194 Moving past i (2/2)

”But...” Lilith continued.

Detra flinched.

”I don't think anyone could have gone for what you went through... and not come out broken...”

Detra lifted her head and released a small whisper, ”what...?”

”I don't know if I can ever forgive you... I still hate you a lot... But I don't know if I can say that if I was in your place, I wouldn't have done the same... I don't know what I would do if something had happened to Lance or Daren...” Lilith continued.

”So...” Detra began to ask with a weak tone and tears coming out from her eyes.

”I'm not going to reject someone who's trying to make an effort to be better... I accept your apology” Lilith said while bending her knees and placed her face in the same height as Detra's.

The former goddess couldn't hold it any longer and began to loudly cry a full river from her face while shaking her entire body.

If Lilith never in her life expected Detra to apologize to her, Detra herself never expected her apology to be accepted. It felt like for the first time in her life ever since she lost Marcy that she was an actual human again.

Then, a thought came to her mind. It wasn't the first time. There was another moment, one where another person looked at Detra not as if she was a goddess of a devilish woman, but just a person like anyone else. That person's voice echoed in Detra's mind.

[[You know, East... You asked me once if I hated you when we first met... And I said that I didn't... And I still feel like that... I never really hated you...

Don't know how much that means to you... But it's how I truly feel...]]

Detra felt her chest tightening up. She began to realize how much she had been ignoring all the effort Evlin had made to make her feel welcomed. How many times she could have given up on her, rejected her, ignored her, but she never did.

The woman then opened her eyes and gazed at a small hand in front of her. She raised her head and saw Ellie crying while looking at her.

”Feeling better?” Ellie asked.

Detra grabbed the girl in a deep hug and began to cry even more. She didn't know why. All this girl did was ask her to make her peace with Lilith, but for some reason, the fact that Ellie still hadn't given up on trying to help her when everyone else in the world seemed to have done so, it just made Detra feel like a huge weight had been lifted, as if she finally realized she wasn't alone for the first time in years.

”I'm so sorry!! I'm so, so sorry!!!” Detra kept saying.

”It's fine, it's fine...” Ellie replied while patting her back.

”No, it's not!! I made a huge mistake!! A huge, huge mistake!!! And I never even realized it until I met you!!! I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!!”

Marcus looked at the scene of East crying while holding Ellie and began to tear up as he began to remember of the only time he ever saw Marceus in the white void and how he just kept apologizing for leaving everything to him.

He was so busy wiping his tear that he didn't even notice when Detra came closer to him while still holding onto Ellie.

”Marcus...” she tried to say, ”I... I...”

Marcus noticed that she was probably also trying to apologize to him.

He knew deep inside that they were not really mother and child. She had explained to him that she had created him by combining her essence with Marceus as his request for wanting to die in peace. But to him, she was still one of the only people he knew when he first came to be, and right now? He was just glad to know that the evil East was finally gone and that the old Natasha seemed to be back.

”You can do it, mom...” Marcus whispered.

And right at this moment, hearing Marcus finally say the word 'mom' with no fear or anger in his voice whatsoever, Detra understood that she really wanted to start over more than she realized.

She hugged him deeply while completely covering his silver hair in her tears.

”I'm so sorry... Forgive me, my son!!”

Marcus widened his eyes. His mother had called him many names over the years, her tool, her sword, her champion, her weapon, but not once did she ever called him his son, and before he noticed, he was tearing up and crying just as much as her.

Ellie just took this chance to sit next to Lilith while letting both mother and son have their moment.

”Lilith... I really wish you could see what I'm seeing right now...” the girl whispered.

”It's ok... I think I have a pretty good idea” Lilith replied.

And while Marcus continued to be embraced by Detra as the two still remained to bawl their eyes out, Lilith began to imagine herself in Daren's arms while holding Lance.

She couldn't wait to reunite with her family again.