

“what are you doing?” I asked him and just smiled.

“I came to see you, I missed you” he said, and I just rolled my eyes.

He looked around the room and then his eyes landed on me.

“this place seems to be treating you well” he said, and I just shrugged.

“is it because you are with your real family?” he asked me.

“what? What did you just say? What do you mean real family?” Harper asked as he came into the room.