"It was my fault that you lived such a miserable life," Leland added. Sophie could see the guilt on his expression.
The man was referring to the time when Sophie was living with her aunt's family. After Sophie confided in him and asked him to punish her relatives, Leland must know how bad her life was with them.
Sophie bit her lip. "It's not your fault. My parents passed away and they were my only relatives. They took me in because I didn't have anyone and… they only became bad after a while. I'm okay now."
She had a rough life with the Limbergs, but at least she could get an education and, to Sophie, it meant so much. If she had stayed in Hauntingen all by herself, she would not even be able to read. There was no one in Hauntingen that would teach her how to read, and about the world.
So… she tried to count her blessings and focused on the good.
"Besides… it's over," She added hoarsely. "You already punished them."
Leland lowered his head. He didn't want to shed tears before her. It was not his style to show so much emotion. At this moment, he was feeling immense guilt for his failure to protect Sophie for so many years. After Anne and Jack died, Sophie was left alone without anyone to care for her.
The only relatives she had treated her like a maid and even worse, they abused her.
His people couldn't even do a good job of finding her. Duncan only saw Sophie by chance when he went to Hauntingen. If not by luck… perhaps, all his life Leland would never be able to see Sophie again and she would continue to suffer for who knows how long.
While he was feeling guilty, it was the opposite with Sophie. She didn't blame him for anything. She thought it was not his fault.
Eight years ago he was only what… fifteen? What could a fifteen-year-old boy do? He couldn't possibly raise a ten-year-old.
"I promised your mother to always care for you and protect you until my last breath," Leland said with a low voice. "I failed and you suffered so much. I am so useless."
Don't even start with the fact that he still couldn't avenge Anne's and Jack's death even though he was already the Alpha of the biggest werewolf pack in the continent at the age of eighteen, the youngest in their pack history.
In these five long years, they had worked hard but only managed to get this far. They had not even been able to infiltrate the capital, Livstad.
The enemy was too great and had immense power. Leland felt useless before Sophie. His mother always told him how he was never good enough and he was too slow, too weak that even though he was far from slow nor weak, he couldn't help but think that way about him.
Leland always criticize himself too much and thought he needed to do more. Now, being with Sophie and having the heart-to-heart conversation with her, when he finally opened up… he couldn't help but speak in a self-deprecating way.
"Leland… no, it's not your fault," Sophie pursed her lips.
Somehow, Leland's name rolled out in her tongue so easily. It felt so right not to use honorifics anymore. As soon as she knew the man she married was actually Lee…. her Lee, Sophie no longer felt the walls between them. Now, she felt so much at ease being with him.
Sophie continued, "Can we… not talk about bad things now? I am so happy to see you and…"
She lowered her head. Her cheeks blushed.
Leland suddenly became aware of his bad habit. He was always too hard on himself. Other people couldn't see that behind his tough exterior, he hated himself and didn't think he deserved love.
"I am sorry," he said. "You are right. Let's not dwell on bad things. I hope you will forgive me. I will stop."
His heart pounded so hard when he saw her blushing cheeks. Sophie was happy to see him. Period. She didn't blame him for hiding the truth from her for so long.
She didn't blame him for her bad life. She was also not repulsed by his supposedly disfigured face. Did she know Leland was not actually ugly?
"Sophia…" Leland took a deep breath and hugged her waist again with one hand, while the other tugged her chin to see him.
This was the moment of truth.
Now that Sophie knew Leland was Lee… how did she feel about him? Could she find it in her heart to still love the man?
Even though they grew together, Leland never thought of her as a sister. Since he was little, he adored little Sophie. He thought she was the most beautiful human he had ever seen.
After he left the Hansleys and started his training to be the next Alpha, sometimes he thought about the future. Seeing how Sophie was only five years younger than him, by the time he was ready to choose his mate, Sophie would already become a beautiful young woman herself.
So, he did think about her as a potential life partner from many years ago. It was only when he finally saw her again when they were both adults, he knew that he was in love with her.
It was the rare case of love at first sight. Right then he knew that he wanted Sophie to be his mate, not just because he promised Anne to protect her daughter, but because he was immensely attracted to her.
Unfortunately, back then Sophie was already married to another man. Leland had to immediately step back and let her be happy with the mate she had chosen for herself.
However… now that they were given the opportunity to be together, Leland thought it must be fate. The moon goddess opened the way for him to get the love of his life, and now… she was his.
This woman was his mate. His one and only.
This content is taken from free web nov𝒆l.com