Avery watched, he watched in silence and comfort as his wife walked away. Lips frantically remained sealed in fear of ruining the perfect loop, the well oiled routine, and after a while silence became the vernacular. It wasnât an act of sacrifice or defeat that stilled the once quick-witted tongue, as much as it was a sign of understanding. He knew all too well what was happening and why. But thatâs all he could do was understand. He couldnât ask her to stay, he couldnât ask the woman whoâd given her all to live for him to do so once again. And he couldnât be the one to ask her to leave, no matter how much more humane that would be. So instead Avery chose silence, barring the conversations necessary to the fleeting moments that they spent together or matters that required both of their input, he remained void of words.
Happily ever after held a different meaning for the carpenter as he thrived upon starting his business in France, often coming home with a euphoric cadence and happily calloused hands. For a while she remained content as well, the logistical matters of her fashion business kept her busy enough to only want to cut so many people throughout the day. But as time passed so too did the level of satisfaction that Astrid felt in her new shell of a life. Sure, it would be adorned with motherhood and simple pleasures, but that made the husk no less restricting to the woman.Â
A lion with no claws and no prey will fall to time and wither away.Â
That wasnât to say that their children were any less loved by their mother than their father, she would love them until her dying breath. And that same love would be the reason she would remove the threat from their lives before it could do a harm she was all too familiar with.Â
Reclining upon the bed, Avery typed tirelessly on his laptop as he went about his normal nightly routine of preparing his business plan for the coming days, placing orders for special stocks of lumber, crunching numbers, really anything to dull his mind enough to fall asleep. It would help if the children would cooperate and sleep themselves, but if they got anything from their parents it was a strong will and heâd learned the hard way far too many times just how unproductive fighting them could be. About an hour had passed before the man decided to close his laptop and make an attempt at resting, until he heard the pitter patter of hurried footsteps run across the hall.Â
With a yawn and a generous crack of the neck, Avery rolls back over in the bed and gets comfortable. The sound of a door closing in the distance would confirm that his wife had finally returned home for the evening. It always seemed to get a little later, just for her to get up and out bright and early. The days had long passed that heâd try and remain awake to at least greet her with a smile and a kiss before sleeping, but Ari and Adira werenât quite so easily deterred from finding the willpower to stay awake and see their mother before acquiescing to a nightâs rest. No doubt, Adira would excitedly show her mom the martial arts that sheâd been practicing instead of doing her chores or homework. Ari would happen to be doing something entirely innocent seeming when the time came for him to greet Astrid, he was always the more adaptable child.Â
They wouldnât speak of Adiraâs behaviors, her intense emotions that were hard for even some of the most meticulously selected instructors to understand and handle, her obsessive draw to express her energy in more physical pursuits, her insatiable need to impress mommy. When was there ever time to speak of it?
Nevertheless, Avery was grateful everyday for this gift heâd received-- the family he had the honor of loving and caring for. Even if his way of expressing that love was by saying nothing at all.Â
A few moments passed before the small voices of children were heard down the hall returning to their room, Astrid entering their bedroom only a breath later. He would have his back to her, a habit he picked up to avoid the injured wife vs. concerned husband stare off theyâd had in the past. It was easier that way.Â
Judging by her quickness to get to the bathroom, her most recent assignment got messy. He could handle the blood and the bruises, it was something that heâd grown accustomed to in Rome but what he couldnât handle was the way her eyes grew more jaded by the day behind the swelling and dried blood.Â
The water had run for a significant amount of time, allowing the kids to fall into their dreams and for him to find a comfortable position to lay in silence. To listen to the noises of his wifeâs return and bask in those moments of familiarity before falling into the peace of slumber. Which he did.
Awoken by the sound of a bag unzipping, Avery felt his heart sink to his stomach and the burn of liquidised sorrow rush to the surface of crystalline blue eyes. The moment was here, a moment that he prepared for silently and internally for countless days and nights but upon the reality of itâs arrival couldnât find himself any less prepared and frantic. Sitting up in the bed once more, the man allowed himself to cry -- only for a moment.
Once he wiped the tear streaks from his face, Avery found the strength to stand and accept what was about to come. Much like a scared child, his footsteps were paced slowly as he made his way to the bathroom door, finally just opening it to see his own reflection beside that of his wife. Blue eyes gaze upon his own weathered reflection before travelling back to her. She was lost in thought, just staring into her likeness painted onto the glass in front of her. Avery took this moment to just look, and what he saw made his tears threaten to resurface, for in front of him in that mirror stood the same woman that he saw in the hospital bed those many nights ago. The faint voice of a time passed danced through his mind :Â youâre beautiful and youâre bruised and beaten.. but here you are, not looking like a victim but a warrior.
âYouâre leaving, arenât you? For good.â
He breaks the silence, after all of this time. Astridâs own eyes snap to the source of the voice quickly before she lets out a small breath. Avery knew what was next, and for the first time in a very long time he was okay with it.Â
A nod is given to the woman before he speaks again. âOkay.â He breathes out before trekking back into the room. A few quick moments pass before he returns with an object concealed by a black cloth in his hand. From that very first moment theyâd met in his office in Rome, Avery had known the type of woman he was dealing with and regardless of what time passed or what events unfolded between then and now he would always see Astrid for who she was and heâd love her for who she was -- not what he wanted her to be or what he hoped they could be. Astrid was a lioness and heâd had the wonderful gift of loving her and marrying her and having a family with her -- but it was time for the lioness to hunt alone.
Avery wouldnât say another word before placing the neatly wrapped gift on the counter and returning to the room to sit in his chair. It was only right that he saw her off. Astrid would finish packing all that was necessary for her leave and before turning to walk away, she would pick up the mysterious item on the counter and remove itâs wrapping only to reveal a blade, with a hilt that was hand crafted in a dark amber wood. Between the meticulously crafted patterns, there is etched only one word : Lionne.
âtu nâes pas seul.â
Words uttered quietly as Astrid grabs her things and opens the door to the bedroom. Only quick footsteps were heard before the front door closed again. She was gone.
