A Kiss For Your Freedom

She delicately grabs Julien in her arms while I do the same with Melissa and we leave the hospital before getting into her car. She starts and drives slowly while regularly checking on the children. - Do you have some too? ~ children? No, maybe one day but not now. I still have plenty of time to think about it. For the moment, I admit that I am concentrating on my living room. “That's good" I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. ~ admit that I'm really surprised, I didn't think that Emma would have children. I have often imagined your life but I don know why, I didn't see any children there. - We called our son Julien and our daughter Melissa. I see her smile as she quickly looks at it. ~ My best friend has always had very good taste in first names, she said proudly. ~ Your best friend just has very good taste in general. - It's not wrong, although for certain little things, she deserves to be put in her place. - I understand and I guarantee that I will answer all your questions as long as the little ones are safe. - But they will be at my house. On the road I called my partner. She was away at a tattoo convention but she's coming ba tonight. She will take care of our small business for a few days. I could watch the little ones while you go back and forth between the hospital and home. - THANKS. There aren't even words strong enough to describe how much this means to us. - You can believe me, I would remind you, just like Emma and Jason too, even if I know him less well than you. After a few minutes, she slows down and parks in front of her house. We take the kids out of the car and bring them insid His house is in his image, a little crazy. There are huge colorful paintings on the walls and a ton of trinkets, each as wacky as the next. Melissa wakes up in my arms and looks around, lost. - Don't worry, sweetie, we're staying with a friend, a very good friend. And you know what, your name is like her. She turns her head and discovers another Melissa, smiling. - I'm sure you're hungry, she says as Julien wakes up too. They are a little hesitant, but her kindness does the rest and finally, they follow her to the kitchen. I fall into the chair, sighing. My body remembers me. The pain in my ribs pierces me as my limbs become heavier, heavier, almost enquilosed Melissa's POV I didn't expect this, not to hear from them after all this time. However, I often think of Emma, my best friend with whom I have such good memories. Our bursts of laughter come back to me as well as our long car journeys where we sang witho worrying about the rest of the world. I saw her sink after spending a few days with Jason, getting locked into a destructive relationship that only killed her slov before transforming when she met Dorian. I prepare a big, quick breakfast for the little ones, when I think that she is a mother, I admit to being speechless. After the death of her parents, she gave up on everything that could represent a family and when she disappeared with Dorian and Jason, the scandal of her society and her sister's shenanigans exploded into the open. I didn't think she woul feel ready to be a mother, at least not for several more years. While serving them hot chocolate, I take the time to observe them a little more, they both have something of her, but above all, they are both from a different father. Little Melissa is the spitting image of Dorian while Jason cannot deny Juli I have no idea what happened, nor where they were all these years, but I am happy to hear from them, happy to discover these children and above all, I am really excited to see my best friend again, excited to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I missed her. I leave the little ones to eat in peace as I return to the living room to discover that Dorian has fallen asleep in the armcha As I approached him, I saw that he had several marks of blows on his face and upper body. I don't know what they went through but it seemed serious enough that they dropped everything in a fraction of seconds. I g0 get a blanket and place it on him and return to the children. When he wakes up, he'll tell me what I want to know, bu for now, I can give him a few minutes of peace. Just a few minutes before he gave me an explanation. After a good breakfast, I take out some papers and markers to keep the little ones occupied and it's only a good two hour later that Dorian wakes up with a start before looking everywhere around him. The children stop everything and run to jo him while 1 try to reassure him. - You're at my house, remember? ~ Yes, I remember, he said, hugging the little ones. Mom is awake, she's fine, it's just going to take Dad a little more time t wake up too. They're fine, he says without me knowing if its really for the children or if it's more for him. After a few minutes of a long embrace, the children return to their drawings while I suggest, - How about we go have a coffee in the kitchen together? - My pleasure. He gets up, grimacing, I don’t notice but I suspect that he is also hurt even if he doesn't intend to complain about it. We g to the kitchen where he sits on a high stool while I turn on the coffee maker. - Thanks again Melissa. I don't know what we would have become without you. ~ Instead of spending your time thanking me, how about you tell me what happened? POV Dorian Melissa doesn’t know anything about me or Jason. I don’t even know where to start, or even how she’s going to take it. I sigh as she slides a cup of steaming hot coffee under my nose. The smell is pleasant and I admit that I really need some caffeine today. ~ Are you planning to drown yourself in your coffee where you're going to answer me? - I wonder what's the best way to explain everything to you. - If you spoke to me honestly. I look at her without being surprised. After all, she is Emma's best friend. - Don't panic, 1 said, looking into his eyes. ~ 1 don’t plan to panic. - Perfect, look, Jason and I are both different. - I would have suspected that Emma would drop everything overnight - We are much more different than you might think. You know, we also had a completely different life before. Jason lived a sort of community like I did too a long time ago. We had very defined roles and heavy responsibilities. When I met Emm I knew straight away that she was going to change my life, I just didn't know that she would bring Jason along too. ~ Are you talking about some kind of sect? ~ Not quite, let's say it's more like a clan. Anyway, when we left, it was because members of our respective clans were chasing us. With Jason, we were more or less enemies in the past, so much so that our relationship, or indeed our group, did not spark the greatest joy. And with us, conflicts are settled with blood. She tenses at hearing these words while I sigh a little louder. ~ Jason and 1 are used to this kind of thing but not Emma and to protect her, we decided to go and isolate ourselves. But that wasn’t enough. Despite that, we managed to get rid of it. - I must understand that there were deaths? - Obviously not enough. Because against all odds, another person came to join them, a person in whom Emma had blind confidence. “His sister, she said, drinking her coffee. - Absolutely, his sister. It seems that she had already written Emma's life without even taking into account these wishes, these desires and she did not like it when people came to thwart these plans. She was ready to sell it to a weirdo to pock the jackpot. She grimaces a little more before sighing too. - This story caused a stir. Not this pseudo arranged marriage, but what happened with society. The bogus accounts, the lack of money, the shareholders disappeared in the blink of an eye, just like his sister. The courts have been looking for h for a while now but still nothing. From what the papers say, it seems she was involved in some shady business with equal shady associates. I rarely follow the news but then I became interested, I even said to myself that it was a good thing tha Emma wasn't there to see it. To tell you the truth, we hoped we would never hear from her again. That she would end these days in prison but the p: came back. Full force. She surely makes us responsible for her fall. That's why she hired a man, a bounty hunter with an optional killer in her catalog. He first attacked a friend who had come to warn us, then Jason. I did everything I could to help him, but by the time I got there, he was already at our house and Emma was fighting tooth and nail to defend our children. “You surprise me," she said, putting her cup back on the table. Seeing as I know her, I'm even sure she's really damaged it - It's true, she hurt him, but the most important thing is that she stopped him from approaching the children. She smiles although I can see sadness in her eyes. - I don't understand everything Dorian, but 'm intelligent enough to know that there are things you don't tell me, probak because you're afraid I won't understand. I respect your choice because I know that even if it is not the whole truth, it is good part of the truth. If her sister is really behind all this, I might as well tell you that she won't give up. I am sure of it. ~ That's why we're going to have to find her, before she does it.

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