Madeline:

I had changed my clothes by then.

Ron and Byron had arrived at the well at just the right moment and helped my father out.

He still wasn’t fully conscious of what was happening.

He had spent so long trapped in his monster form that returning to a human body seemed overwhelming.

Ron and Byron dressed him and took him back to the house.

By the time I arrived at Rosetta’s mansion, I had changed as well.

Rosetta had finally come home.

The moment I stepped out of the guest room, her eyes landed on me.

We simply stared at each other in silence.

No one around us said a word.

Then I ran toward her and wrapped my arms around her.

She hugged me back just as tightly before suddenly breaking down.

She cried so hard that I eventually had to loosen the embrace when her legs began to give out beneath her.

I quickly helped her stay on her feet, then guided her to the couch and sat beside her, holding both of her hands.

“You have no idea, Madeline. I’ve been so alone,” she cried between hiccups.

Everyone around us looked stunned.

Rosetta had always been known for her composure, confidence, and calm nature. No one had ever seen her lose control like this.

Even Byron stood off to the side, silently watching her.

When Rosetta started crying, I noticed tears gathering in his eyes too.

“I know. So many terrible things have happened to us, and out of everyone, you’ve suffered the most,” I told her, rubbing the back of her hand.

She immediately shook her head.

“No, Madeline. You’ve suffered so much. Everything that happened to you…” she began.

But I shook my head before she could continue.

“Rosetta, I’ve still had moments of happiness. I found my mate. I built a family. But you were imprisoned. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to live in captivity for so long.”

Her eyes closed as another sob escaped her, and she lowered her head.

“But it’s over now, Rosetta. Everything is going to be all right. I promise I’ll find a

cure for you too. I’ll get you out of this territory and free you from all of this. You trust me, don’t you?” I asked, gently squeezing her hands to get her attention.

She lifted her head and nodded.

“Yes.”

Then she pulled me into another hug.

We were still sitting on the couch, holding each other, when someone’s arrival interrupted us.

“Come sit here.”

It was Ron, helping my father toward the couch.

I could tell Father was struggling to walk. His legs seemed weak, and even

controlling his limbs looked difficult after being trapped in a different form for so long.

Rosetta and I slowly broke apart and turned toward him.

Father looked at both of us in silence.

Then a gentle, broken smile appeared on his face.

Rosetta and I immediately started rushing toward him, desperate to hug him.

But he startled so badly that he stumbled back.

“Guys, please calm down,” Byron warned, raising a hand to stop us from making any sudden movements.

We slowed down immediately.

Carefully, we approached our father and knelt in front of him, resting our hands gently on his knees.

“Father? It’s me, Madeline,” I said, placing a hand over my chest.

He stared at me with wide eyes.

“And I’m Rosetta. Your daughter. One of the triplets,” Rosetta added, smiling through her tears.

Father continued looking between us without saying a word.

Then he pointed at his own chest before gesturing toward the two of us, as though

asking if we truly belonged to him.

We both nodded.

He blinked several times.

Then tears began to spill from his eyes.

“I think it’ll take him some time before he can speak,” Ron said from behind us.

Rosetta and I were both crying, our heads resting against Father’s knees.

I could feel how frail he had become.

He was nothing but skin and bones now.

After we had cried ourselves out, we ordered food, but for the time being, we could only give Father liquids. His body would need time to recover.

Thankfully, everyone kept reminding me that I was a researcher.

I could take care of him.

“You know what? He has a doctor for a daughter back in the human lands,” I told everyone.

Father smiled faintly as Rosetta and I fed him soup.

One spoonful from me, then one from her.

We sat on either side of him, taking turns.

He had deteriorated so much, yet could stiff tell that my father must have been one of the most

handsome men in the worldoxen

hyounger

To me, he still was.

I was smiling at him when my heart suddenly began pounding.

I immediately set the bowl aside and stood.

When I turned around, Baxter was standing in the doorway.

His breathing was erratic.

I knew what that meant.

He had turned his mother into the monster.

That was why my father was free.

“I remember everything.”

The moment Baxter said those words, every hair on the back of my neck stood.

“I remember every fucking thing,

Madelin

Everything those scumbags tried to do to you

mountaintop, in that

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that

Baxter’s voice cracked.

And after so long, I finally saw my Baxter again.

Not the president who had woken up without any memory of me.

My Baxter.

I rushed toward him and threw my arms around him, holding him as though my life

depended on it.