CHAPTER 214: THE DECISION HAS BEEN MADE

(Author’s POV)

After Noah and Greg departed from Brave’s room, all the others conveyed their heartfelt feelings to Brave in their own way.

When Nora was hugging him, Brave questioned about Myra’s absence and Sara told him that she had returned to Damona.

Brave didn’t think much of it at first but when he looked around at his siblings and his mother, they had a rather complicated facial expression. Truth be told, when Andrew was questioning him and Noah interrupted in between, he had mind linked everyone excluding Brave to not mention the mate bond thing with Myra for now. As it would only complicate things.

Somehow, Brave didn’t remember that part nor he was able to recall what went wrong in his sleep. It was as if someone had sealed his memory. No matter, how much he tried to search for anything but nothing came up. Instead, it was straining his body and he felt a headache shooting up.

He clutched his temples with his left hand which was strapped with cannula and Elio said, "Brother Brave still needs rest. You all should go and rest. I will take care of him here."

Sara nodded and with a gentle pat on Brave’s head, she exited the room. Nora kissed his cheek, hugged him tightly one last time and murmured, "I will come to see you in afternoon, brother."

Dion didn’t say much, he just gave him a genuine smile and walked out. But Alaric didn’t move an inch. He had been staring at Brave intently, wanting to ask a lot of questions. When Elio saw that Alaric wasn’t moving, he called out to him, "Brother Al, do you want to say something?" His voice sounded a tad bit guilty.

The way Elio had spoken to Alaric last night, without knowing the full story, was eating him up, gnawing at him. He had never raised his voice ever on anyone. Nor had he ever talked so rudely to any of his brothers, so he was feeling ashamed and remorseful.

Alaric got out of his thoughts and just said, "Nothing, take care of Brave. I need to leave for work. Call for me if there is something needed." Saying this, he was about to depart when Elio said, "Wait, brother Al~"

Alaric didn’t turn around, just tilted his head a bit and asked, "Do you need something?"

"Do you have a minute? Can we talk?" Elio asked, biting his inner cheek.

"Why not?" Alaric replied, "I will be getting ready in my room. Feel free to come," after saying his piece, he walked out.

______________________

In Damona, the morning sky was clear and bright, few white cirrus clouds complimenting the glowing sun. Myra got up fresh and energetic unlike other days where she always felt sore and restless. She even woke up a little late than usual.

With her eyes narrowed, she peeked at the window, her room drowning in the dazzling glow. She turned her head to find Wendy still sound asleep in her bed. Her right leg was comfortably over Myra’s. She was a messy sleeper.

"Wends, wake up," Myra murmured. But Wendy just mumbled something and went back to sleep again. She patted her sister’s shoulder but she only mumbled, "Five minutes more ...."

Before she could say anything more, Sandra’s voice came from the outside, "Girls, wake up ..... It is eight already. The breakfast is getting cold."

"EIGHT ....," Wendy shot up from her sleep. She looked at the wall clock and surely enough, it wasn’t eight but seven in the morning. She hissed and clicked her tongue but didn’t say anything. From time to time, Sandra would pull these tricks on her.

Myra laughed at her reaction and got out of bed, telling her, "Get up, get up, Wends. Otherwise, you will have to hear mom’s nagging all day." She winked and got inside the bathroom to perform her morning routine.

An hour later, all of them are settled in the dining room, chattering and laughing.

Sandra and William noticed that Myra had been chatty and looking livelier than usual. Even her face looked less haggard and tired. They both concluded thinking Myra must be feeling burdened by how they might react to her scholarship program conversation. Now, that it was off of her chest, it was quite evident in her body language, she must be relieved.

They both have discussed about the topic and wanted to tell her about their final decision. So, William, putting his cutlery down, cleared his throat and started, "Mm~ ... Myra, your mother and I have discussed the matter regarding your scholarship program and moving to Esteria ....."

Upon hearing her words, Myra’s demeanor changed and she too kept her fork down and joined her hands under the table.

"The opportunity is rare, once in a lifetime thing, and we would never want any of you to sacrifice it because of our sake, but~ ......" he pressed his lips in a thin line.

There was a long pause as William looked at his wife and Sandra nodded back at him. Myra saw her parents’ face and although she kept a composed façade, her hands which were beneath the table were clammy and sticky. She was nervous to know their final decision.

William continued, "But we have to be practical about it," he sighed heavily, making Myra’s anxiety worse. ’Is this going to be a, no?’

"We cannot move to Esteria," William said. Myra’s heart sank at his words.

She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip. But then he continued, "At least, not in such a hurry. We need time to settled things here."

Myra eyes widened when he completed his words. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She choked a bit, "Are you~ ... are you agreeing? Agreeing to move to Esteria?"

William smiled at her and Sandra too join him. She walked to Myra, held her hands in hers and uttered, "You haven’t ever asked anything from us. So, how could we disappoint you my dear."

Myra’s face then turned to Wendy who was sitting beside her. She asked her, "Wendy, what is your decision?"

Wendy shrugged her shoulders and pouted, "I don’t want to leave Damona .... But I have heard, Esteria is a beautiful place with lots of picturesque places and hot gu~ ... I mean I can make new friends there. As for my old ones, I will keep in contact with them. Anyways, we were soon going to graduate and go to different colleges. So, I guess, I don’t have any issue with it."

The joy on Myra’s face was priceless when she heard Wendy’s decision. She gave her a suffocatingly tight side hug and kissed her cheek, "Thank you Wends. You know, you are the best sister."

Myra knew that it wouldn’t have been an easy decision for a seventeen year old Wendy to make. She was overwhelmed by her family’s sacrifice and love for them and pledged, "I love you guys so much. I will always be by your side and never disappoint any of you." But in her mind, she added another vow, ’Even if I die protecting you, it will be worth it. I promise, I, Myra Miracle, would protect my family at all cost.’

Wendy tapped Myra shoulder dramatically saying, "Sis ... you are suffocating me. Let go."

Myra, in return, squeezed her more tightly and chuckled.

After breakfast, Myra rushed back to her room, unlocked her phone and texted Garry, "I have talked to my parents’ and sister. They are on board. They just need a bit of time to settle things here." She didn’t want to waste any more time and told him, her final decision.

Myra waited and waited but no reply came back. She chalked it down to, Garry being busy. After all, he was on a business trip overseas. So, she kept her phone aside and closed her eyes.

Her mind drifted off to Brave, his peaceful sleeping face, the panic she felt when she thought something might have gone wrong because of her, the utter relief when she talked to Sara.

"He must have woken up by now," she murmured. "Should I ask Nora?" As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head. "No, what am I even thinking? I shouldn’t. My work is done. I have paid off my debt to them. Let’s just not entangle with them any further."

Half an hour or so later, the door bell rang. Sandra, who was in the kitchen came out. Wiping her hands with her apron, she said, "Coming ...."

She opened the door to find an unfamiliar man in a coffee brown suit and slick hair. He looked like some businessman and had a black suitcase in his hand. He nodded at Sandra, when she asked, "Um~ who are you looking for, sir?" She was a bit startled by his presence.

"Is Ms. Myra Miracle at home?" he asked her with a professional smile.

Sandra stared at him with skepticism. She questioned, "What do you have to talk with my daughter?" Her words were stern as she narrowed her eyes.

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .