Chapter 161

Kayla

The cold air nipped at my cheeks, flushing them a delicate pink as we walked up to the cabin. Thankfully, the tray of food in my hands warmed my cold skin, and I couldn’t help but smile as Nicholas knocked on the door to Grace’s cabin.

Grace opened the door in an instant, her face lighting up when she saw us standing there. She ushered us in, gasping at the fine array of food and the bundle of gifts we’d brought—some more yarn, a few books, and a pair of striped socks that I’d insisted on picking up for her even though Nicholas said she had plenty.

“I missed you guys so much,” Grace said, pulling me in for a hug. “How was the wedding? Goddess, I wish I could have gone.”

Nicholas and I glanced at each other, and the smile on his face made my chest warm. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out a stack of wedding photographs that were fresh from the print shop.

Grace gasped, sitting down on the nearest chair as she flipped through them. “Kayla, you look so beautiful,” she said, flipping first through the staged photos.

I blushed. “Those ones are staged,” I said. “My dress got ruined, actually—it’s a long story. But toward the bottom of the stack are the candid ones from the actual wedding.”

Nodding, Grace flipped to the candid photos. But at that moment, her face went pale. She stared at a photo of me and Nicholas cutting the cake, her eyes flickering quickly from confusion to shock and then outright disbelief.

Finally, she looked up at me. “That was your wedding gown?”

I nodded. “It was my mother’s, actually.”

She set the photos down in her lap with shaking hands. “Kayla, I think I knew your mother.”

My heart skipped a beat. I stared at Grace for a moment, wondering if she was mistaken or perhaps playing some kind of prank on me. But her face was nothing but serious. Finally, I managed to choke out, “You… You knew my mother?”

Grace’s hands trembled slightly as she set the photos on the table beside her. “Not personally, but… my mother did. She was your mother’s maid for years. More than a maid, actually. They were close friends, according to my mother’s diary.”

I stared at her, stunned into silence. Nicholas leaned forward in his chair, suddenly interested.

“Wait, your mother worked for Kayla’s family?” he asked.

Grace nodded, wringing her hands in her lap. “Yes. I remembered seeing a wedding photo taped in my mother’s diary. She only referred to her as ‘Maddie’, never by title or last name. I never made the connection until I saw you wearing her exact wedding gown from the photo.”

My throat bobbed, and I glanced over at Nicholas. Surprisingly, his face betrayed little; I, however, felt like a bomb had just gone off. “That’s… unbelievable,” I said, my voice smaller than I would have liked. “You said they were close?”

She nodded. “They were. According to my mother’s entries, they were more like sisters than employer and employee.” Grace’s eyes suddenly fixed on my wrist. “And that bracelet.”

I glanced down at the compass charm bracelet I’d taken from my mother’s jewelry box not long ago. This wasn’t the first time Grace had mentioned it.

“My mom had the exact same one,” Grace said, reaching out to touch the broken compass charm that never seemed to point north. “I always thought your bracelet looked familiar, but I couldn’t place why. They must have had matching ones. Friendship bracelets.”

“That means…”

“It must have been fate that brought us together,” Grace finished, her eyes glistening. “Our mothers were friends, and now here we are.”

I nodded, unexpectedly moved by the connection. “It’s like they wanted us to find each other.”

Nicholas cleared his throat, reminding us of his presence. “That’s quite the coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Grace said, giving him a look I couldn’t quite interpret at the moment. “Some things are meant to be.”

The afternoon passed quickly after that. We shared the lunch Nicholas and I had brought, and Grace told me more from her mother’s diaries—glimpses into a friendship I hadn’t known existed. It felt like discovering a piece of myself I hadn’t known was missing. No wonder Grace and I had made such fast friends. It was practically in our DNA.

Eventually, the sun began to dip behind the trees, casting long shadows through the cabin windows.

“We should probably get going,” Nicholas said, checking his watch. “We have to go to Bluemoon tomorrow.”

Grace nodded, gathering up the dishes from our meal. “Of course. Alpha and Luna duties never end, do they?”

We helped clean up, and Nicholas went out to check on things with the guards while I collected our things. Grace walked me to the door, her hands twisting together nervously.

“I had a wonderful time,” I said, hugging her goodbye.

Grace hugged me back, but then, instead of letting go, she pulled me closer. Her lips brushed against my ear, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Be careful around Nicholas,” she breathed, so quietly I barely caught the words.

I stiffened in her embrace. “What?”

Her fingers dug slightly into my back. “My mother’s diaries mentioned something else. According to her, your mother confided that the Reynolds family and your family have an ancient grudge. About the relic.”

I pulled back slightly, searching her face. Once again, I found nothing but sincerity in her eyes, and something about it made my stomach drop.

“What are you saying?” I choked out.

“I’m saying…” Grace hesitated. “Nicholas may have ulterior motives for marrying you. He might believe you know something about the relic.”

“Why are you only just now telling me?” I managed.

She cast her eyes down toward our feet. “I knew Nicholas was a Reynolds, but I didn’t know you were a Sterling. I guess I didn’t think much of it. But now that I know you’re Maddie’s daughter…” Her voice trailed off.

I glanced out the window at Nicholas, who was talking to one of the guards, Nina, outside, oblivious to our conversation. We’d only just moved past our huge argument. Now, after everything, after feeling like I trusted him now more than ever… could it all be another lie?

But jumping to conclusions had nearly destroyed us before. I couldn’t make that mistake again. I needed more information first before I made any assumptions.

“Grace, I appreciate you telling me this,” I said carefully. “But Nicholas and I have been through a lot. I can’t just start distrusting him based on—”

“Diary entries from decades ago?” Grace finished for me. “I know. Just… promise me you’ll be careful. Look into it yourself.”

I nodded slowly. “I will. I promise.”

With one last hug, I stepped away and headed outside. Nicholas smiled at me, holding his hand out to me as I approached, and I forced myself to smile back. My mind raced with questions that hadn’t existed an hour ago.

The relic. An ancient grudge. Could Nicholas really have married me just to get information about something I knew nothing about?

No. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it.

But as we walked down the path, hand in hand, I glanced back at Grace’s cabin one last time. She stood on the porch, watching us leave, her expression unreadable in the growing darkness.

I felt her eyes on me as we walked away, following us until the trees swallowed the cabin from view.