But peace was interrupted by an unexpected visitor.
"There's someone here to see you," Marcus said one evening, his expression troubled. "From your human life, Aiden."
"That's impossible. I'm dead. Officially dead."
"I know. But she insists. Says she knows the truth."
Aiden's stomach dropped. "Who?"
"Your mother."
Sophia Luxury sat in their living room, looking older than Aiden remembered. A year had passed since his "death"—a year of grief that showed in new lines on her face.
"Mom," Aiden breathed.
She looked up, and her expression shifted through shock, disbelief, hope, and anger in rapid succession.
"It's really you. Aiden. My son who died." She stood, trembling. "Except you didn't die, did you?"
"How did you find me?"
"A mother knows. I never believed you were dead. The accident was too convenient, too perfect. No body recovered, case closed too quickly. So I kept investigating." She pulled out photos—Aiden and Kieran at their wedding, captured by long-range camera. "Imagine my shock when I found wedding photos of my dead son."
Aiden looked at Kieran helplessly. They'd been so careful, kept the ceremony private. But they'd underestimated a mother's determination.
"Mrs. Luxury," Kieran began.
"Don't. Don't you dare speak to me." Sophia's voice shook with rage and grief. "You took my son. You made him fake his death. You—" She stopped, really looking at Aiden. "What are you? You look different. Your eyes, your skin. You're not human anymore."
"No," Aiden admitted quietly. "I'm not."
"What are you then? What is he?" She gestured at Kieran.
"We're vampires, Mom. Real vampires. The supernatural world exists, and I'm part of it now."
Sophia laughed, slightly hysterical. "Vampires. My son is claiming to be a vampire. This is insane."
Aiden's eyes flashed crimson. His fangs descended. "It's true."
Sophia stumbled backward, horrified and fascinated. "Oh my God. Oh my God, it's real."
"I'm sorry," Aiden said. "I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused you and Dad. But I couldn't tell you. The supernatural world stays hidden for everyone's protection."
"So you let us think you were dead?"
"Better than the alternative—you knowing the truth and becoming targets."
"Targets for what?"
"For extremists who want to keep humans and supernaturals separate. People like me—vampires bonded to humans they loved when human—we're controversial." Aiden moved closer carefully. "Mom, I love you. I've never stopped loving you. But this is my life now. I'm immortal. I'll exist for centuries, maybe millennia. I couldn't stay in your world without eventually revealing what I am."
Sophia was crying now. "You're really my son? Not some creature wearing his face?"
"I'm really me. Same soul, same person, just... transformed."
She reached out tentatively, touching his face. "You're cold."
"Undead. No body heat."
"But you're alive. You're here."
"I'm here. And I'm happy, Mom. Happier than I've ever been. Kieran and I—we're meant to be together. We've been meant to be together for lifetimes."
Sophia looked at Kieran, who'd stayed silent during the exchange. "You really love him?"
"More than anything in existence. I've loved him for over a thousand years, across multiple lifetimes. I would die for him. I have died for him, in previous incarnations."
"Prove it," Sophia demanded. "Prove you're not just some monster who's manipulated my son."
Kieran held out his hand to Aiden. "May I?"
Aiden nodded, taking his hand.
The moment their palms connected, their bond flared visible—golden light emanating from their joined hands, wrapping around both of them in intricate patterns. Soul magic made manifest.
Sophia gasped. "What is that?"
"Our bond," Aiden explained. "It's a soul connection that transcends lifetimes. When we touch, when we're close, you can actually see it if you know how to look."
"It's beautiful," Sophia whispered.
"It is," Kieran agreed. "Your son is my soulmate, Mrs. Luxury. I've searched for him across centuries, lost him countless times, and now finally have him forever. I would never harm him. I would destroy anyone who tried."
Sophia was quiet for a long moment, watching the golden light pulse between them. "What about us? Your father and me? Do we just... never see you again?"
"Not never," Aiden said carefully. "We could... arrange meetings. Carefully. You could know I'm alive, that I'm happy. You couldn't tell anyone—not even Dad, unless he can handle the truth too. And eventually, in twenty or thirty years, you'd have to accept that I don't age while you do."
"So I'd watch my son stay young while I grow old and die?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Mom. That's the price of my immortality."
Sophia sat down heavily, processing everything. "Can I think about this? This is... a lot."
"Of course. Take all the time you need." Aiden knelt beside her chair. "But Mom, please don't tell anyone. The supernatural world stays hidden for good reasons. If the wrong people found out about me, about Kieran, about any of us—there would be consequences."
"I won't tell. I just... I need time."
They let her leave, and Aiden collapsed against Kieran once she was gone.
"That was terrifying."
"You handled it well. She might actually accept this."
"Or she might go to the media, expose everything, and destroy the carefully maintained secrecy of the supernatural world."
"She won't. A mother's love is powerful. She'll protect you, even if that means protecting your secret."
Kieran was right. Two weeks later, Sophia returned.
"I've thought about it. And I want to know my son, even if he's... different now." She looked at them both. "I won't tell Richard. He wouldn't understand. But I want to be part of your life, Aiden. However that's possible."
So they worked it out—monthly visits, carefully arranged. Sophia got to see her son happy, thriving, in love. And Aiden got to maintain a connection to his human life, his family, his past.
It wasn't perfect. But it was something.
And in a life of impossible circumstances, something was a gift.