Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife-Chapter 340: Goodbye

(Long Chapter.)

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She did not expect that seeing her son again would make it harder for her to part with him. As she stood before him and Lucian now, with a huge lump rising in her throat, she felt every bit like she was dying inside.

Their drive back to her estate was in silence. Cal had come to pick them up when Lucian called him, and they both sat in the car in silence, holding each other and trying to get strength from one another. Ave had laid her head against Lucian’s chest, and one of her legs bent on his, and his one arm was around her waist while the other was intertwined with her fingers.

They had not said a word until the car came to a stop in front of her house. When they came down from the car, she drew back and halted in her tracks. Lucian, who was holding her hand, stopped and turned to her. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from the tears she had silently shed in his arms.

"What’s wrong?" He’d asked calmly as he turned back to her, and she came into his arms, shaking her head in despair.

"I don’t think I can handle this... I am not strong enough for this. If I see Ian now, I won’t be able to leave. We should leave without seeing him. I can’t—" She had not finished her words when the sound of the front door opening caught her off, and then the voice she had been dreading called out to her.

"Mom..." Ian’s voice came from the door as he stood there, causing her to jerk away from Lucian to look toward him. He was still wearing his pajamas, a black shirt with a Marvel logo sign on the front, and a striped black-and-blue pair of pants, along with slippers that were way larger and longer than his small feet, but yet he liked them that way. His black hair was disheveled, and his lips were set in a straight line that resembled his father’s when he was displeased with something. He had one hand tucked inside the pocket of his pants.

The sight of him standing there, watching her with those large, innocent blue eyes of his, made her heart tighten into an unbearable knot of despair and hurt.

"Avian..." she cried softly.

Ian didn’t move from the door. He watched his mother and then looked toward the man standing beside her. His eyes brightened up involuntarily as they fell on Lucian. He couldn’t help the bubbling happiness that washed over him at the fact that his mom had been with his friend. He wanted to run toward her and hug her, but he held back because he was still mad at her.

"You didn’t come home last night," he pointed out nonchalantly when she didn’t make any attempt to move forward and hug him first. She had been crying, he realized the moment he met her red eyes, and immediately, his anger fell away, and he strode toward her.

"What’s wrong, Mom?" he asked as he came to stand beside her, looking up at her with concerned eyes. It seemed his question made her cry even more as she covered her mouth with her palms and sobbed. Then, suddenly, she bent to his height and hugged him.

Ian, who did not like being hugged in front of others, didn’t mind it this time. He held her and stroked her back gently. "Who made you cry, Mom? Is it because I want you to marry Mr. Pendragon?" he said as he turned his eyes to Lucian, who was watching them. Then, he looked away and said to his mother, "You don’t have to marry him. I can live without a Dad as long as you are happy, Mom. I don’t need a Daddy..." he said with trembling eyes and lips as tears he refused to shed welled in his eyes.

He wanted a daddy just like all of his mates. He wanted it so badly, but not at the cost of his mom’s tears.

Ave’s throat tightened at his words. Her sweet, selfless boy—giving up something he had yearned for just because he thought it would ease her pain. She shook her head, swallowing back the ache in her heart.

Stroking his disheveled hair, she said with a shaky smile, "Didn’t I tell you not to give up things you want because of me, sweetie? I should be the one making sacrifices, not you, Ian. Let Mom do it for you."

Ian shrugged his young shoulders. "I am not sacrificing anything. It’s true, I don’t want a Dad because I don’t even have one to begin with."

Lucian, who had remained silent all this while, finally stepped forward. His gaze lingered on Ian, taking in every little feature of his son—the slight furrow in his brows, the way his small fingers gripped his mother’s shoulders to assure her into believing his words.

"Ian," Lucian finally spoke, his voice even but weighted with emotion. Ian blinked up at him, his blue eyes glistening.

"What if I told you... you already have a Dad?"

Ian tilted his head slightly, what seemed like confusion flickering across his face. He looked at his mother, frowning at her as he said, "But I told you, I don’t need—"

"It’s not about needing one, sweetie," Ave whispered. She reached out and cupped his cheek gently. "It’s about the truth."

If he had not come out in time to see them, she had wanted to forfeit her plans to say goodbye, but he had, and she could not imagine leaving him like that without the truth or the pleasure of being with him for today. It was heartbreaking to think that they would be leaving.

