Chapter 200: The Last Goodbye

The airfield was quiet in the early morning light, the horizon painted in soft hues of lavender and gold. The private jet stood gleaming under the rising sun, its engines humming low, a sound that felt both heavy and final. Annie stood a few steps away from it, her long coat billowing slightly in the breeze as she held the twins close, one hand on each of their shoulders.

They were stronger now, though still fragile in the way only children recovering from trauma could be. Ryan leaned against her hip, clutching his small backpack, while Rosy held a stuffed rabbit Roxie had given her that morning. They looked tired but calm, their eyes wide with the quiet curiosity of children sensing that something big was happening.

Alaric stood a short distance away with Roxie beside him. His hands were tucked into his coat pockets, his expression unreadable. The wind ruffled his hair as he watched Annie kneel to adjust Ryan’s jacket zipper. Every small movement she made felt deliberate, as if memorizing the rhythm of the moment.

“Everything’s set,” Alaric said quietly, breaking the silence. “The flight path is clear, the pilot’s ready, and your accommodations are waiting when you land.”

Annie looked up at him and managed a small smile. “You thought of everything.”

He shrugged slightly. “I wanted to make sure you had no reason to look back.”

The words caught in her chest. For a moment, she wanted to tell him she would look back — that no matter how far she went, part of her would always circle back to this man who had stood beside her through chaos. But the truth was too heavy, too uncertain. So she just nodded.

“Thank you, Alaric. Really, thank you for everything,” she said softly.

Roxie stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. “Call me when you land, okay? And don’t go disappearing into the sea or wherever you’re headed without telling me.”

Annie chuckled quietly, though her eyes shimmered. “I won’t. I promise.”

Rosy tugged on Roxie’s coat. “Aunt Roxie, will you come visit?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Roxie said warmly, crouching down to hug both twins. “You won’t even have time to miss me.”

Ryan gave a small nod but kept holding Annie’s hand tightly. He didn’t like airports; they always made him feel like things were ending.

When Roxie finally stepped back, Alaric moved closer. For a long moment, he and Annie just stood there — no words, no clear goodbye, just silence heavy enough to hold everything they couldn’t say.

He looked at her the way he always did — steady, protective, but now with something else behind his eyes. Something almost unspoken. “I’ll join you soon,” he said quietly.

Annie blinked. “You will?”

He nodded once. “I just need to take care of what’s left here. Clean things up. Close some doors then I’d come to you.”

Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t ask what he meant. Maybe because she already knew. The world she was leaving behind still needed someone like him to hold it together for a while so her absence won’t be noticeable.

“I’ll send for you when I’m ready,” she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound composed.

He gave a faint smile. “You won’t have to. I’ll find you.”

That nearly undid her. Her chest tightened, and she had to look away before her eyes gave her away. She turned to the twins instead, forcing her tone into a lightness she didn’t feel.

“Come on, darlings. Time to go.”

The moment came just as Annie turned towards the jet.

Ryan’s small hand slipped from hers. Rosy’s followed as if they had communicated about it earlier.

Before Annie could react, both twins bolted — their little shoes splashing through shallow puddles on the tarmac, their coats flapping behind them. “Daddy!” they cried in unison, voices echoing across the open air.

Alaric barely had time to brace himself before they collided into him. He dropped to his knees instantly, arms opening wide as they crashed into his chest. The force nearly knocked him off balance, but he only laughed softly, pulling them close, one arm around each trembling shoulder.

Neither spoke for a moment. Ryan’s face was buried against his chest, Rosy’s fingers twisted in his coat. Their bodies trembled, caught between tears and confusion.

Alaric rested his chin lightly atop Ryan’s head, his voice a low murmur only they could hear. Whatever he whispered made them both still, their breathing slowing. Then, as if a weight had lifted, Rosy gave a tiny nod, and Ryan managed a wobbly smile.

When they pulled back, their eyes were glassy but calm.

Annie stood a few feet away, her throat tight, hands trembling at her sides. The sight of it, the way her children clung to Alaric, the way he held them as if they were his own, cut straight through her chest. They had indeed found a father in him, not by blood, but by love. And now she was taking that away, not by choose but for their sake.

