Chapter 536

A full day and night… Lindey must’ve come straight here after I left the Johnston residence. When I saw her kneeling there, hunched over, it felt like my heart was caught in a vice. Abbot Levinsky moved toward her, but I just stood there, frozen. After what felt like forever, I finally made myself kneel down beside her and whispered, “Lindey.”

She flinched, then slowly looked up at me, disbelief flickering across her face. Her lips trembled, but she didn’t say anything—just let the tears fall. I looked at her tear-streaked cheeks and the gray creeping into her hair, and I couldn’t believe how much she seemed to have aged overnight.

“Rea…” Her voice was shaky as she said my name, then pulled me into a tight hug. Her embrace had once been my safest place, the warmest in my world. But now? I couldn’t bring myself to lift my arms and hold her back.

“I came to confess. I’ve been begging for mercy…” she whispered, her voice breaking between sobs. But her confessions couldn’t bring my parents back. I knew that no amount of anger or hurt would change the fact that they were gone. Holding onto this hate was only hurting me—and everyone else around me.

I thought of Lena’s words and Abbot Levinsky’s stories. Suddenly, it hit me: clinging to the past wasn’t going to fix anything. My anger came from losing my parents. But my hate wouldn’t bring them back. What was the point of it? It only fed my own pain.

“You’re not going to find peace here,” I said, my voice tight. “That’s something only I can give you.” When I didn’t know the truth about my parents’ deaths, they’d felt no guilt. They were at peace. But once I found out, that guilt had started eating them alive. If I could let this go, maybe they could finally find peace too.

“What’s done is done, Matthew… I’m done pursuing it.” As I said it, the weight I’d been carrying on my chest finally lifted. “He’s already been punished,” Lindey sobbed.

Yeah, fate has a way of catching up to people who do wrong. So why was I still holding onto this? Maybe it was time to let fate take it from here. “Don’t stay kneeling any longer. Come on, let me help you up,” I said, reaching out to steady her. But she’d been down so long, she could barely stand.

Abbot Levinsky stepped forward, offering a hand and nodding gently. “Mrs. Johnston, it’s time to go.”

Lindey held onto me tightly. “Ren, will I still be able to see you?” People can be selfish, but her need to hold on felt more like love than anything else. I nodded, and she hugged me, breaking down all over again.

“You should go back,” I said softly. “Jace… he was in a car accident.” I knew it would be a shock, but it was better she hear it now. Earlier, while tending the sanctuary lamp, Abbot Levinsky had reminded me that fate has its own way of revealing things. She’d find out sooner or later, and I’d rather she knew now, so she could be there for her son.

Lindey’s face went pale, horror spreading across her expression. “What happened to Jace?” “I don’t know how he’s doing,” I admitted. “Wayne told me about it.” At that, her expression wavered, as if she’d just realized something big.