Rain misted over Green-Wood Cemetery, turning the ancient headstones into grey sentinels shrouded in fog. Elena leaned heavily on Leo's arm. Her breaths were still shallow, and each step sent tremors through her legs, weakened by magic and hospital stays. She wore borrowed clothes: one of Leo's oversized hoodies, soft sweatpants, and battered sneakers. Her platinum hair, hastily braided, clung damply to her temples. **Tether Integrity: 48.3%.** The soulmate bond hummed low and cautious, like a wary animal testing its strength.
"Should've waited," Leo murmured. He kept a firm grip around her waist, supporting more of her weight than he let on. "Thorne said rest—"
"Thorne said anchors," Elena replied, her voice thin but resolute. She stopped before a simple granite headstone, its edges softened by lichen and time.
> **MARIA ELIZABETH VANCE**
> *Beloved Mother, Unseen Artist*
> *"She painted the world in kinder colors."*
The sight struck Elena with deep emotion. Ten years had passed since she last stood here, when fresh grief and corporate ambition had hardened her heart. She sank to her knees on the damp earth, with Leo's hand the only thing keeping her from collapsing entirely.
**Unspoken Truths:**
- *She hadn't returned after the funeral.* Too busy securing her VP promotion.
- *She'd sent expensive orchids each month.* A poor substitute for presence.
- *She'd buried her grief beneath spreadsheets.* And buried Leo with it.
"I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered, tears finally breaking free after a decade. Her fingers traced the cold stone, finding a tiny groove near the base—a chipped corner she'd made at age seven, when she ran into it with her bike. "I… I stopped painting too. Stopped seeing the colors."
Leo knelt quietly beside her, a steady presence in the mist. He placed a small, misshapen lemon bar wrapped in wax paper on the grave. "She loved these," he said softly. "Said they tasted like sunshine."
Elena nodded, a sob escaping her lips. "She made them every Sunday. Even when the treatments made her so tired..." The memories flooded back: her mother's paint-stained hands, the scent of turpentine and lemon zest, and how she'd hum old jazz tunes while mixing colors Elena couldn't name. **Tether Integrity: 48.7%.** A warm feeling spread through her chest.
"Why did I leave, Leo?" The question tore from her wounded heart. "Why did I push you away when she died?"
Leo stayed silent for a moment, watching the mist curl around distant mausoleums. When he spoke, his voice was rough with past pain. "You were drowning. I knew that. I tried to reach you. Lilies on your doorstep, calls, showing up until your dad threatened to call the cops." He picked up a fallen oak leaf, turning it over in his hands. "But you shut down. Built walls thicker than Vance Tower. I thought… you blamed me. For not saving her. For not being enough."
Elena turned to him, rain mixing with tears on her face. "Never. It was never you." She took a shuddering breath. "It was the *emptiness*. After she was gone, it felt like the world had lost its light. Everyone expected me to be this strong Vance heir. To not break. To not *need*." She glanced down at her hands, pale against the dark earth. "I thought if I let you see me fall apart, you'd see how broken I was. How unworthy. And you'd leave. So I left first. To control the hurt."
The confession hung in the damp air. Leo's jaw tightened, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand where it rested on the grave. The bond flickered, not with pain, but with deep recognition.
"There's something else," Leo said, focusing on Maria's name. "The week before she died, your mom called me."
Elena froze. "What?"
"She asked me to come over. Said it was important." Leo's voice was low, strained. "She was weak. In bed. But her eyes were sharp. She made me promise. 'Watch over my Elena,' she said. 'When the storm comes, be her anchor. She'll try to push you away. Don't let her.'" He looked at Elena, stunned. "She knew, Elena. Knew you'd try to drown alone. She trusted *me* to pull you back."
Elena's breath caught. A fresh wave of grief, mixed with guilt and dawning understanding, washed over her. Her mother, in her last days, had seen this collapse coming. She reached out to Leo, not her father, not the board, but to the boy whose laughter filled their kitchen. And Elena had spent ten years running from that lifeline. **Tether Integrity: 49.1%.** The warmth grew, steadying her.
"I broke that promise," Leo said, regret thick in his words. "I let you push me away. I stopped fighting."
"No," Elena whispered, turning her hand to hold his. "I broke it. I threw away the anchor." She leaned her forehead against the cool granite, the scent of wet stone and distant lemon blossoms filling her senses. "I'm sorry, Mama. I'm so sorry I stopped painting."
A gust of wind stirred the mist. For a moment, Elena swore she smelled turpentine and lemon zest.
