Chapter 604: The Weight of What Must Be Hidden

Chapter 603: The Weight of What Must Be Hidden

Orion was quiet for a while.

His gaze remained on the sky, though he wasn’t really looking at it anymore. His thoughts had drifted far beyond the clouds, tangled in everything he had just remembered.

Then he exhaled slowly.

"Do you think that’s a good idea?" he asked.

Noctis didn’t respond immediately.

Orion’s jaw tightened slightly before he continued.

"Letting her recover her memories," he clarified. "Especially given what we know about Victoria."

His fingers curled slightly against the rough bark of the tree.

"Maybe... it would be better if she doesn’t remember," he said quietly.

The words didn’t sound convincing, even to him.

There was a pause.

*I doubt it would be better,* Noctis said.

Orion didn’t look surprised. He had expected that answer.

*For what is coming,* Noctis continued, she *needs her memories.*

Orion’s gaze shifted slightly, though he still didn’t move.

*Some of the answers we are looking for may be with Sophia,* Noctis added. *And if she doesn’t recover them...*

He paused briefly.

*She will always feel it.*

Orion’s brows furrowed faintly.

*That something is missing,* Noctis finished.

The words settled quietly between them.

Orion let out a small breath.

"That’s already happening," he muttered.

*Exactly,* Noctis replied.

Silence followed again, but it wasn’t as tense this time.

It was more... certain.

*Sophia isn’t the type to ignore that feeling,* Noctis continued. *She likes answers. She likes understanding things. When something doesn’t make sense, she doesn’t let it go.*

Orion huffed a quiet breath, something almost like a faint smile touching his lips.

"True."

Orion leaned his head back slightly against the tree.

*If she doesn’t recover her memories,* Noctis went on, *it won’t just disappear. It will stay with her. That feeling of being incomplete. And she won’t like that.*

Orion closed his eyes for a moment.

"...No," he said softly. "She won’t."

Orion dragged a hand down his face slowly.

"...She deserves to know," he admitted. "Fuck!"

Noctis didn’t respond immediately. He didn’t need to. Orion already knew he agreed.

Another silence settled, but this time it was calmer.

Orion let out a long breath before straightening slightly.

"I’ll need to meet with my friends and hers too when the time comes," he said.

"If this comes out..." he continued, "I don’t want her standing alone."

The thought alone made something in his chest tighten.

He shook his head slightly.

"I don’t trust how everyone will react."

That was the truth of it.

People could be understanding. But they could also be cruel. The pack members had only just started warming up to her. If they found out who her mother was, they would project their anger onto her.

"So at least she should have people who support her. I’ll beg them if I have to," Orion said.

*I must say, you’re taking this very well,* Noctis noted.

Orion blinked once. Then he let out a quiet chuckle.

"I thought I wasn’t," he said.

*You are,* Noctis replied.

Orion tilted his head slightly, considering that.

"...Maybe," he admitted.

Then he exhaled softly.

"I just don’t see the point in making it bigger than it is," he said.

His gaze dropped slightly.

"Yes, her mother hurt us," he continued. "Yes, she’s the reason for a lot of things that went wrong."

His jaw tightened slightly.

"But Sophia..." he added quietly, "Sophia is a victim too. She didn’t choose any of this. She’s not the villain here."

"And besides..." Orion continued, his voice dropping just slightly. "I love her annoying self."

"And if we’re being honest..." he added, his tone turning a bit more bitter, "I’m not exactly innocent either."

His fingers tightened slightly against the bark.

"I was part of the reason the enclave even found the pack."

"In a world where most people might stand against her..." Orion said slowly, "I’d rather stand with her."

*Are you not afraid?* Noctis asked him.

Orion frowned slightly.

"Of what?"

*That once she recovers her memories... she might be different, less of who she is now and more of who she was then.*

That made Orion pause.

His gaze drifted slightly, unfocused. Then he shook his head.

"The Sophia I know now..." he said slowly, "the one without her memories..."

There was a brief pause.

"That’s her," he finished. "That’s who she is. She’s annoying, clumsy, lives so hard that she forgets to love herself..."

*Selfless,* Noctis suggested.

Orion rolled his eyes. "Yes, that," he said. "And I’m not going to let her lose that spark. I’m not going to let her forget who she is."

Noctis didn’t respond immediately.

But there was something in the silence that felt like approval.

Orion exhaled slowly.

"Anyway, we are keeping this a secret for now," he said.

Noctis’s attention sharpened slightly.

*From her?*

"From everyone," Orion replied.

He leaned his head back again briefly.

"I’ll pretend like I don’t know who her mother is. I’m not meeting with our friends yet, not until it’s time to do so."

*You’re doing this so they don’t treat her differently,* Noctis said.

Orion nodded once.

"Yes. So for now, it stays quiet," he said.

Noctis didn’t argue.

Because he understood.

"But I’ll meet with Kairen, privately, and ask him regarding Victoria. There must be something. I don’t think Victoria would just let her daughter, who is very powerful and is everything she’s not, slip out of her hold without searching for her," Orion added after a moment.

*That is true. Even I think there must be something. Maybe she kept it hidden, who knows,* Noctis said.

Orion pushed himself slightly away from the tree. "Well, I just needed some time alone to clear my head. It’s time to head back."

*What will you tell Sophia, though, as the reason you collapsed?* Noctis asked.

Orion huffed a quiet breath. "The truth. That I collapsed due to a sudden headache. It hurt like a bitch too. And that I’m fine now."

It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was the truth nonetheless. Noctis just shook his head.

Orion smiled and then jumped down from the tree, heading back into the pack compound.