The Numbers That Brought Our Fates Together Chapter 214: The Price of Love (Part 2).

Buildings of different heights and styles floated quickly outside the window, alternating with trees and other buildings. The taxi drove faster than its passenger would have desired, but everything was as it should be.

Amelia was pressing her daughter to her chest while she was sleeping soundly on her lap.

A woman was fondling the strands of the girl's silky hair, from time to time kissing her daughter here and there. The even breathing of the child pressed against her acted as a sedative for her heart contracting in pain. She wished this road would never end, and they'd never reach their final destination.

Three hours later, the car stopped at the foot of a small hill, next to the sign "St. Magdalena's Orphanage".

Amelia paid the taxi driver and sat down with her daughter on the bench, waiting for her friend.

"Mom, I'm hungry and thirsty," Elena was rubbing her eyes, the girl only recently woke up and her stomach reminded her of its presence.

"Wait a bit, now a man should come up. He will treat you with something tasty," the woman smiled and straightened her daughter's slightly disheveled hair.

"Hello, Amelia. Have you been waiting long?" A low male voice caught their attention, and mom and daughter turned around.

A tall man in a long black coat was standing in front of them, a hat was on his head, and a mask hid his face. Elena could not see anything in him except his blue eyes, watching the child with interest.

"No, we just arrived. You're right on time," the woman replied. "I hope you brought something?"

"Don't worry if I don't have children, it doesn't mean that I'm so stupid as not to think about buying food for your daughter," he commented on Amelia's remark.

"Who knows you, everything happens at your age," the woman smirked.

"Tsk, rejoice that as a gentleman, I don't respond to such statements when they come from a woman," Armand ignored her sarcastic joke and went to the girl, "Elena, hello. I know your mom. Here, look, I bought you different sweets. Help yourself whatever you want." He squatted down so their height was even and handed her a bag of groceries, which contained treats that were ready to seduce any, even the most selective child.

"Thank you, Sir. What is your name? Why are you masked? Are you sick?" Elena innocently asked, fiddling in her bag of sweets.

Armand looked at Amelia, then again at Elena, the mask hid his smile, but his eyes revealed it, "No, dear, I never get sick, even if I would like to. I can't tell you what my name is. For the same reason, I can't show you my face. But when the right time comes, I will find you again, and you will recognize me immediately."

"Mister, how do I know you if I don't know how you look?" the girl was genuinely surprised.

"Because I'm your friend, and we will always recognize friends. No matter how many years pass." Armand studied every trait of the child, wondering that this was the very girl whom he had once helped to escape from the castle. Although she was not very similar to her previous incarnation and was still small, in her eyes he saw the soul of that very Lena, whom he had met many decades ago.

The man got up from his knees and walked over to Amelia, "She doesn't look like him at all," he said, recalling the photograph that the woman had given him the night before. That photo depicted little Elena, she was sitting on her father's lap and laughing joyfully, while the man was looking at Amelia sitting next to him, with love. It was a wonderful photograph of a happy family. A family that was not destined to be together.

"Yes, you're right," the woman replied. Her daughter did not remind anything of her father, sometimes Amelia thought it was even better, but most often, especially on lonely evenings, when she looked at the girl sleeping next to her, she really wanted to see in her the features of the person to whom she gave her heart. Three years have passed since their last meeting, but she could still feel his gaze, the touch of his hands on her skin. As if it were only yesterday.

"Amelia, are you sure that you were not watched?" An unexpected question from Armand brought her back from her own thoughts.

"I'm sure. I do not know how much time I have left, but I know for sure that no more than a day. According to documents in Europe, we are listed as dead, so he will have to try to find us."

"Sorry, you know, I can't act openly now. You yourself asked me about it. But, nevertheless, if this can somehow rectify the situation, I'm even ready to violate our agreement. I don't want you and Elena to suffer," Armand added bitterly.

"Fool, were you really going to die like that? Well, no, I won't let you have that luxury. In the end, I can hardly trust anyone to look after my child for so many years. Moreover, believe me, when the time comes and your desire is granted, you will thank me that I did not agree to your senseless sacrifice. So you don't have to do anything. I knew this from the age of fifteen, so you have nothing to do with it," the woman replied.

As a child, she knew where fate would lead her, and although she tried her best to avoid it and even was able to slightly change the course of events, in the end they still led her to what was destined. But, unlike the fifteen-year-old girl who refused to accept her future, she now understood why she was going to do all this.

