"Kellen, go help your mother."
Kellen turned away from Anthony, her eyes sad at having to part from him, but she smiled at him before leaving, as if she was sure they would see each other again. Anthony had his doubts. He sat down again at the invitation of his father-in-law, who sat down opposite him.
"I appreciate visits, Anthony. Will you stay and have lunch with us?"
"Yes, of course. I'd be honored."
"Great. And how are your parents?"
"They're fine. I'd like to ask your permission to go back with Kellen..." Anthony thought it best to get straight to the point, he wasn't in the mood for small talk at the moment.
His father-in-law looked at him curiously.
"Why would I allow something like that?"
"Because... She loves me. She must have suffered in my absence."
"No. Actually, she didn't mind."
"I could see her rejection by the way she greeted me." Anthony said wryly.
"She likes you. It's normal for her to be pleased. You, for us and for her, are her husband and... I won't deny that you bring happiness to Kellen, just by existing. But she's a resigned young woman. And I don't want to see her suffer. If you really have a convincing reason, I'll allow you to return to this castle."
Anthony didn't know what to say. He was too proud to admit that he missed her, but if he didn't overcome his pride, he could lose what could be his last chance to live with Kellen.
"I brought your gold, and the car back. You can take the castle back too, I've never set foot in it, I don't even know where it is, and... you'll notice that not a single coin is missing... I'm here because your daughter has become something more important than myself in my life."
The father-in-law smiled.
"Now you have a good reason. You can keep the gold for yourself. It doesn't affect me financially, because it's not even a thousandth of my fortune. I'm not interested in getting the car back either, but I'll take the castle. Now, as for returning with my daughter, I only have one condition.
"I'll do whatever you want."
"You'll tell her all your plans that you had before you got married, and promise her that you'll never lie to her. No matter how painful the truth may be."
"I don't think she'll like hearing that, along with her family."
"Of course not. I would never allow anyone to humiliate my daughter like that. When you're alone today, take the opportunity to tell her.
"You'll have no way of knowing if I've kept my end of the bargain. I don't think it's something she'll want to share with anyone."
"Until now, despite her selfishness, she has always kept her word. I'm counting on it. A man's word has to be more valuable than a signature." The father-in-law said and stood up. "Let's go to the dining room. Our wives should be waiting for us by now."
...
That same afternoon, Anthony told Kellen everything as they strolled arm in arm through the castle's maze-like garden. She listened in silence, and when Anthony finished confessing everything, without even omitting his thoughts, she became serious, and when they saw one of the wooden benches, they sat down.
"Dad wasn't very honest with you either..." Kellen said embarrassed. "He knew you were the boy I dreamed of, and he did everything in his power to get you to marry me, but it wasn't in his interest for us to be together after our first night."
"What do you mean? Please help me understand, what do you mean when you say you dreamt about me? And why didn't your father want us to stay together?"
"Our family... Well, to sum it all up, we can involuntarily see the face of the person who will be our companion... Or at least, the person who will guarantee the gift of Bruma in our bloodline. You were chosen because of this. Your family must have something strong to pass on to the next generation. It's just that I dreamt about you and our life together so many times that I ended up falling in love. When we slept together, my love grew, and when I saw you leave, I began to believe that it was my subconscious that created the fantasies that we would be happy together, and I mourned for three days, without anything to console me, but on the third night, I dreamt that you were coming back, and so I calmed down, and Dad didn't expect that. He thought he could throw you out of my life. I'm an only child, and he wants this child for himself."
"Child?"
"Yes. I conceived that night of the wedding. Under the blue light."
Anthony then remembered the maid's words, and everything made sense.
"So... I'm going to have a child?"
"We're having a girl."
Anthony began to think quickly.
"That's why your father didn't want me to stay. He practically bought me for you."
"Not for me, exactly. So that he would have a grandchild. He doesn't know it's a girl yet."
"He's not going to raise my daughter. I won't let him do to her what he did to you. We're leaving here today."
Kellen smiled.
"No, Anthony. It's our destiny to live together here... You'll understand in the future."
"We'll have lots of children, Kellen. And your father won't touch any of them."
"You'll have three more children." Kellen said, and stood up, holding out his hand to him. "But in the meantime, let's enjoy our life together. I want to be happy, like I was on our wedding day, forever."
Anthony stood up, hugged her and kissed her for a long time, which was promptly reciprocated.
He didn't believe in predictions, but she was right about one thing; he would do anything to make them happy together.
And time went by. They gave themselves to each other every night, without shame or reservation. Anthony never imagined that one day he would experience something as intense as what he was experiencing with Kellen. It was as if he was living in constant ecstasy. No one disturbed them and everything was perfect and harmonious between them. Sometimes he imagined he was in a dream. He couldn't conceive that anyone could have only good times in life, and he spent Kellen's entire pregnancy in a state of complete happiness.