When Noah entered the town of Meadow, some who recognised him gasped in shock and horror, realising what was written in the newsletter was true. Nobody badmouthed him because of how the newsletter portrayed him to be a selfless man, which he was in every right.
"Duke Noah! How good to see you back here!" One of the townsfolk's women greeted him with a bow. "Have you been doing well?"
Noah smiled at the woman and nodded, and the woman around began to gush, forgetting everything else that was written about his family. He continued to walk until he made his way to Dawson's residence.
Even though he had yet to push the gate open, he could hear the chatter from inside the house. A black cat sat at one side of the pillar gate and stared at him.
"Damn you, Sullivan!" Timotei glared at Noah. The black cat had been unable to keep his thoughts to himself, as he was upset that the glass vial had been used on him when he could have turned into a human.
Noah didn't look surprised as he had heard about this cat. He asked, "Is Eve inside?"
"With her husband, yes," Timotei stood up, stretching his body after sunbathing. He jumped on the ground and pranced straight through the main door. "The ghost is here!" He announced.
When Noah showed up in front of the doorstep, Lady Aubrey looked surprised and said, "A surprise to see you here, Duke Noah. Please come in."
"I don't mean to stay for long. I have somewhere else to be," Noah replied in a polite tone.
Lady Aubrey, who had read the news about Noah's mother being executed could tell that the werewolf had only finished it a while ago by the look in his eyes. Not to mention, he looked hesitant, after all, his family was the one who had put Eve through hell. She waved her hand and insisted,
"You have visited me after such a long time, I would be upset if you don't join us. Come on in, don't be shy," the older woman offered him a warm smile. Feeling better than how she was feeling earlier today, she walked towards the maid's door and placed her hand on his arm, "Eugene and Vincent are cooking along with Rose and Eve. They are preparing a feast for tonight. You should definitely eat with us. The more the merrier."
Noah was grateful to Lady Aubrey's words, but the guilt was hard to get rid of. Nonetheless, he smiled at the woman and inquired, "How have you been doing, Lady Aubrey?"
"Not that well until this morning, but now that everyone is in the house, I feel everything is wonderful again," Lady Aubrey responded, and she then stretched her hands towards Timotei, who was quick to climb and jump into her arms. "Where have you been, Timotei? I thought you were going to prepare your best dish."
Timotei glared at Noah, and ended up getting a tap on his head. Lady Aubrey said calmly, "What did we discuss about glaring at guests?"
"I would have cooked the best dish, Lady Aubrey, I mean my skills are amazing, and you will lick your fingers and want to chew it. But I am a small cat, and I thought I would let the others do the work," Timotei said as he brought his tail closer and hugged it.
"Was that after you burned your tail in the kitchen?" Lady Aubrey asked the black cat, who had appeared at the house an hour ago.
"Ahem, of course not!" Timotei responded and took a quick look at his tail.
While the black cat and Lady Aubrey spoke to each other, Noah's eyes fell on Eve, who was stirring something in the kitchen. Vincent seemed to tell her something, and it had her turn to meet Noah's eyes.
Eve left the kitchen and made her way to where Noah stood. She offered a polite bow and asked him, "Did you just arrive? Please take a seat," she pulled the chair away from the table.
"I did, thank you," Noah replied, and the two of them took a seat. He then said, "There was something I wanted to give you."
Eve wondered what it was and saw him reach out to his coat's inner pocket. He pulled parchments, and handed it to her, while saying,
"This is for you."
"What is this?" Eve asked, taking the parchments and carefully reading it. Her eyes widened, and she said, "This is the house in Brokengroves…"
"I have wanted to give you this for a very long time, but I couldn't in the past. With everything resolved, I think it is time for it to go back to you. As it was your place," Noah didn't get the opportunity to see the young Eve and her mother live there, but he could only tell that this place was dear to her. "It is yours to take care of."
Eve was left speechless at Noah's gesture and she looked up to meet his gaze with her moist eyes. She said, "Thank you, Noah. For everything you have done."
"I wish I could have done more, but it is what it is, isn't it," Noah replied, and when he smiled, there was a slight bitterness in it.
Eve placed her hand on his and said, "I think you have done more than anyone in your place could have done, Noah. You are a good person, and you have been a good friend to me."
Noah was grateful to have Eve's forgiveness. She was the first woman he had ever loved, and he was glad it was her, even though they were just friends now. He then stood up and said,
"I should go now. There is someone I haven't visited since I returned. If you will all excuse me."
Eve didn't stop him, and she stood up with him. But then she remembered something. She said, "Hold on! There is something I need to give you too. Please wait." Saying this, she hurried inside Lady Aubrey's room, coming with cardboard of glass pieces and withered flower petals.
Placing the cardboard on the table's surface, Eve brought her hands on either side before whispering something under her breath.
Soon light started to emit from the centre of the cardboard, and the broken glass pieces started to fix themselves by turning into the original glass case, while the withered flowers began to attach. Once connected, the fried petals turned fresh with fragrance and the light disappeared.
Eve then picked up the glass case and handed it to Noah, "It's my wedding bouquet. I saved this one for the woman who loves you and will keep you happy. If you have found that person or are yet to find… I would like you to give this to her."
She had saved it for Anaya, and deep down in her heart she believed that Noah and Anaya were meant to be together. But at the same time, she wanted to give Noah a choice and not pressure him with these flowers. She didn't want to be his parents and corner him. It would be wrong to push her wishes or thoughts to him, but give him the choice of what he wanted so that his heart could freely choose.
Noah stared at the flowers, "I will…Thank you for saving this, Eve. Truly."
With a bow to everyone, Noah walked out of the house. Eve, who watched her friend leave, felt a kiss placed on the side of her head.
"You did more than well, my Eve," Vincent praised her, and Eve smiled, hoping Noah would find his happiness like the people under this roof.
Someone in the room cleared throat and it was none other than Timotei. He jumped out of Lady Aubrey's arms and got on the dining table to speak,
"Eve, my sea princess who is above all, it is time you turn me into a vampire as it is long due. No no, a pureblooded vampire," Timotei politely put his request forward by closing his eyes, while his nose was raised to point to the roof.
"We can try that," Eve agreed, and this had Timotei's ears stand pointed in attention and he readied himself.
"Why wait then? Come come, it is time to see my majestic self," Timotei tapped his paw on the table. "Perhaps I should stand on the ground. It would be odd to be standing on the table."
"But there's something you need to know, Timotei," Eve let him know, before adding, "I was going through some of the information and found out that the transformation might not work, and you might lose the ability to speak and turn into a regular cat…"
Timotei's ears flopped in worry, before they straightened and he decided, "Let me go and get you a cat. What you need is a test subject. Am I smart or what?" he started to laugh, before hurrying out to find a cat.
"I don't understand why he wants to turn into a cat. I think he looks cute as a cat," Rosetta remarked in a nonchalant tone.
"You should tell that in front of him," Vincent chimed with a grin on his face. Rosetta then turned to look at Eugene, who shook his head.
Outside the Dawson's house's road, Noah carried the glass case with both his hands. He got on the local carriage heading to Woodlock, and once he got down, he made his way towards the local cemetery, where Kieran's body was buried.