"How can you say such things with such ease?! Have you thought about her?" the man hissed as if he was chastising an unreasonable child.

"That's why I do this! I can't let Marcus find her now. It's not the time yet-," The woman clutched her head, a sharp pain pierced her body and flashes of distinct visions swept through her mind. 'Damn, it turns out to be more painful than I thought.'

One of the consequences of breaking the rules of the timekeepers was painful visions, and since Amelia intervened and changed an important event and saved not only the YangYang family but also the family of the person who would be important for her daughter in the future, the reckoning for the violation was severe. The most unpleasant thing was that Elena could now also see the future, and Amelia did not want it at all.

The woman looked at the frightened girl and realized that she had guessed everything. Mother's heart sank in pain, but she could no longer retreat from her decision. "Sorry, bunny, you saw everything, right? After all, you are my beloved girl."

Their time together was inexorably running out.

"I just saw him. Marcus is already in town. I have to hurry, so the rest I trust to you. A man will come here in a year, he will be called Chen Lee. When they call you from the shelter, you will give your approval so that Elena will be given to him," Amelia began to explain to Armand.

"Also, I met with William Anderson last week. He is the head of Greenline Inc. You will need to go to England and make friends with his eldest son, he is an unusual boy, but you will like him. Just make sure that the youngest of the brothers does not know about you. That boy must find my daughter himself, otherwise, they cannot be together. Then do what you think is right."

"Got it, you can trust me. I will do everything," Armand replied.

Amelia sighed and turned to her daughter, "Elena, come to your mummy, please," the woman sat down on her knees and hugged the girl.

"Mom, I don't want to. Please, I don't want to," the girl gripped the woman's neck. She was scared of what awaited her ahead.

"Sorry, my dear. Mom also does not want this, but she has to do it. Otherwise, many people will suffer, many children will lose their mothers and fathers. And we can help them. Will you help me?" The girl nodded her head, tears flowed down her cheeks, but she tried to restrain herself so as not to cry.

Amelia brushed a tear from her daughter's cheek and looked at the child with tenderness, "Elena, listen to me carefully. Even if mom is not around, you have to be strong. You must learn to see what is good and what is bad. You will not be alone, there will be people nearby who will love and protect you. Therefore, you will certainly be happy, grow up a beautiful and smart girl, even if...," the woman's voice disappeared for a moment, "Even if your mom is not around."

Amelia tightly pressed her daughter to her so that she would not see the tears on the woman's cheeks. She knew that she would be hurt, but did not imagine that it hurt so much. But she also knew that this way her daughter would be safer, and when the right time arrived, she would be able to defend herself.

"When you remember this, remember that your mother loves you very much. You are the most valuable, the best, the most important thing that has ever been in my life. Mom loves you more than anything in this world and will always love. Remember this. Now, please close your eyes..."

"NO! I DO NOT WANT TO!" The girl began to break out of her mother's hands, but their powers were not equal.

Amelia grabbed Elena by the face, and the gaze of the woman fettered the girl's body. They looked at each other, and tears flowed down their cheeks. The woman's lips quivered, "I love you, daughter. Close your eyes…"

"Mom...," Elena whispered and her eyelids tightly closed, the girl's body relaxed and she fell unconscious at the woman's arm.

Amelia lifted the baby up and sat her on her lap. She stroked her hair, kissed every inch of her face and inhaled the smell in order to remember every bit of this little thing most dear to her in the world.

Armand took the mask off his face and exhaled heavily, "Agh, damn it. Is there really no other way out? What should happen in the future that you have to abandon your own daughter because of this? If it's because of Marcus, tell me! I will do everything to protect you! Better than wandering around this land aimlessly year after year! I don't need this fucking immortality if I can't even protect my own friend!" The man irritably ran his hands over his face, for a long time he had not felt so irritated and dejected.

"I can't tell you," Amelia said quietly. The woman lifted her daughter from her knees and handed her to the man. "A person should not know about his future, because it can affect his decision. I talk about the future in exceptional cases and only a small part. In our world, everything is ambiguous, and even a small decision by one person can affect the fate of millions of people. Therefore, no. Sorry."

Amelia ran her hand along the cheek of her daughter, who was sleeping soundly in Armand's arms, "Look after her, please. Everything that I told you last night about me and my family, you can tell her, but only when you feel that it is necessary. The rune on the hand will tell you the right moment. In all other respects, you must remain silent."

