CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – RINA
The morning of our departure felt surreal.
Five years and some months that was how long Calderhallow had been home. Five years of healing, of raising my daughters, of quietly rebuilding a life from ashes.
And now, as I zipped up the last suitcase, it felt like saying goodbye to a part of myself.
The twins were nearly bouncing with excitement, already dressed and waiting by the door with their tiny backpacks.
"Is it really today?" Isla asked for the third time, her dark eyes shining.
"Yes, baby. Today," I said, crouching to fix the ribbon in her hair.
Lila twirled in the middle of the room. "Do we get to see the airplanes again?"
"Yes," I said, smiling despite the tightness in my chest. "And this time, we're not just visiting. We're moving."
At the small regional airport, a few familiar faces came to see us off. Mrs. Finch was there, leaning on her cane but smiling proudly.
"You were never meant to stay here forever, Rina Hale," she told me as she held my hands. "Go and let the city see what you're made of."
I hugged her tightly, fighting the sting in my eyes.
"Thank you," I whispered. "For everything."
The girls hugged her too, promising to write her letters.
The flight was smooth, the hum of the engines oddly soothing as the twins pressed their faces to the window, pointing at clouds and laughing whenever they spotted another plane in the distance.
I stared out at the endless sky, my mind a storm of emotions.
Five years since I last saw Arden City.
Five years since my world ended and began again in the same night.
I wasn't the same girl who had fled in fear.
I was a mother now. A businesswoman. A survivor.
And I was going back not to hide but to claim my place.
When we landed, the girls practically skipped through the terminal, their small suitcases rattling behind them.
The driver I'd hired was waiting with a sign, and soon we were in a sleek black car heading toward our new apartment.
As we crossed the bridge into the heart of Arden City, the skyline rose like a wall of glass and steel, reflecting the evening sun in hues of gold and rose.
My breath caught.
This city had taken so much from me.
But this time, I was ready to face it and take something back.
The apartment was bigger than anything we'd had in Calderhallow, bright and airy with wide windows overlooking the city.
"This is our room!" Isla shouted, running to the one with the biggest closet.
"No, this is!" Lila argued, darting to the one with the corner window.
I laughed, letting their excitement fill the space as the movers carried in our boxes.
When they were finally asleep that night, curled up together in their new beds, I stood by the window, looking out at the city lights.
"Here we go," I whispered.
This was the beginning of the next chapter of our lives.
And for the first time in years, I felt ready.