Chapter 175 - Torn

That night, Raine slept in Aire's room. She had wanted to talk to Tyrone and be with him, but she wasn't ready for the inevitable conversation yet. Or rather, she felt as if she would only blow up on him if they met right now. She didn't even know what to say to him yet, let alone have a decent conversation with him.

His revelation...It was something that she refused to see coming. In truth, she had already foreseen something like this happening the moment she let Tyrone enter the picture. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer... What a bullshi*t phrase for people who ended up falling in love with each other. She was sure that it was the phrase Tyrone had in his mind the moment he accepted the job to work for her. Against better judgment, she blindly convinced herself that her hunch was wrong despite not having any reason not to trust it. And lo and behold, it was right all along.

On the other hand, Aire behaved rather well and didn't bother to ask both of her parents what happened earlier that day. After all, she already had an idea about what went down anyway. She was more than mature enough for her age to know that she shouldn't ponder on things that were beyond her control. Truth to be told, she, herself, was already nervous about coming back to her era, knowing full well that she had to face whatever ordeal would meet her for changing the events of the past.

Aire let out an inaudible sigh. She just had to trust on her father and how he would be able to handle everything by the end. But even then, Aire couldn't hide the sadness on her face just thinking of the days that she wouldn't be able to spend with her Mommy anymore. If anything, it would be nice to spend the rest of her remaining days with both of her parents.

On their shared bed, her mother cuddled into her. With them being so close, Aire could feel and hear her Mommy's restless quiet sighs.

"Mommy, are you awake?" Aire couldn't not help but ask, turning around to face her mother.

"Yes, sweetie?" Raine replied as she managed to flash Aire a sweet smile. 

Aire returned a smile and murmured, "Do you want me to unwrap a lollipop for you?"

Raine chuckled, lovingly touching Aire's cheek as she said, "I think I'll need to tone down eating lollipops for now, Sweetie."

"Hmm… How about getting some air, Mommy?" Aire suggested with a whisper.

Raine pulled Aire for an embrace and cooed, "Don't worry about me. Just sleep, Aire. Mommy is doing fine…"

"Good night, Mommy," Aire breathed out with a small yawn. 

Time slipped by, and Aire fell into a deep slumber in Raine's embrace. Seeing her daughter fast asleep, the mother quietly moved and carefully got up from the bed. It was almost midnight, but being sleepy was far from her body's agenda right now. Walking towards the balcony, she was startled when she saw Tyrone sitting quietly by her glass doors.

"Please stay. Let's talk about this," he begged in a gasp. 

Raine stayed rooted from where she stood as Tyrone got up. In one swift motion, the man hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry that I'm not able to tell you the truth so soon. It was really hard on my part, and I'm struggling hard on how to tell you everything properly. I didn't even know how to start," Tyrone helplessly whispered.

Raine's heart broke with each word that she processed. Of course, she understood how things were tough on Tyrone's part. However, she was still a mess at that moment, unable to even fathom what to do and how to proceed further with the mighty revelation that just got unceremoniously dropped on her lap.

Tyrone, who perfectly knew what was in Raine's mind, murmured, "Just do what you need to do and focus on our mission to secure Xander's safety. After that, can you please trust me? I'll handle everything on my end…"

"But my Father…" Raine weakly muttered out. She was torn. She knew in her heart that she loved her father more than anything else in the world… before Tyrone even came into her life...

There was silence… then Tyrone whispered, "I'll talk to him, Raine…"

Raine closed her eyes shut. Tyrone made it sound like everything would be solved as easy as saying it would, but in reality, she knew that it was far more complicated than that! Talk to her father? Raine felt like her head would explode at any moment from hearing such a stupid concept. 

She couldn't help the tears that kept falling down her cheeks. This was the most difficult tribulation that she had ever encountered. Try as she might, her beleaguered mind just couldn't think of a better solution to handle the situation in front of her… One way or another, she felt that only bad were about to happen, either to Tyrone or her father.

"Everything will be fine. I'm willing to do anything, Raine, just not to lose you," Tyrone confidently declared, making Raine cry even more. It was the first time that she cried like this. 

It took a significant amount of time for her to gather herself. They stayed on the balcony, sitting together while staring blankly at the dark, starless night. Tyrone held her close to him in an embrace as if lulling her to sleep.

"There's a lot of things to do. We need to make plans," Raine mumbled. "I don't want you getting hurt in the process… I don't want to lose you," she weakly whispered.

"You won't. Let's wrap Xander's case up first. I'll fly to Country V tomorrow as planned," Tyrone nodded. "I need to settle some important matters on my side as well… Can Aire stay with you instead? I'm sure our daughter would love to be with you in her remaining days here…" 

Raine sighed deeply and mumbled, "She would prefer to be with the two of us… but our time is very crucial.. We need to hurry up before Father opens his eyes."