(Author’s POV)
"Nora’s brothers, they are~ ... good people. Don’t worry, Dad. They did nothing inappropriate with me," Myra sighed as she remarked, an attempt to reassure her father.
William looked at her closely and muttered, "If all of them were good to you, then why didn’t you tell us that they were Nora’s family? Why did you keep silent? Something must have happened in Kimberg for you not to mention anything about them. After coming back, you never even called Nora. Tell me, Myra. Tell me, what happened?"
His sharp observation left Myra speechless. For once, she thought of telling him the bare truth, but it would lead to more questions and create even more chaos, which she didn’t want to happen. Especially now that her parents and Nora’s family have come face to face.
After what felt like an eternity, she said, "Actually~ ... I~ ...." Her fingers intertwined together as she told him, "Last year, when I went to Kimberg, the Everests were very welcoming towards me. Nora, her parents, her siblings~ even the people working at their mansion~ .... None of them let me feel out of place. They went above and beyond for me."
William listened to her without interrupting as she went on, "A day before my departure ~ ... Nora and I were sitting in the back garden, we were conversing, and somehow, we ended up reminiscing about the past. From our orphanage days to her time with the Smith family. We talked about it all." Then Myra’s tone turned from neutral to somber, "Dad, you already know how James and Clara had treated Nora after Matthew was born. How much she had suffered with them. She said something about that time that stuck with me for a long while. She said~ .... she never wanted to remember her time at Damona. That place, those memories were gruesome for her. They made her feel inferior, rejected, and useless. They haunted her. She told me~ .... she even had nightmares because of that. Though she also mentioned the time she spent with us was precious, but her previous words, they left me thinking deeply."
"So, you decided to distance yourself from her and her family completely. So, she is not reminded of the past. Is that what you were trying to do?" William completed her words, trying to make sense of all this.
Closing her eyes, Myra nodded, "I wanted her just to live a happy life with her real family. I wanted her to start afresh, leaving everything else behind."
What Myra told William wasn’t all false. When she first arrived in Kimberg, she noticed the stark difference in Nora. Not just her face or her clothes or her status, but how happy she looked, how free she seemed. As if, in Damona, she was bound by the shackles of prejudice and unfair treatment. And there, in Kimberg, with the Everests, it felt like she belonged there. It was her rightful place.
"Even if it meant disappearing from her life? At the cost of your friendship with her?" he uttered. He pressed his lips in a thin line and continued, "I understand your point, Myra. You don’t do things without any solid reason or meaning. You must have really thought this through before making a decision. But~ .... Mu child, did you talk to her? Did you consider how hurt she must have felt then?"
Myra gnawed at her lips. Of course, she was fully aware of how much hurt and pain it would cause Nora. But still~ ... at that time, she did what she thought was right for her and her family.
William looked at his daughter’s slumped shoulders and lowered eyelashes. She looked guilty, defeated. Seeing her in that state, he released a heavy breath, patted her shoulders and added, "Most relationships~ .... they are like passing wind and shower, but there are very few that stay for life. They are invaluable, more than gold. You shouldn’t lose them for anything, hmm."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Mated To My Best Friend's Lycan Alpha Brothers