Chapter 50

ALINA

I was still in shock. Even when I was in her arms, I felt like this was not real. That it was too good to be true. My mother could not be standing here in front of me right now. She died, several ages ago.

“I… I don’t understand,” I choked out, my voice muffled against her shoulder. “How are you here? How are you alive?”

She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at me, her hands gently cupping my face. “I’ve been alive since that day,” she said softly, her voice filled with emotion. “After the accident, I lost my memory. I didn’t know who I was or where I belonged. I’ve been searching for answers, but it took so long…”

I blinked, the confusion swirling in my mind. “Why didn’t you come to find me? Why didn’t you come sooner?”

She sighed, her expression pained. “I was sick for a long time, Alina. After the accident, I wasn’t just dealing with memory loss. I was physically weak, too. It took years for me to recover, to regain enough strength to start searching for you. But by