CHAPTER 217: THE REUNION

"It’s not strange," Shiao Yi had explained. "The distance was enormous. The farther you go, the more time shifts between the two places. That’s why the sun’s position is different."

Dominic frowned. "So the sun doesn’t move... it’s the ground beneath us that’s moving?"

"Yes," Shiao Yi had said with a small smile.

Dominic shook his head, bewildered. "Impossible. If the ground is moving, wouldn’t we all fall into the sky the moment it flips over?"

Shiao Yi had only laughed softly.

Even as they ate breakfast, Dominic could see how heavy Shiao Yi’s eyelids had grown. Truth be told, Dominic himself felt just as tired. After finishing their meal, they had gone straight to bed, unable to stay awake any longer.

Later, Dominic learned that three whole weeks had passed since they had vanished. He and Shiao Yi had spent that long in the demon world? It hadn’t felt like that much time.

Perhaps time flowed differently there, he thought.

There had been no day or night no sun, no moon no way to measure the passage of time. So who could say how long they had truly been gone?

Dominic had only managed to sleep once since the ordeal began back in that cave.

Even then, he had no idea how long he had actually rested.

Other than that brief moment, he had been constantly on the move, pushing himself to his limit.

It was no wonder the exhaustion in his body had reached such a severe point.

When sunlight spilled through the window, Dominic realized it was already close to evening. He must have slept deeply for a long time. He hadn’t noticed how tired he was until now, but clearly, his body had been desperate for rest.

He leaned down and gently kissed Shiao Yi’s forehead.

The young boy murmured softly in his sleep with peaceful smile forming on his lips.

Seeing that expression made Dominic smile as well. He quietly rose from the bed while carefully not to make a sound and slipped out of the room.

Descending the stairs, he opened the door to the living room and froze. There were guests waiting for him, ones he hadn’t expected to see.

"You’re awake, Lord Dominic," said Jude, turning toward him. "I’ll prepare some tea right away."

But Dominic barely heard him. His eyes were fixed on the two people rising from the sofa.

One was his father.

And the woman standing beside him...

She had golden hair and deep green eyes.

A graceful figure wrapped in a dark green dress that suited her calm demeanor.

She appeared to be in her early forties—beautiful, but with a quiet sorrow that clung to her like a shadow.

The woman took a hesitant step forward, then stopped as if unsure whether she had the right to approach him.

Her gloved hands clenched tightly together.

Dominic saw tears gathering in her emerald eyes and for a moment, he doesn’t what he need to say.

"I’m so glad you’re alive, Dominic," his father said in his rough voice, a voice that now carried an unsteady tremor. "When Lambard told me you were safe, I can’t describe how relieved I was."

Gabrant’s broad shoulders moved slightly as he exhaled. "To be honest, I had given up hope. I thought we’d lost you. But you came back. You really came back."

Dominic could hardly believe what he was hearing.

His father, that stoic unyielding General Gabrant sounded as though he might cry.

That alone was enough to leave him completely shaken.

"I’m sorry for worrying you," Dominic said quietly while bowing his head.

Gabrant gave a short nod, then gestured toward the woman beside him.

"Dominic," he said. "This is your mother, Ashe."

Dominic stared at her, stunned. His mother. He had never met her before.

For a long moment, he could do nothing but look at her in silence. The woman took a trembling breath before she spoke, her voice filled with pain.

"I’m sorry," she said softly. "I have no right to call myself your mother. I gave up that right long ago. I don’t even deserve to stand before you now. But when I learned you were alive... I couldn’t stay away. I had to see you, even just once. I had to apologize. So I begged Gabrant to let me come."

Her voice broke as tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

She gazed at Dominic with desperate eyes, unable to stop crying as the emotions she had carried for years finally overflowed.

"I abandoned you right after you were born," the woman said, her voice trembling. "I didn’t even have the courage to hold you in my arms. I was a terrible mother. I’ve regretted it ever since... but when I heard that you had been swallowed by the earth, I realized what true regret really was. It was too late. I would never have the chance to tell you the truth, that I am your mother. You cannot imagine how deeply I regretted it."

Her tear-streaked face disappeared behind her hands as she bowed her head low, her shoulders shaking.

"I’m sorry," she whispered. "No matter how much I apologize, what I did will never be forgiven. But I have nothing else to offer you except my apology. Still... still, I’m so glad you’re alive. I’m truly glad. I just wanted to tell you that, even once..."

As the woman wept and apologized, Gabrant stepped forward and wrapped an arm gently around her shoulders. Then, to Dominic’s surprise, he even he bowed his head to his son.

"Dominic," Gabrant said quietly, his deep voice heavy with guilt. "Ashe is not the only one to blame. Half of the fault lies with me. I’m the one who pushed her that far. It was my doing, my lack of understanding, my failure to be kind. I made her desperate, and I left you to grow up alone. I failed you, my son. I’m sorry, Dominic."

"Father..." Dominic whispered, dazed.