If she knew a day like this would come, she would have left Pendragon without her pregnancy. But when she asked for that favor from the Goddess, she had believed she would never get to see Lucian again, and having a part of him—even though she didn’t remember her husband—would be an honor. She had wanted to have something that would be a sign of their love in the past, and her son had been just that.

He was so much like his father that she had not seen it until her memories were back. He hated to see her cry, her smile brought him joy, and he always wanted to protect her instead of the opposite. He had grown too fast and too soon. He carried too many responsibilities that weren’t his on his shoulders, and now that she thought about it, she wanted a do-over, to have him again and let him be a child with his father in his life.

Lucian knelt beside her. "Ian... I am your real father."

Ian’s whole body stiffened. His small fingers dug into Ave’s shoulder as he turned back to Lucian, his lips parting slightly, but no words came out. His expression shifted—shock, disbelief, then something unreadable.

"You’re kidding, right?" he asked with a grim face. He had a bad spot for his real father, and he would hate for his friend to be that man, even though he wanted him as his dad, not the irresponsible man who had run away from them. Or had he not? He’d hated his real father even before he knew what hate was.

Lucian shook his head. "I am not joking, my son. I am your father."

Ian stared at him blankly. "You’re... my real dad?" he finally whispered, his voice so small, so fragile as he looked from Lucian to his mom for confirmation, and when she nodded her head, "Yes." He gasped.

Ian pulled back slightly, his brows furrowing as if trying to make sense of everything. "How is that possible? Mom, why didn’t you tell me? Why did you make me believe that he was dead when people made me believe he ran away from us?"

Ave exhaled shakily. This was the part she didn’t know how to explain to him and would rather not when everything would end. Grabbing his shoulders, she smiled bitterly, "It’s complicated, Ian. I didn’t know he was your father until I ran a DNA test and knew the truth. Believe me when I tell you that I would never hide it from you had I known from the beginning. Lucian didn’t know, nor did I. Don’t blame your father for not being there for you or me."

Ian looked between them, his lips wobbling, but he clenched his jaw to stop himself from crying. All this while, he’d thought his father didn’t want him and that he would never know who he was. "So you’re really my dad?" he asked Lucian again, as if saying it twice would make it real.

Lucian nodded once more. "I am."

Ian’s eyes filled with tears but he hastily wiped it off with his shirt sleeve then blinked up at Lucian. "Did you know I write to Santa every Christmas, even though I don’t believe in that white-bearded old man, that he return my real dad to me one day? I didn’t like my real dad, I thought he was a loser, but I still wanted to know him. I liked you, and... and I wished last night that you were my real dad so you would be here on my seventh birthday..."

Lucian felt something sharp twist in his chest. "Does that mean you have forgiven me for not being here with you all this while, my son?"

Ian stared at him. He didn’t speak for a long moment as tears streamed down his flushed cheeks. Then, without warning, he turned and buried his face against Ave’s shoulder. His small frame trembled as he cried loudly in her arms. Not once had she seen him cry like this; she’d never even seen him cry since the day he turned four.

He coughed and sobbed, soaking her blouse with his tears. "Mom... Dad never left me. He never left me... I have a dad..." freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Ave stroked his back soothingly, her own tears slipping silently. "Of course you do, sweetheart."

Ian sniffled against her, then slowly pulled back. His teary eyes found Lucian’s again.

"Dad..." His lips turned downward in the way a child’s do when they are about to cry. And without hesitation, Lucian answered his call, pulling his small frame into his arms. "Yes, my son. I am here. Your father is here." He stroked his hair, kissed the top of his head, and rubbed his back as Ian rested his head on his shoulder.

"Don’t ever leave me again, Dad. Promise me you will never leave me again and will be there on every one of my birthdays and school events..." Ian cried.

Lucian’s throat worked as he looked toward Ave, who was barely holding on where she kneeled, her head buried in her palm as she cried silently. He couldn’t promise he would never leave because he couldn’t stay here nor take Ian with them. They would have to go and hope to have him again in their lives. When he didn’t promise, Ian moved back from the hug.

Ian wiped his nose with the back of his hand, glancing down at his oversized slippers, then back up at Lucian. "You can’t promise because you won’t be with me?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Lucian’s chest tightened painfully, then he forced the words out of his lips. "I promise to be there for you. I will stay by your side and make it up to you all over again if I get the second chance to have you as my son, Avian."