"Yes, ma'am," the man said with no enthusiasm in his voice.

The woman smiled and laid her palm on his cheek, a thumb stroked his skin, her eyes looked intently into his eyes, "Thank you. And forgive me for my selfishness," she rose on her toes and lightly touched his lips with hers. "Take care of yourself," she whispered, looked at her daughter for the last time, turned around and walked away.

"Amelia!" Armand shouted, "When will we meet? I will wait, no matter how many years pass! I know what it is to wait!"

The woman turned around, smiled goodbye and left, without saying anything.

The trip back to the city took the same three hours that Amelia spent when driving Elena to the orphanage. But this time she was alone. She did not notice the scenery rushing outside the window, did not hear the conversations of the driver and the noisy music from his radio receiver. She was in her own world, a world full of silence and loneliness, where there was nobody besides her.

She did not smell smoke when he lit his cigarettes without even asking her opinion, her hands touched the seat and did not feel its rough surface, worn out after many years of service. She did not feel anything. Neither inside nor outside. Absolutely nothing.

The world froze and lost its colors. Everything has become empty, lifeless and useless.

The woman left the taxi when they reached the indicated place, and at a slow pace, she went towards the small house. In appearance, it was the most ordinary house, dilapidated and unremarkable.

Amelia did not bother to knock on the door and simply went inside. The air in the room was heavy and dry, it had not been aired here for a long time, however, this also didn't really worry her.

She went into the living room, where YangYang was already waiting for her.

"You did as I asked?" Amelia asked the question more to her confidant than to her friend, since the latter was clearly on the verge of collapse, and Amelia could not blame her, as she herself was trying to hold on as best as she could.

"Yes, I cleared the memory of the child, but I don't know how much it will be enough, in the end, this is not my main skill," the bodyguard replied. For seven years she had been waiting for the return of her mistress and did not expect that the situation would take such a swift turn as soon as Amelia crossed the ocean.

"Good," Amelia answered quietly and knelt next to the sofa, "YangYang, it's time," she whispered, attracting the attention of her friend.

Liu Yang's full attention seemed to be focused on her nails or on a drawing on the floor since she did not show any reaction. "Will it... will it hurt?"

Amelia tilted her head to the side and with a sincere, but sad smile answered, "I don't know." Despite the fact that she knew a lot of secret knowledge about this world, still, she did not know everything. And what happens when a person passes from one world to another was also not known to her. In the end, no one had returned from there to tell how it was there.

YangYang closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm ready," the woman said. Her gaze was determined and calm, exactly as Amelia wanted to see.

"Good girl, YangYang. I believed in you that you could do it. If it's you and your family, then I can be calm for my girl," Amelia raised her hand and laid it on her friend's forehead.

"What are you doing-," the woman did not have time to finish the sentence when she fell onto the sofa without memory. Amelia took YangYang's palm in her hands and folded them together, warm light appeared for a moment and went out.

"You... you... YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The horror covered the face of Amelia's servant when she saw an X-shaped rune in the palm of Amelia.

"I did what I think is right," the woman replied in an even voice, studying the burnt scar on her hand, "I watched this family for many years, I know what kind of people they are, and if Elena is with them, the burden of the Teser family will not fall on her fragile shoulders. I just want a better life for my daughter, isn't that enough?"

"You just violated the main taboo, Lia! How did you even think of taking away the fate of another person?! You know that the price for such an offense is your own life!" The woman did not let up, she had served this family for many years and saw a lot, but she was not ready for this.

"LINA, ENOUGH!" Amelia shouted, "Please. Believe me, I know what I'm doing. And this is the best option possible. This is my last hope," she opened YangYang's bag and pulled out the keys to the car.

"Do you think I'll let you do this?! I won't even let you out of the house, got it?" Lina grabbed Amelia by the hand, but the latter dropped such a look at her that the whole woman's body was paralyzed at once.

"In the name of the Teser family and the contract concluded in blood, I order you, Lina Jones, to obediently obey your master, whatever your master demands."

"I'm listening, my lady." Lina obediently bowed her head, this was the first time that Amelia had used her master power on her. Lina never felt like a servant next to her, unlike previous heads of the Teser family, who had subjugated the girl's will before her birth.

"Sorry, I didn't want to apply extreme measures, but you forced me to," Amelia answered with bitterness in her voice, if not for the situation, she would never dare to use this disgusting skill.

