Chapter 337: Her mother also has a list.
She turned to him, her expression unreadable, though her eyes did not hide the exhaustion deep within. "You make quite the case."
"Eleven reasons." He said.
Sienna almost smiled. "Yes, eleven reasons. Clearly, too many because they go over ten."
"I could make it a hundred." He muttered.
She raised her brows. "Love is not a court hearing, Elias. You are not a lawyer. Love cannot be weighed like coins or judged like property."
He frowned, his ears twitching in frustration. "Then tell me, who?"
Sienna reached out, brushing her fingers against his cheek. "I love our children. I love my brother. I love my mother. I love my cousins and my uncles and aunts. Numia is debatable, I cannot say that I love that wreck of a beast woman."
"I..." Elias started, but he shut up as she quickly cut him off.
"And I love you." Sienna added quickly, reaching out, brushing her fingers against his cheek. "But we are just starting out Elias. You said it yourself, that we have to take our time knowing each other. I won’t lie and claim that I am madly, suffocatingly, in love with you. But I do feel something for you that I do not feel for any other man in this world or the world I came from. And I will not rank you like a list of grievances or victories. You are part of the whole, not above it."
Elias growled softly, dissatisfied, but her touch softened him. He leaned into her hand, his pride warring with his need for her complete, selfish, affection. "One day," he whispered, "you will say my name first."
Sienna smiled faintly, her eyes closing as exhaustion claimed her. "Perhaps," she said, her voice fading into the quiet. "But tonight, let us sleep." She added as an after thought, "No seductive touches, truly, I have had a long day."
Elias lay beside her, his mind restless, his heart both wounded and hopeful. Deep down, he admired her for being honest with herself and him. If she had said what he wanted to hear, he would have been happy for just one small moment, and then doubt would have taken over. At least in future, when she did choose him first, he would know it was done out of real love and willingness, not a desire to coax him. He closed his eyes, smiling faintly, the wounded feeling fading fast.
****
At precisely eight in the morning, Sienna stepped out of her house, balancing her cubs in one arm and her bag in the other. She had her head tilted, listening to Mija rushing her to the office because there was an emergency waiting. But before she could take two steps further, she noticed her mother waiting on the porch with a fox box.
"I will see you in ten." She told Mija.
Eli caught the phone with his paw before it could slide and fall. "Mama, you should seriously consider replacing this phone with a comm watch. It is natural to give up old technology."
Sienna rolled her eyes. Everything she had was considered old technology to her son. She looked at her own mother, "Good morning. No smoking today?"
Mrs. Miller rolled her eyes. "Breakfast to go," she announced cheerfully. "An egg sandwich, oat, nuts and honey cookies, some coffee and a rice porridge. Don’t argue."
Sienna raised her brow. "Who said I was going to argue."
"I don’t want an egg sandwich." Ali piped in. "I want to eat parrot barbecue."
The idea had been raised the previous night, and it seemed like her daughter was not giving up. Those parrots were now an endangered species in their home. Luckily for Sienna, aunt Linera swooped in and took the cubs.
Sienna turned her focus to her mother. "Do you have something to say to me?
Her mother tugged her toward one of the wicker chairs on the porch. "Sit. Just for a moment. I do have something to say to you."
Sienna sighed. Her mother was in a happy mood, it was not hard to decipher why. The blind date had probably ended successfully.
Her mother leaned in, eyes sparkling with a mix of mischief and determination. "I know you do not approve of Chase Twindell," she began, voice low but firm. "But I am going on a second date with that man."
Sienna stiffened. "You do know that his father is an ex-pirate? And he is related to my awful mother-in-law."
"Yes, I know all this," her mother said, unflinching. "And before you roll your eyes into another universe, hear me out. You have to separate the man from some of his relatives. Chase is a good man. We all have bad relatives, don’t we? Cadelaria is proof of that. Elias is good, his mother is not. Paris was bad, his parents are not. Corven Junior is good, his mother is not."
Sienna muttered under her breath. "I think you are my personal bad relative..."
Her mother ignored the jab and launched into her list, ticking off points on her fingers. "First, at dinner last night, he actually listened when I was talking. Not the pretentious polite nodding your father used to do while secretly reading messages on his phone or counting how many pieces of meat were left. He was interested in hearing about my life. He asked questions, remembered details, and laughed at my stories. Do you know how rare that is?"
Sienna’s lips twitched. "I am sure Paris the bum laughed plenty. Probably, at his own jokes. Like when he sent you a stone."
"Exactly!" her mother shot back. "Chase laughed at my jokes. And he was not faking it. I have been around noble families long enough now to know their fake laughter. He made me feel...seen. Your father always made me feel invisible. Around here, I sometimes feel invisible."
Sienna shifted uncomfortably, but her mother pressed on. "Second, during the walk after dinner, he slowed down when I slowed down. Your father used to march ahead of me like he was leading a military parade, leaving me to jog behind, panting like a dog. Beast men are faster than humans, your father knew this, but he didn’t care.
This man cared. He offered me his arm, matched my pace, even pointed out constellations, street names and their history. He bought me dry flowers just because I said I could never keep fresh ones alive for longer than a day. Not even if I had nutrient solutions.
He noticed that my feet were hurting and bought me a pair of flat sole supportive fur boots shaped like pandas! He said he knew what Soren had gone through and maybe wearing panda style boots and stepping on them would make me feel better once in a while. Do you know that he is the first person to actually care about how that incident is still bothering me?"
Sienna rolled her neck. "Mother, come on. I care."
Her mother raised her brows. "I have not said you don’t care. You got justice for your brother, and everyone closed the Chapter. I still think about it. I think about my powerlessness. I am ashamed that as your mother, I have left the burden of protecting us to you and all I do is make egg sandwiches."
Sienna gasped. "Oh mama!"
Mrs. Miller raised her hand. "It’s okay. All I am saying is that Chase understood all this. Your father never cared to hear about my feelings."
Sienna frowned. "Mother, you’re comparing him to Paris too much."
Her mother’s eyes softened. "Because that’s the only measure I have. Your father never did those things. He never made me smile the way Chase did. Your father never bought me flowers, not even when I stood at a flower stand and hinted about it. In the end, the flower vendor gave me a yellow rose out of pity and slipped me a note that advised me to break up with Paris." She sighed. "I never did. Instead, I got pregnant and I don’t regret that for a second." She added quickly before Sienna could rush to a conclusion that she was an unwanted child.
Sienna crossed her arms. "I hear you mother. Chase Twindell is a prince charming compared to Paris. Any man would probably be. But he is still related to Cadelaria. That’s a disaster waiting to happen."
Her mother leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "And you are also related to Cadelaria, aren’t you? Your children are related to her. You and Elias seem to be getting along better than ever. You have not let Cadelaria define your man or your relationship. Why should I?"
Sienna opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Thought so." Her mother mother smirked at the silence. She continued, relentless. "When I mentioned you, he didn’t flinch. He didn’t groan or complain about your reputation for bullying the elders and other rumors about you outside. He said, ’Your daughter must be formidable, it is a good trait to have when you are born as part of the weaker population in this empire.’ Do you know how refreshing that is? From your childhood, people have been telling that you are too strong-willed and they have been trying to cut you down. But not him. How can you not like him?"