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Aurelia

It’s a around a week since I’ve come back to Oddity, but I haven’t left the safety of my trailer. I hide, buried in the shadows of my thoughts, especially from Wrath.

I hear his boots outside sometimes, late at night, the faint sound of him lingering just beyond the window. If I dare glance out the window, I catch his red eyes watching, waiting, as if I'm some fragile thing he needs to protect. But I just needed time to breathe, to piece myself together before I make any kind of decision.

“I don’t understand what you’ve been through, Aurelia. Not really,” she says softly, her voice quiet but certain. “I mean, we’ve all been through our own different hell, but...”

I nod slowly, almost absently and she’s right—every person here has their demons, their scars.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I can see it, you know,” she continues, her voice softer now, as if trying not to break me. “I see how much you’re struggling. How miserable you are. You miss him.”

“Gee, thanks,” I joke weakly, my voice hollow.

“You know what I mean,” she says, nudging me gently with her shoulder. “Just… think about it, okay? Wrath’s been through his own hell too. I really think you two are made for each other, in some fucked-up, twisted way.”

Her words hang in the air, too heavy, too true. I know she’s right. I miss him. I miss the way he made me feel, like I wasn’t completely broken, like there was something still worth fighting for. When I was with him, I could forget, if only for a moment, the darkness that haunts me. But it’s not that simple, is it? It never is.

“I know he has,” I murmur, my voice breaking, a sharp pang of guilt clawing at me. “But... I just… I’m scared things will change. I liked us the way we were, and now… now I don’t know if it’ll ever be the same.”

Noir tilts her head, a questioning look crossing her face, waiting for me to explain further. “Why not?”

“I don’t know,” I answer quietly, unable to meet her gaze. “Will it be weird now? Like... when we’re together, like that? I can’t help but feel like it might be awkward or something.”

Her expression softens as she studies me.

“It doesn’t have to be weird unless you make it weird,” she says gently, her voice a comforting whisper. “Think about it this way, Aurelia. The first time you came here, Wrath wasn’t a mystery. You knew what he’d done, you knew what he was capable of. But you wanted him. You didn’t walk away, even after Blush told you everything about him. You didn’t let his past stop you from being with him. So why would you let it stop you now?”

“Because it’s my mother,” I say finally.

She nods slowly, her eyes softening with empathy, the understanding clear in her gaze. “I get it,” she says quietly. “I really do. It’s fucked up. But he wasn’t the monster he became because of his choices, not then. He was a kid, Aurelia. He was a child who didn’t have control, just like you didn’t. You can’t let that dictate who he is now. Try to judge him for who he is, for who he’s become—for you.”

Her words burn into me, and I look away, unable to bear the weight of them, because she’s right.

“I’m only saying this because you can’t change the past,” she continues. “Nothing will ever change what happened. Bad people did bad things to good people. But you don’t have to let that define you. You don’t have to let it stop you from finding happiness.”

Her hand finds mine, warm and steady, a lifeline in the dark. I feel the truth of her words.

“I’m not saying it’ll be easy,” she whispers. “But you deserve to find peace. You deserve to be happy. Don’t let anyone, or the past, take that away from you.”

“And Wrath… Wrath strangely makes you happy.”

I smirk slightly, shaking my head, but I can’t deny it.

“People at Oddity are now calling you two the cursed couple ,” Noir says, and my eyes flick up to hers, brows furrowing.

“What?”

“They think you were brought together by fate,” she continues, a wry smile on her face. “Your mom was a witch. They say she cursed Wrath to become what he was—that was his punishment. But you… you were the spell breaker. You broke the curse. You were fate.”

My head tilts slightly, eyes narrowing. “That’s very telling, and very superstitious, Noir.”

She raises her hands in mock surrender, still grinning. “Hey, I’m just the messenger. Gossip travels fast around here.”

We both laugh, but the smile fades quickly as I sink into thought. The idea that my mother was a witch—and that she owned Oddity—still doesn’t sit right. It’s insane, surreal. But what if it’s all true? What if it wasn’t just trauma warping Wrath’s mind? What if therewassomething more?

I guess we’ll never really know. Some truths stay buried.

But maybe what matters now isn’t what happened back then. It’s what I do next. What we do next.