"Lina, listen, when Liu Yang wakes up, tell her that if she wants to be with her family again, then she will have to wait alone for many years until my Elena comes for her. She will not be able to maintain contact with the world and will live as if she does not exist. It can take fifteen or twenty years, but I believe that she can handle it, she's strong."

"You will have a separate task. When you finish things with YangYang, return to England and find there a boy named Rick Lawrence. I can't say yet when exactly, but in a year or two, he could be in mortal danger. I need you to save his life if something happens, but do nothing else. Then he must make his own decision, understand?" Amelia asked in all seriousness.

"Got it," Lina answered quietly, without raising her head. Her body was still paralyzed, and she could not even move. Apparently, this persistent lady decided to keep her to the last.

"Chen Lee, YangYang's husband will be taken to the hospital with a heart attack when he finds out about the death of his wife and son, he will not be able to attend the cremation and funeral, so in his absence, make up the paper so that no one doubts that the Lee's family members were the ones who died," Amelia thought for a moment, analyzing whether she foresaw everything. But her vision was blurry, and that meant only one thing - Marcus was very close.

"Sorry, I have to run," she knelt next to Lina and kissed the girl on the cheek. Saying goodbye for a long time did not make sense, since it would only cause more pain, "Take care of yourself and give this to Armand when Elena comes to meet YangYang," Amelia put a small envelope on the floor with a letter.

"Will you leave me like that? Don't you even let me hug you?" Lina asked, barely holding back her tears.

Amelia smiled and hugged the girl herself, "No, if I take off my power from you now, you will not let me do what I am going to do. Don't worry, it will fall off when I... Well, in general, you understand. Goodbye, Lina, and try to let go of the past when the time comes. You are worthy of happiness, believe me," Amelia stroked her head, turned and left the house.

Liu Yang's car was parked nearby, Amelia opened the door and got inside. "Phew, let's go," the woman inserted the keys into the ignition and pressed the gas pedal. Flipping through the radio stations on the receiver, she stopped at the song she liked, the melody was rhythmic and groovy.

"Heh, who said you should be sad at such a moment? C'mon, I'll even have time to sing a couple of songs," the woman smirked and began to sing along to the unknown singer. The car quietly left the city, each traffic light turned green, as if fate itself hastened to leave this place.

Amelia tried to turn the steering wheel to the side, but the car stopped listening to her, even the seat belt refused to unfasten from its lock. "Hmm, I thought the Universe would have a more interesting fantasy. How cliche," the woman closed her eyes and felt a strong blow to the side.

BAM!

The car at full speed flew off the road into a ditch and rolled over several times. The twisted metal instantly lost its shape, the glass was broken, smoke was coming and the gasoline could be smelled all over the place.

The woman felt something hot flow down her face, her body and head ached with pain. Amelia opened her eyes, turned her head to the side... and saw him.

Marcus was standing fifty meters from the car; horror, anger, wrath reflected on his face. The man took a step forward, the woman breathed in and said a few words in an unknown language.

Time stopped.

Marcus froze in place and could not move as if his body was immersed in some kind of viscous and dense fluid. Flames of fire, as in slow motion, covered the car centimeter by centimeter. Amelia looked at him and smiled.

The man clenched his jaw, rage gripped him from the inside like never before, "I hate you, you hear that?!" he shouted as loudly as he could, "I will always hate you! Even when this world falls to pieces, even then I will hate you!"

"So be it," the woman whispered and smiled.

"AMELIA!"

BBAM!

A bright flash momentarily blinded the man's eyes, the air swirling around in a whirlwind, speeding up time in the space surrounding them. When Marcus was finally able to take a step, there was nothing left of the car but a blackened metal frame from the flame.

Liu Yang pressed Elena to her and stroked her back, the girl sobbed quietly on woman's chest, "All these years, I have been watching you and Chen, rejoiced at your growth and his success. I found out that Jun was able to return to the family and expected you to come to me one day so that I could hug you like that, my girl." The woman stroked the girl on the head, she kept motherly love and care for so many years and could not share it with anyone.

"I know that I can't replace your mother, but let me love you as if you are my daughter. This is the least I can do after what Amelia has done for my family," she whispered and looked at Elena with love.

Elena could not answer anything and only nodded her head, tears flowed with new force on the cheeks of the girl.

Liu Yang pressed the girl to her like a small child and quietly began to hum a lullaby, as her birth mother Amelia often did in Elena's childhood.

Chapter end