Chapter 231 GOOD NEWS.
Chapter 231 GOOD NEWS.
AVERY’S POV:
The fruit bowl was half gone, and so were my tears. I sniffled dramatically as the lead actress in the rom-com finally realized she’d been in love with her best friend all along. Typical. Predictable. Still… somehow it got me.
Katie walked in, arms crossed, an unamused expression riding her usually kind features.
“Seriously, Avery?” she sighed, snatching the remote from beside me and pointing it like a weapon. “You’re sobbing over a woman who spent the entire movie avoiding basic communication. You’re going to stress yourself and this baby into an early delivery.”
“I can’t help it,” I mumbled between mouthfuls of kiwi and mango. “He made her a scrapbook, Katie. A scrapbook!”
She rolled her eyes so hard I was sure they touched the back of her skull, then flicked the channel without hesitation.
The screen jumped to a live news broadcast.
“…and there he is—Axel Grayson, CEO of AXEVY SEA STUFFY—officially opening their third East Coast distribution center…”
And there he was. My husband. My impossibly handsome, infuriatingly poised husband in his suit, smile like a damn movie star, hair slicked back with just enough defiance to make it art. His presence on screen stole the breath from my lungs.
My mouth hung open for a second. “He’s… wow.”
Katie smirked, folding her arms. “Girl. That man is yours.”
“I know,” I whispered, hypnotized. “But why is he so fine today?”
Everything in our lives had finally become quiet. No orbs. No spirits. No bloodshed. Just business and bedtime stories and occasional back massages—if I begged long enough. We were just a regular family now. A powerful one, but still—peaceful. And it was so, so precious.
I glanced over at the clock Sea had picked during one of our thrift shopping sprees. A floral-standing monstrosity that didn’t match anything in the house, but somehow we’d all grown fond of it.
Three o’clock.
My heart leapt.
“Oh my God,” I stood, nearly launching the bowl across the room. “Axel will be back in two hours and I haven’t made anything. And Wilder’s coming too!”
Katie, unfazed, barely looked up. “Relax, Mama Bear. It’s all taken care of.”
“No,” I groaned, clutching my lower back like some ancient retired ninja. “I’m tired of being babied. I feel like a fat donut just waiting to be frosted. I need to do something. You don’t understand, I’m a physical person. This slow life is draining the life out of me.”
Katie raised a brow. “You’re nine months pregnant, Avery. You're due and expecting to birth your child anytime."
“I’m not dead,” I snapped. “Just round and slightly irrational!”
We were in the middle of bickering when the door burst open.
Ryan stood there sweaty, pale, chest heaving.
My heart dropped like a stone. “Ryan? What—what happened? Where’s Axel?”
He opened his mouth but nothing came out for a second. Then, “You need to come with me. Something happened to him.”
“What?”
Katie dropped the kitchen towel and moved instinctively behind me. “Wait, what do you mean something happened? He was just on TV!”
I spun toward Ryan, scanning behind him. No Axel. No car engine rumble. Nothing.
“Where is my husband?!” I screamed.
“Come with me. I’ll explain on the way,” he said quickly, eyes darting nervously behind him. “We don’t have time.”
“Wait, I need to call Wilder,” I said shakily, grabbing my phone. “Sea can’t be alone—”
Ryan grabbed my hand. “There’s no time. I’ll have someone get her.”
I ignored him, dialing anyway. Wilder picked up on the third ring.
“Wilder! You need to get to the house now. Something’s happened to Axel.”
“I—I can’t, Avery. I’m in the middle of something important—”
“Are you kidding me?!” I screamed so loud the walls shook. “DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?! I SAID SOMETHING HAPPENED TO AXEL!”
My body shuddered, pain spreading across my stomach like a slow wave. I gasped, my hand flying to my belly.
Contraction.
No, not now. Not now.
Ryan saw it too. His face turned white. “We have to go. Now.”
“I’ll be fine,” I panted. “Just get me to him.”
Without waiting for another word, Ryan gently pulled me outside toward the black SUV waiting with the engine already running. Katie followed, helping me down the steps even as I fought to stay upright.
All I could think of was Axel.
Something was wrong.