Ian’s eyes brightened up. "You will read me Pendragon bedtime stories from now on?" he asked.

Lucian could only nod his head, as he feared if he spoke, he would be choked with the emotions he was holding back, unlike his wife, who couldn’t hold hers. He reached out and blindly held her hand in his to give her some of his strength, and he smiled at his son.

"Mom, can Dad stay in our house from now on?" He turned to his mom, who was still crying for some reason. Ian’s smile fell away as he looked from his dad to his crying mom. "Why is Mom crying, Dad?"

Lucian managed to smile. "She’s crying because she’s happy we are a family again. Sometimes people cry when they are too happy, son."

Ian pursed his lips and blinked his eyes. "Is that why you also have tears in your eyes, Dad?" he asked as he reached out and wiped off the tear drop that rolled down Lucian’s cheek.

Lucian nodded, and Ian smiled. "I am happy too, Dad," he exclaimed and fell into his father’s arms for a quick hug, where Lucian crushed his small body to him, wishing this moment would never end.

Ian pulled away, still smiling. "Come with me! I have so much I want to show you in my room and the house. On my last birthday, Mom bought me a..." His voice faded as he dragged Lucian along with him into the house, while Ave watched them through her blurry vision.

"My child..." She clutched a hand to her aching chest as she got up and went after them when Ian called out for her from the house with his excited voice.

That day, Ave and Lucian gave Ian everything he wanted, from his favorite food to his favorite game. They played in the garden and sat while Ian made a drawing of them and a family tree.

He showed Lucian every one of his toys and made him watch another part of a Spider-Man movie in the living room in the evening, where he slept off with his head on Lucian’s lap and his legs stretched on Ave’s lap on the couch.

It was when Lucian was carrying him to his room that Ian opened his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his father and sighed, "Will you read me the bedtime story, Dad?"

"Anything you want, son." Lucian tucked him into bed, and Ave gave him Ian’s favorite book. He sat at the edge of the bed to start reading when Ian reached out to grab his wrist, and when Lucian’s eyes met his, the boy said,

"I had a dream last night. I lived in a land like the portrait in the Pendragon storybook. It was beautiful," he said with a smile, drowsy eyes, and a yawn.

"Did you like the land?" Ave asked tenderly.

Ian nodded. "Hmm. I would rather live in a land like that than here. I wouldn’t have to go to school, and I would meet the Beast Emperor and tell him to give me an autograph. Mom, Dad," he said, his eyes already closing, "I love you. You can kiss me goodnight and turn off the lights. I don’t need the story, I am so sleepy." He said as he turned to his side on the bed.

Lucian leaned down and pressed his lips to his son’s forehead, and he moved back for his wife to do the same. Then they stepped back and watched him sleep peacefully with a ghost of a smile still on his young, handsome face.

"How do we leave? I can’t wait to have my son with me in Pendragon." Ave said, eager to leave everything behind and return to her life and family in Pendragon. If anything, she couldn’t wait to give birth to Ian again.

Lucian looked down at his ring, which Ave had given him in the past. He had not recalled it then, but now he did. Rylan had said it was the key to his return to his time, and all he had to do was take it off. Ave, however, would find her way back the moment she decided to leave with him.

Lucian turned her to face him and kissed her gently on the lips. It was a soft kiss where his lips only stroked hers like a feather, then he whispered against her lips, "The spell you used to come here will take you back. Cast it, I will go after you do," he said. He didn’t want to risk taking off the ring and then waking up in Pendragon without her.

She nodded her head, and while still looking at him, she began to cast the spell. Right before his eyes, she began to fade and turn transparent. His brain immediately went into panic mode as he recalled how he had lost her once like this, but he quickly assured himself that it was different this time. He wasn’t losing her; he was getting her back.

She smiled at him and reached out to hold him, but her fingers passed through his, and before she disappeared, she looked toward their sleeping son, who was also turning transparent and fading where he lay on the bed. And just like that, his figure burst into tiny sparks along with hers.

Lucian watched this and made sure she was gone. Even before he took off his ring, the world began to swirl around him, and the floor seemed to have disappeared. Everything began to fade and turn dark. He took off the ring at the same time his body felt like an empty space. Everything went dark immediately.