---
**The Bean Grinder – 1 Hour Later**
Matty wiped down tables with unusual zeal, his skateboard propped against the counter. The café was empty; the rain kept even the hardiest regulars away. News played softly on the small TV behind the counter. David Chen's mugshot filled the screen, and the ticker read *"Disgraced Journalist Charged with Conspiracy, Stalking, Fraud."*
"Good riddance," Matty muttered, slamming a chair back into place. He glanced at Leo, helping Elena settle onto a worn sofa by the window. She looked fragile but determined, sipping the herbal tea Leo had brewed with intense focus.
"You okay, Ms. Vance?" Matty asked, unusually hesitant. "That photo… it was messed up."
"Elena," she corrected gently. "And I'm getting there. Thanks to stubborn café owners and decent human beings." She offered a small, genuine smile.
Matty shifted his feet. "My dad… he saw the news. About David. And about you guys being… you know." He gestured vaguely between them. "Soulmates." He took a deep breath. "He wants to meet you. Leo, especially."
Leo paused while placing a blanket over Elena's legs. His expression turned guarded. "Your dad?"
"Yeah. He's… uh…" Matty scratched his head. "He's Ben Carter? Your old law partner?"
The name hit Leo like a blow. He froze. The coffeepot slipped from his hands, shattering on the floor. Hot coffee splattered across the tiles, filling the room with a rich, bitter scent.
"Ben?" Leo's voice was strangled. "Benjamin Carter is your *father*?"
Matty nodded, eyes wide at Leo's reaction. "Yeah. He said you had a falling out after that OmniCorp case?"
Leo stared at the spreading coffee stain like it was blood. Memories flashed: Ben's triumphant grin after winning the unwinnable OmniCorp case, Leo's disgust, the furious argument in their shared office, and Ben calling him a "sanctimonious fool" for wanting to report the client's hidden documents. The fight Leo got into later that night defending the waitress. The scar. His disbarment. Ben hadn't stood by him or answered his calls.
"He never mentioned a son," Leo said hoarsely, bending down to pick up the ceramic shards without looking at Matty.
"He didn't know about me until a few years ago," Matty explained quietly. "My mom didn't tell him. Things were messy. He's trying now." He looked between Leo's tense back and Elena's concerned face. "He wants to help. Said he heard about the health inspection trouble and…" Matty swallowed. "...and about the Registry petition."
Elena stiffened. "What petition?"
Matty pulled out his phone, searching a legal notice website. "Vance Events filed it this morning. 'Emergency Petition for Bond Dissolution Due to Magical Instability and Undue Influence.'" He scrolled. "It says Leo's exploiting your 'fragile state' to maintain the bond against your best interests. Hearing's in three days."
Rage, cold and sharp, cut through Elena's fatigue. Her father ignored her demand. He still tried to sever her tether, legally branding Leo a predator in the process. The bond flared hot and protective within her. **Tether Integrity: 49.5%.**
Before she could speak, the café door jingled. A woman stood there, silhouetted against the grey afternoon. She wore a stern charcoal pantsuit, her dark hair pulled back in a perfect bun. In her hand, she held an official-looking tablet displaying a glowing Soulmate Registry seal. Her eyes, sharp and assessing, scanned the room: the shattered coffee pot, Leo kneeling amidst the mess, Elena wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, Matty hovering anxiously.
"Leonard Carter?" Her voice was crisp and impersonal. "Elena Vance?" She stepped inside, ignoring the coffee on the floor. "I am Inspector Aris Thorne's colleague, Livia Kane, from the Soulmate Registry Oversight Bureau. I'm here to conduct a preliminary assessment regarding Petition #Vance-7743. We need to discuss the alleged instability of your bond and the circumstances surrounding its recent manifestations." Her gaze landed on Elena, clinical and probing. "Particularly your capacity for informed consent in its maintenance."
The air crackled. Leo rose slowly, shards of ceramic clenched in his fist, coffee dripping from his fingers. Elena pushed the blanket aside, standing on trembling legs, the borrowed hoodie dwarfing her but her eyes blazing with defiance. The bond surged between them, no longer weak, but a steady pulse of gold in the grey café light.
"Our bond," Elena declared, her voice clear and cutting through the tension, "isn't unstable. It's *awake*. And our consent," she added, reaching for Leo's coffee-stained hand, lacing her fingers through his, "is none of the Registry's business."
Livia Kane's expression stayed impassive, but her stylus hovered over her tablet. "We'll be the judge of that, Ms. Vance. Sit down, please. This may take a while."
**Tether Integrity: 50.1%**
*(The battle for their bond had just entered a new, bureaucratic battlefield.)