Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 438

Talia’s POV

I'm just a bit tired," I said, managing a weak smile while I pushed myself up in bed. My legs were tangled in the blanket, and I still felt foggy, but at least sitting up helped.

"How did I get here?" I asked, scanning the room in confusion.

“Nolan, of course. He carried you to your room like the gentleman he is,” Leslie said. “He was very concerned that you were sleeping so heavily that you didn’t even respond to being moved.”

I gave a shaky laugh. "Guess I really needed to catch up on sleep." Then, I hugged Leslie and then pulled Solon into the group hug. "I missed you guys so much."

"We missed you too," Leslie said.

Solon hugged me back. When we let go, I finally took a good look at him. He seemed so much better. He looked stronger, healthier, more like himself. His skin had color again, and he looked relaxed.

Solon noticed me staring and asked, "What? Were you expecting me to still be bedridden?"

"No, but I’m surprised at how much better you look," I said. "You really seem healthier than before."

"Leslie took care of me. Without her, I'd probably still be stuck in bed,” Solon said.

Leslie laughed and brushed her hair back. "You make it sound like I did everything. You're the one who kept training and actually took your medicine. Most of the time, anyway."

Seeing Solon healthy was a huge relief. It made things feel a bit more normal. Knowing he was getting better meant I had one less thing to worry about.

I looked around and noticed Nolan wasn't there. "Where's Nolan?" I asked.

“He's at the library with Della and Marco, trying to find every book in Silverfang about Twin Bloodline Resonance,” Leslie explained. “The second he saw me, he started grilling me about cures."

“That sounds like him,” I chuckled.

Leslie shot me a look. "You didn't tell him everything, did you?"

"No, I didn't tell him everything. I just... I couldn't do it,” I said.

“You can’t keep him in the dark like that,” Leslie said.

“I was scared of how he'd react if he knew there is never a solution,” I said. Protecting Nolan came naturally to me. I didn’t want to add to his worries when we couldn’t do anything. I wanted to look out for him, the way he had always looked out for me.

"I figured. When he started asking questions, I just told him I couldn't remember which book had the records. I had to lie, or he would've had me reciting every old legend right there in the hall."

"We still have three months, Solon," I said. "That’s enough time to figure something out. I have to hope for the best. If I tell him now, he’ll just worry more, and I can’t handle that right now."

"But if things are getting out of control, I’m not going to lie," Leslie said. "I didn’t lie for him, and I won’t do it for you."

I sighed. "I know. I’m not asking you to lie for me. I just need to keep this to myself for now."

Leslie glanced at my belly and sighed. “Fine, let’s just hope for the best. If your twins keep growing this fast, maybe we’ll have our babies at the same time. That would be wild,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"We can share stories and complain together. Maybe our babies will be best friends, or maybe they’ll be rivals," I said.

Leslie smiled. "At least we’ll have each other. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else."

I squeezed her hand, thankful for her kindness. "Same here. All I want is for both of us to have healthy babies."

I let myself picture a future where everything turned out okay. Nolan found the solution, Leslie and I had healthy babies, and our family was together.

For now, hope was all I had.