Chapter 40 Homecoming

• Amelia couldn’t believe she was finally home. After everything that had happened—the tense battles, the mortal danger, and the long days of running—seeing her family again felt like a miracle. Returning to the house where her mother and brothers were still alive became the anchor she clung to with her last ounce of strength. It wasn’t just a place where she had grown up—it was her stronghold, her refuge from pain and fear.
• When she and Damien pulled up to the house, Amelia’s heart began to race. The familiar two-story home stood before them, with its wooden porch bathed in sunlight. White curtains fluttered in the wind, and near the door were the same clay pots of lavender her mother had always loved. Everything looked just like it had when she was a child. But Amelia herself was no longer the naive girl who once ran barefoot up those steps.
• She stepped out of the car, and her legs carried her forward instinctively. Damien walked beside her but stayed a little to the side, respecting her space, knowing this moment wasn’t meant for words. He was simply there—for her. Like a guardian, her strength, her support.