He Said Losing My Emotions Was Better, Then He Begged Me to Feel Again novel · Chapter 7 of 24

Chapter 7: The Dining Room

Orson's POV

My mother waited until the dining room door was closed before she spoke.

She sat at the head of the long table with her gloves on and poured me a glass of water.

I did not drink it.

I could feel Miranda's morning at the market.

That sounds like nothing.

It was nine years of her, still arriving in me.

At that moment it was the smell of the apples and the weight of a bag in her hand.

It was the loneliest ordinary morning I had ever lived in, and it wasn't mine.

"You embarrassed the family," my mother said.

"I told the truth."

"You told it in front of the cheese stall."

"I said it where I'd said the lie."

"Orson." She folded her hands. "Sit."

I stayed on my feet.

"I'm going to tell you something your father never had the courage to tell you," she said. "And I'd like you to hear it as a gift."

She spoke quietly, and she did not look at me while she did it.

She looked at the window, where the afternoon light was on the lawn.

"The Moon doesn't destroy what it takes. You've worked that out by now. It moves it into the man who lied. And at the full moon, the Stone will move it again."

"Again to who?"

"To whoever stands beside the chooser on the Stone and carries the house's name. The elder of the house. The old rule says it's the mother's right."

I stared at her.

"You'll say the words again at the full moon," she said. "They'll ring false, as they must. Miranda will lose her chance, but she's lost it already, hasn't she? She is calm and cared for. And I'll be at your side, and what you hold will pass to me."

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