"You've returned, my child," said Lilith Serenphile's mother.
Grey lowered his head in silence. She was indeed Serenphile's mother, the Vice-Queen of the Angel World. Serenphile's father was gravely ill and spent all his time confined to his bed, lost in memories of his daughter.
"I'm sorry… I don't remember anything," Addie replied helplessly.
She remembered nothing nothing except Grey and Era. Her eyes turned to Grey, but he kept his head bowed. In the Angel World, raising one's head in front of one's mother-in-law was considered disrespectful, especially for someone like Grey, who had once been Serenphile's husband.
"What happens now?" Addie asked, looking from Grey to Serenphile's mother.
The queen didn't answer with words. Instead, she gently took Addie's hand and began to lead her somewhere.
Addie glanced back at Grey, but he didn't move. He stood frozen in place, head still bowed.
"Where are you taking me?" Addie asked. Her voice trembled slightly.
She didn't know what was about to happen to her. Doubt crept into her heart was coming here the right decision? She had come only for Era. That was it. But now, she was starting to remember her own mother, the one waiting for her in the human world.
After all… she wasn't Serenphile anymore.
Serenphile had died a long time ago.
She was Addie now.
Maybe the soul was the same but the emotions? The attachments? They belonged to a different life. Addie's heart beat for her human family… not for Serenphile's.
In front of Addie stood a large jar filled with crystal-clear water — sacred, calm, and glowing faintly. It wasn't just water; it was something more. Inside it, glimpses of people's past lives shimmered like light on glass. Floating petals swirled gently within, as if memories had bloomed into flowers.
"This is the Memory Well," Lilith said softly. "Look into it."
Addie stepped closer. The jar was wide and deep, almost like a window into time itself.
As she leaned in and gazed into the water, images began to appear.
A little girl — running, laughing — dressed in a yellow gown decorated with tiny flowers. She looked like a small princess. Behind her, another girl ran after her. They looked exactly the same.
"They're twins," Lilith whispered beside her.
Addie's heart skipped.
She stared harder — the girls were happy, playful, holding hands and spinning under the sunlight of a world Addie didn't recognize… but somehow, her soul did.
"That's Serenphile," Lilith said, then paused for a moment before continuing, voice trembling, "And Sara… her twin sister."
Addie's eyes widened.
"I gave birth to both of them on the same day," Lilith continued. "Sara was born just moments before Seren. I saw Sara first… then her."
Her voice broke, but she fought to stay composed.
"It's not easy to lose your children…" Lilith's eyes welled with tears. "You wouldn't understand until you're a mother."
Addie looked at her — truly looked. Not as a queen, or a stranger, but as a grieving mother.
And then Lilith spoke the truth Addie wasn't ready for.
"I know… you're not Seren."
Addie flinched.
"But whatever you are," Lilith said, "it doesn't matter to me anymore. Seren's daughter needs you. That's all I care about."
She stepped forward, grasped Addie's hands tightly.
"Please… stay. We're begging you."
Those words melted something inside Addie. She hadn't expected to feel it — not here. But the glimpses from the water… the soft memories that weren't hers yet somehow touched her heart… it was too much to ignore.
And then came the thoughts.
"What about my mom? My sister… my brother… Ryaan?"
"They must be looking for me…"
Tears filled her eyes.
"All this is the past. I don't even remember it. But this power inside me… it's growing stronger, and I can't control it. I can't go back like this. But this… this is my present now. How can I turn away from it for the sake of a yesterday I barely remember?"
The questions tore through her mind like lightning.
Guilt wrapped around her chest like chains.
She had left her present life behind… chasing the ghosts of her past.
And even if this was necessary…
Regret finds a way into everything.
Always.
"We're not asking you to stay here forever," Lilith said gently.
"Just… until Era is okay again. After that, you're free to return."
Addie looked away, her eyes full of conflict.
"I understand… but I'm not a mother," she said quietly. "How can I give her a mother's love? That right… it's not mine. She was Serenphile's daughter, not mine. We're not the same. There's a difference between us. I… I'm not like her. I don't know how to be like her."
Lilith stepped closer, her voice soft, but steady.
"We understand how you feel. Truly."
"You don't have to do too much," she continued. "You don't need to force yourself to be someone else."
"Whatever must be done… your soul will do it."
Addie stood frozen.
Her heart beat wildly in her chest, louder than the silence that followed Lilith's words. Her soul would act? How could that be enough?
She wasn't Serenphile.
And yet, the way Lilith looked at her — not with pressure, not with expectation, but with quiet hope — it stirred something deep within her.
"Come," Lilith whispered. "She's waiting."
The door in front of them creaked open slowly. A warm light filtered through, soft and golden, wrapping Addie in a strange calm. She followed Lilith down the hallway, each step heavier than the last. The air smelled faintly of flowers and old magic — the kind that never dies, only sleeps.
They stopped before a small room.
Inside, a little girl sat on the floor, quietly playing with glass beads. Her silver hair fell softly over her shoulders, and her wings — tiny, delicate, barely formed — shimmered with the same golden glow as the room. She looked up as they entered.
Addie felt her breath catch.
The child's eyes — they were large, innocent, but familiar. Too familiar. Like they'd once looked at her with love, maybe in another life.
"Era," Lilith said softly, kneeling beside her.
The girl looked at Addie, then slowly stood. There was no fear in her eyes. Just… wonder.
"Mommy?"
The word hit Addie like a lightning bolt to the chest.
She didn't answer.
Her lips trembled, but no sound came out. Her body wanted to step back — to run, even. But her feet didn't move.
Era stepped closer, eyes wide, hand reaching out.
"I knew you'd come," she whispered. "I told them… my mommy's coming back."
Lilith watched silently, her hands folded tightly over her chest.
Addie knelt slowly, unsure of what she was doing — unsure of why she was doing it. But when Era wrapped her little arms around her, something inside Addie shattered.
She didn't remember this girl. She hadn't given birth to her. She didn't know her favorite food, her bedtime stories, her laugh.
But her soul remembered the ache. The void.
And now, this warmth.
"I'm not… I'm not your real mother," Addie whispered, guilt burning in her throat.
Era shook her head. "You feel like her."
And somehow… that felt even more real than truth.
Addie didn't speak after that. She just held her.
Maybe it wasn't about being Serenphile.
Maybe… it was about being here.
For now.