Mhorfell Academy and the Night Stealer (A Spin-Off) [Book 3]

Chapter 19: Let There Be Light

Chapter Nineteen: Let There Be Light

IT HAD been a usual day. I guess it's more normal than what it's supposed to be.

I woke up before Lei did, which allowed me to watch her sleep peacefully without an ounce of worry. I had spare time to cuddle with her and serve us breakfast before the kids became a menace like they always do. To have time alone with her was a relief on its own because when you have children, everything ought to be shared. I was right on time at work, never left a single piece of paperwork for tomorrow, and even remembered to write reminders down on a planner. And I knew that if Renneisme Martin saw that, she would have been proud that I was putting all those planners she gifted me into use. On my home from a late afternoon business dinner, I bought the kids tubs of Rocky Road ice cream, a favorite of theirs and their mother's. It was for our movie night and to celebrate Friday, for there's nothing more thrilling than to anticipate the weekends without having to worry about waking up early.

This seemingly perfect normal day stopped at the strike of twelve.

Naalimpungatan ako sa kalagitnaan ng gabi. Sinubukan kong itulog ulit pero sa bandang huli ay inihawi ko ang duvet at lumabas sa pasilyo upang maglakad-lakad. Sandali rin akong dumaan sa kuwarto ng mga anak namin para siguraduhing nababalutan sila ng kumot at hindi nila naiwang bukas ang pinto sa balkonahe. Nang kaharapin kong muli ang pasilyo, tinamaan na lang ako ng pakiramdam na ialo ang mga paa ko papunta sa study ni Alexander.

It's quarter to one, and that was like going to a club at 10 p.m. for my cousin. I was pretty sure I'd find him stoically sitting at his leather chair, scanning over the documents as he flips his fountain pain on one hand. The room would be dimly lit, and the fragrance of old yellowed books would subtly blend with the smoke of the cigar sitting on the ashtray close to his black coffee.

I know. I know. It was specific, wasn't it? That's how it was always been with Alexander Cromello. He's a man stuck in time, very much like our uncle. Anyone could change wives or husbands, anyone could have died or survived, anyone could have wed and flirted, it could be Christmas or the death anniversary of his parents, but Alexander would remain in that picture. Consistently. Unfailingly. Continuously.

Kaya nang buksan ko ang pinto at iba ang nasaksihan kong tagpo, doon ko napagtanto. The first twelve hours were a headstart and the remaining twelve would be spent to struggle finding my race lane.

"Master, pinatawag niyo raw ako," aniya nang saluhan ako sa pagtayo sa harap ng hilera ng mga kuwadradong pintado ng mga imahe ng mga nagdaang Dela Vega at Cromello.

"Nawrey," I shortly glanced at him and turned my eyes back to the most grandiose painting from our collection. "Parang mas pahirap na nang pahirap kang hagilapin matapos ng nangyari sa Konseho, hmm?"

Not that I blame him. Never mind the ruse Sean and Alexandria staged; the whole matter about the Onyx Council fucked us up in ways more than one. And in Marc Llanes' case, they robbed him of a child.