What now?
"Where are we going?" I asked for what had to be the fourth time.
Ryan didn’t answer. His body was clenched tight, eyes focused ahead like a soldier on a mission. The car’s tires screeched as it rounded a bend, and I held onto the side handle with one hand, my other resting protectively over my bump.
"Ryan!" I snapped again. "Talk to me. Why the hell are we headed to the helipad?"
He finally glanced at me, sighing, “You’ll see. I promise, Avery, I don’t have all the details. Just… trust me.”
Trust. That was a stretch right now.
As soon as the chopper blades sliced the sky and the aircraft lifted us up into the clouds, I felt suffocated. The familiar sensation of dread creeped over my shoulders like a scarf of thorns. My hands trembled despite my best efforts to stay calm.
And when I glanced down, when the clouds parted, and I saw the dark, mountainous terrain of Orion looming beneath us…
My breath completely left me.
No.
No, no, no.
"Ryan, why Orion?!" I grabbed his arm. “Did something happen? Is it her again? Did Akira come back? She's supposed to be gone! Is this another awakening? Another prophecy? You have to tell me something—anything!"
He looked at me with that same vague, unreadable expression. “It’s not what you think. Just… breathe. We’re almost there.”
I couldn’t. My lungs didn’t want to cooperate. My mind raced—visions of flames, thunder, blood, pearls, orbs, and glowing eyes returning in flashes like they’d never left.
The helicopter lowered near the ancient stones of the Orion helipad, I caught sight of movement.
Four figures stepped forward through the fading glow of the night's moon. First was Axel, in the flesh, tall and devastating now in an ivory suit that practically made him glow. Behind him, Sea ran in her floral punk gown, waving.
Wilder, walked at her side in a simple button-down shirt. And then, Kaius, now the true leader of Orion, strode behind them, regal in his deep blue robes.
I stared, stunned. My feet forgot how to move.
“What—?” My words hooked.
Axel’s eyes locked with mine, warm and unshakable.
Then, right there under the Orion sky, he dropped to one knee.
The world… stopped.
“Avery,” he began. “I’ve loved you through madness. Through storms. Through blood and flame and battles most people couldn’t survive. I watched you become the strongest woman I’ve ever known. You’ve held me when I was broken. You’ve fought for me when I couldn’t fight for myself.”
My eyes welled. My hand flew to my chest.
He smiled, holding up a velvet blue box. “But I want to do it properly. With Wilder beside me to give you away. With Sea beside us. With Orion as witness. And with you saying yes, again—not as a vow of survival—but as a vow of joy.”
Inside the box was a ring unlike any I had ever seen.
It was rose gold, twisted into the shape of a vine, wrapping around a sunstone so vibrant it shimmered in oranges and deep reds, like fire meeting dawn. Tiny diamonds dusted the curves of the metal like dew.
I laughed through tears. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, Axel.”
He chuckled, standing and stepping close. “Then maybe this’ll calm you down.” Gently, he removed the rings we had worn, worn through war and near-death and slid the new one onto my finger.
It was heavier. It was breathtaking. It was… us.
"Why Orion?" I whispered as I stared at the ring, dazed. "Why here?"
Axel leaned down and kissed the back of my hand. “Because this is your origin. Your birthright. Your redemption. And now, I want it to be your sanctuary.”
I blinked. “Wait, when is the wedding?”
“Today,” he said simply.
“Today?!” I gawked.
“Yes. Everything’s ready. And before you ask, Ryan’s taking you to get ready. Katie’s waiting with all the people you need to get ready.”
I turned, mouth agape. “Ryan!” I shouted. “You were in on this?!”
He threw up his hands like a guilty schoolboy. “What can I say? He blackmailed me with loyalty.”
I groaned. “Can we ever do anything normally?”
They all burst into laughter.
Even Kaius smiled. "Congratulations, Inez."
Even Sea squealed, “Mommy’s gonna be a princess today!”
Ryan took the lead, guiding me. It was so beautiful that Axel had thought about this. I have always wanted a wedding but somehow gave up on it as Axel jumped that process to have me
Our life wasn’t normal. But it was ours. And that was more than enough.