She wanted to move forward, to say something, but no words came.

Alaric looked at her over their heads. His expression was soft, steady — the kind of look that said more than comfort ever could. Slowly, he loosened his hold on the twins and rose to his feet, still holding one small hand in each of his.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “Your mom’s waiting.”

Ryan hesitated, glancing up at him. “You’ll come soon right?”

Alaric smiled faintly. “Soon.”

That seemed to be enough. The twins turned toward Annie, still gripping his hands until the very last step, when he gently guided them forward. Annie knelt as they reached her, gathering them into her arms.

Behind her, Alaric stood still, watching, the wind tugging at his coat, his gaze lingering them.

They began walking toward the jet, the crunch of gravel under their shoes echoing in the open air. The pilot saluted briefly, and the flight attendant stepped forward to take their bags. Annie lifted Rosy first, then Ryan, guiding them up the stairs.

At the top, she paused.

She turned back.

Alaric was still standing where she’d left him, hands in his pockets, watching her. Roxie had stepped aside, giving them the moment unbroken. The wind tugged at his coat, the morning sun outlining him in gold, strong, silent, and impossibly distant.

For a heartbeat, Annie just stood there at the entrance of the jet, taking it all in. The man who’d saved her. The friend who’d stood by her. The city that had given her everything and taken twice as much from her.

She felt the weight of it of every memory, every ghost pressing against her chest. The hospital corridors. The sirens. The long nights spent between survival and despair. And then, her twins’ faces, their laughter, their tiny hands gripping hers in fear, in trust, in love.

This was the moment. The one she had been chasing without realizing it. The chance to finally let it all go.

She exhaled slowly, her breath visible in the cold air. “Goodbye,” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if she meant it for Alaric, the city, or the person she used to be.

Then she stepped inside.

The jet’s door closed behind her with a soft click, a sound so final it echoed in her chest.

Inside, the twins had already settled into their seats. Rosy was peering out the window, her rabbit clutched to her chest, while Ryan was flipping through the emergency pamphlet, pretending not to be nervous. Annie sank into her seat beside them, fastening their belts one by one.

“Mummy?” Ryan asked, glancing up at her. “We are not leaving daddy behind right?”

Annie smiled gently, brushing his hair from his forehead. “He’ll join us when he’s less busy, love. He has some things to finish first.”

Rosy turned from the window. “He promised, right?”

“Yes,” Annie said softly. “He promised.”

The twins seemed satisfied with that and returned to their quiet distractions. But Annie’s gaze lingered on the small oval window beside her.

She could still see him, a dark silhouette against the light, watching as the engines roared to life. And for a brief second, she saw him lift a hand. Not a wave, exactly. Just a quiet acknowledgment.

Her throat tightened. She pressed a hand to her chest and whispered to herself, “Thank you… for everything.”

The plane began to move, rolling smoothly down the runway. The twins gasped softly as the ground started to blur beneath them. Rosy clutched Annie’s hand. Ryan squeezed her arm tightly. And then with a deep, steady hum, the jet lifted into the air.

The city below grew smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a shimmer of light and cloud. Annie kept her eyes on it until it disappeared completely from sight.

For the first time in years, she felt a strange, unfamiliar stillness inside her, not joy, not sorrow, but something in between. Closure, perhaps.

Ryan leaned against her side, already half asleep. Rosy dozed on her shoulder, her rabbit slipping from her arms. Annie pulled the blanket over both of them, watching their peaceful faces.

They were safe now. That was all that mattered.

She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Outside, the clouds parted, flooding the cabin with golden light. It fell across her face, warm and weightless, like a promise that maybe, just maybe, there was still something beautiful waiting on the other side of all this.

And as the jet climbed higher, Annie whispered into the quiet, not for anyone to hear, not even for herself but for the life she was leaving behind:

“Goodbye, to a fate so twisted.”

The sky swallowed the sound, and the world below drifted further away, until there was nothing left but light.