Chapter 405 - The Mother

"Mother?" Theodore's eyes widened with hope.

Theodore instantly jumped out of his bed and looked around his room. And to his utter disbelief, the Goddess herself was standing near his door.

She was wearing a golden robe that matched her eye color. Her long silver hair was floating around her as though they defied earth's gravity. And her face… she looked so serene that one would find inner peace just by looking at her face.

Theodore's heart was flooded with all kinds of emotions when he saw his mother after such a long time. He wanted to be mad at her for not visiting him even once, he wanted to complain to her about his father, and he wanted to lay on her lap and have her stay beside him forever.

He had so many things that he wanted to tell her that he couldn't decide what to say at first. And he kept on gazing at his mother without even covering the distance between them.

The Goddess opened her arms with a warm smile on her face. "My baby, aren't you going to greet your mother?"

The moment she said that, Theodore smiled and ran to his mother. He hugged her very tightly and buried his face in her silver and aromatic hair. His heart was instantly filled with the warmth that he had been missing for so long.

And he couldn't help but ask his mother in a complaining tone, "Mother, why didn't you come to me? Did father restrict you from visiting me? You knew I missed you so much but why did you choose not to come here?"

The mother gently caressed her son's hair and kissed him on the head. "Oh, my poor baby! I'm sorry I took so long to come and meet you."

She rested her cheek on his head and spoke in the softest voice possible, "I couldn't bring myself to visit you, Theodore. I did nothing to prevent you from being cast down from Heaven. And how could I ever show my face to you when I couldn't even speak a word against your father?"

Theodore raised his head and looked into the eyes that were similar to his. He felt sad that his mother had been punishing herself. "Mother, you didn't need to be so harsh on yourself. All you needed to do was visit me from time to time."

"I know. I'm sorry I did not." His mother also looked sad.

He took a deep breath and put on a smile on his face and assured her, "But now that you are here, everything is fine." He hugged his mother again and happily said, "I forgive you."

The Goddess felt as though half of her burden was removed when Theodore said that to her. She gently patted her pampered child's back and kept on hugging her until he clung to her.

After quite some time, Theodore finally let go of her hold and then took her outside to the garden.

His mother praised his garden and said with a tranquil smile, "You have grown really beautiful plants and flowers here. I always wanted to touch these plants in real."

Theodore smiled and asked, "How often did you watch me?"

"Enough to keep track of how you had been doing." She sighed and said, "I was really disheartened to see you go through that pain… the pain of having to return back to loneliness after getting the taste of companionship."

She then immediately glanced at her son's face and happily said, "But I am finally happy that you two are back together. And…" she stood in front of Theodore and cupped his cheeks with her hands, "And I am ecstatic to see that you are getting married to that lovely girl."

"Congratulations! My baby," the Goddess was beaming with so much happiness that it was contagious.

Theodore also happily replied, "Thank you, mother." He then pressed his lips together and asked her, "Why don't you stay for my wedding? I have plenty of rooms here. I'm sure you will feel comfortable. Adeline would also be happy to meet you."

The Goddess took a sigh and turned around to admire the beautiful bush of roses. "I'm not sure if I should. I came here on a whim and I haven't even notified anyone up there."

"They will know on their own." Theodore walked close to her and asked again, "Azriel will also come to the wedding if you are thinking that you would be alone. And I would be really happy if I don't have to take fake parents with me on my wedding day."

The Goddess chuckled when she heard Theodore mentioning fake parents. And immediately after, she became sad.

"Alright, I will give it some thought and tell you by the end of the day." She then held out her hands while saying, "But first, let me do what I came here to do."

She produced a set of clothes in her hand and said to Theodore, "I heard someone was in the need of wedding clothes."

Theodore's eyes twinkled with happiness when he saw the fine clothes, probably woven by the angels. "You are my savior!" he said while smiling happily and taking the clothes from her. "I cannot thank you enough for this, mother."

The Goddess was glad that she picked up the courage to visit her son. Seeing him happy and smiling from up close was worth everything. "I had it made a long while ago in case I visited you someday. And I heard you complaining about not having a dress. So I thought that you could wear this to your wedding."

"This is perfect," Theodore hugged his mother again and ran inside to safely put that dress inside the wardrobe.

The Goddess also followed her son inside and then asked him, "Theodore, why don't we go and meet your brothers while I am already here. I don't want them to think that I only care about you."

"But you care more about me, don't you?" Theodore tilted his head like a cute puppy and asked his mother.

The Goddess laughed like a softly flowing river and caressed Theodore's cheek. "Of course. You are my pampered one after all. I came here because of you, didn't I?"

Theodore was beaming with happiness from that confession of his mother. He was already planning to taunt Azriel with his mother's words. He was mischievously thinking to himself, "I am going to brag to him for several years now. It will be fun to see his getting agitated."

He offered his arm for his mother to hold and said to her, "Let's go then.. I will take you to the Dragon Crypt."