THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Reunion
Ava’s chest heaved as the blinding flash of light swallowed her, ripping her from the Abyss. Her body convulsed in the wake of its release. She gasped, her senses overwhelmed by the sudden rush of air, the warmth of sunlight, the solid ground beneath her feet—a stark contrast to the suffocating void she had just escaped. But the release was not relief. It was pain. Her knees buckled as she staggered forward, only for strong arms to catch her, pulling her into an embrace that was both familiar and foreign.

“Leo…” Her voice cracked, barely above a whisper, her body limp against his. His touch, firm yet trembling, was the anchor she had been reaching for. She collapsed into him, too exhausted to fight, too weary to care about how she appeared—broken, fragile, a shadow of the woman who had once stood by his side. His arms tightened around her, a protective cocoon in a world that felt too bright, too alive for her now.

“I’m here.” Leo’s voice, deep and steady, soothed her, but even he couldn’t hide the strain in his words. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving as if he too had fought his own battles in this escape. “You’re safe now, Ava. You’re free.”

Free. The word echoed in her mind, hollow, mocking. She wasn’t free. Not truly. Her body may have left the Abyss, but something darker, deeper, still clung to her—an invisible mark, a stain she could feel pulsing beneath her skin, insidious and alive. She didn’t have the strength to speak of it, to tell him that they were far from safe.

Instead, she let herself sag into his warmth, her fingers curling weakly against his chest, desperate to hold onto the man who had never given up on her. “I thought I’d lost you,” Leo whispered, his breath warm against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “But I found you. I always will.”

Ava swallowed the lump in her throat, the tears she couldn’t afford to shed. She didn’t deserve his faith, his love. The Abyss had whispered truths she couldn’t ignore—truths about her failures, her weakness. How long before he realized it too? How long before the darkness claimed her for good?

But she couldn’t voice those fears, not now, not when they had just reunited. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to believe in his words, to feel the solid weight of his body against hers as proof that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope.

The sun dipped low, casting a golden haze over the fractured land, the remnants of the Abyss still visible in the jagged cracks that lined the earth. They sat in silence, side by side, the distance between them both minuscule and infinite. Ava felt the weight of his gaze on her, burning with questions he dared not ask.

“You’re not telling me everything,” Leo said finally, his voice soft but unyielding, cutting through the silence like a blade.

Ava stiffened, her gaze fixed on the horizon, her mind racing for a response that wouldn’t reveal the festering truth inside her. “I—I just need time.” Her words were a feeble attempt at evasion, but Leo had never been one to accept half-truths.

His hand, warm and steady, found hers. “Ava. You don’t need to hide from me.”

She flinched at the sincerity in his voice, the trust that still lingered despite everything they had endured. She didn’t deserve it. Not after what the Abyss had shown her—its twisted whispers that had burrowed deep into her heart, making her question everything.

“I’m… different now,” she admitted, her voice barely audible. “It did something to me. I don’t know if I can ever go back to who I was.”

Leo was silent for a moment, his hand tightening around hers. “I don’t care who you were. I only care about who you are now.”

Her chest tightened. If only it were that simple. “You don’t understand,” she said, her voice sharper than she intended. “The Abyss—it’s still with me. I can feel it. There’s a part of it that didn’t die. It’s in me.”

Leo didn’t flinch, didn’t withdraw. “Then we fight it. Together.”

Ava laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You don’t get it. This isn’t something you can just fight. It’s inside me. It’s… part of me now.” Her voice cracked with the weight of the confession, the terror of what that meant.

But Leo, ever stubborn, ever faithful, simply turned toward her, his gaze unwavering. “Then we fight you together.” The words were soft but resolute. It was a contradiction, a paradox that only Leo could embody—fighting with her and against her all at once, a war for her soul.

Ava wanted to believe him, but the doubt gnawed at her like a relentless beast. The Abyss had whispered things, poisoned her mind with truths that felt undeniable. “I’m not who I was,” she repeated, her voice tinged with anguish. “I’m weaker now, Leo. The Abyss showed me—”

“It showed you nothing,” he interrupted, his voice suddenly hard. “It lied to you. It twisted everything you are, everything you love. You’re stronger than it.”

She shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. “No. You don’t know what I saw. What it told me.”

“I don’t care what it told you!” Leo’s sudden anger startled her, his voice rising in frustration. “I care about what you believe, Ava. You have to believe in yourself again. You have to fight.”

“I don’t know how.” Her voice was barely a whisper, her hands trembling as she clutched the earth beneath her, trying to ground herself in a reality that felt too fragile.

Leo’s hand cupped her face, his touch gentle, but his gaze fierce. “Then I’ll remind you.” His thumb brushed away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. “I’ll remind you every damn day if I have to. You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

As the days passed, they found a fragile rhythm, a semblance of peace amidst the chaos that lingered from the Abyss’s devastation. But the shadow of the Abyss was never far, always lurking in the corners of Ava’s mind, a presence she could not escape. She would wake in the night, gasping for breath, the remnants of the Abyss’s whispers still echoing in her ears. And always, Leo was there, pulling her from the edge, holding her in the quiet darkness as if his presence alone could keep the shadows at bay.

Yet no matter how tightly he held her, no matter how much he reassured her, the mark remained—a subtle, throbbing reminder of what still lay inside her.

And then came the moment she had dreaded.

It was a quiet evening, the air still and thick with the remnants of a lingering storm. Ava had been restless all day, pacing, her skin prickling with a strange unease. She had tried to shake it off, but the feeling persisted—a sense of something wrong.

Leo had noticed her tension, his gaze following her as she moved around the small space they now called home. “Ava,” he began, his voice cautious. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, her fingers brushing against the scar on her wrist—a scar she hadn’t had before the Abyss. “I just feel… off.”

Suddenly, her body convulsed, her hand snapping to her chest as pain lanced through her. It felt like the Abyss was tearing through her from the inside. She cried out, staggering, her vision blurring as dark shadows danced at the edges of her sight.

“Ava!” Leo was at her side in an instant, his hands steadying her as she sank to her knees. “What is it? What’s happening?”

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t explain the darkness that was clawing its way to the surface. And then, through the haze of pain, she saw it—the fragment.

A small, twisted shard of darkness hovered above her palm, shimmering with an unnatural light. The Abyss. It had followed her. It had stayed with her.

Leo’s breath caught, his eyes wide as he stared at the fragment. “What the hell is that?”

Ava’s voice trembled, her body shaking with the effort to hold back the growing darkness. “It’s… it’s what’s left of the Abyss.” Her voice broke, her hands trembling as she stared at the dark fragment, small but pulsing with a malevolent energy. It was still inside her. It had never really left.

The realization hit her with a crushing weight. The battle was far from over. The Abyss hadn’t been destroyed—it had been waiting, festering inside her, biding its time.

Leo knelt beside her, his hands covering hers, his face etched with determination. “Then we fight it. Together.” His words echoed the same promise he had made before, but now they carried the weight of the truth she had been too afraid to face.

Ava’s breath hitched, her eyes locked on the fragment. This wasn’t over. It had never been over. The Abyss had followed her out, and now it was up to them—both of them—to confront it.

Leo’s grip tightened, his voice steady as he whispered, “I’m not letting it take you. Not now. Not ever.”

But Ava knew, deep down, that the road ahead would not be easy. The Abyss was still with her. And the fight for her soul had only just begun.