Lucifer (Book 3, The Redemption Series) Read Free Page A

in.
    My mother is sitting on an identical bench crying. Lucifer phases in and sits beside her. Without saying a word, he brings her into the folds of his arms so she can cry against his chest. He gently begins to stroke her long brown hair.
    “ Amalie,” he says tenderly, “why are you crying like you’ve just lost your best friend?”
    “ Because I think I have,” she says, sobbing even harder.
    Lucifer lets her cry for a little while longer before asking, “Can you tell me what happened?”
    My mother sniffs before saying, “Malcolm and I had a fight.”
    “ About me I presume.”
    My mother nods her head against Lucifer’s chest. “He even brought my parents into it this time.”
    “ And what did they think about us being together?”
    “ My father took Malcolm’s side.”
    “ And your mother?”
    “ She just wants me to be happy. She doesn’t like you, of course, but she knows I’ll never truly be content unless you’re a part of my life.”
    “ Neither of them is wrong, you know,” Lucifer tells her. “Malcolm is right in thinking I’m not good enough for you. And your mother is right in thinking you’ll never find true happiness without me.”
    My mother leans away from Lucifer a little to look up at his face.
    “Maybe if you removed the curse from Malcolm he would change his mind,” she suggests hopefully.
    Lucifer seems to take her suggestion seriously but ends up shaking his head. “I can’t do that.”
    “ You can’t or won’t?” She questions.
    “ Won’t,” Lucifer admits. “There’s too much that’s passed between Malcolm and me, Amalie. Even if I did remove the curse, it wouldn’t change his mind about us.”
    “ I can’t let you go,” my mother says, snuggling her head against Lucifer’s chest. “I’d rather be dead than live my life without you in it. Malcolm will just have to come to terms with the fact that we’re meant to be together.”
    “ I think you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that he will never accept that.”
    “ And what about you?” My mother asks. “Are you going to stop fighting your feelings for me?”
    Lucifer sighs and rests one of his cheeks against the top of my mother’s head.
    “I don’t think I have any more fight left in me when it comes to you, Amalie.”
    “ Good,” my mother says, Lucifer’s words finally stopping the flow of her tears. “I was getting tired of trying to make you see reason. Maybe this experience will teach you a lesson.”
    “ And what lesson would that be?” Lucifer asks, sounding slightly amused.
    “ That I’m always right,” she replies, as though the answer should have been obvious.
    Lucifer chuckles and my mother sits back to look at his face.
    “ I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh,” she says with a small smile of true happiness. “I like it. You should do it more often.”
    “ Maybe I will,” he tells her, grinning.
    My mother takes in a deep breath and says, “I love you.”
    I can instantly tell by the look of surprise on Lucifer’s face that this is the first time she’s said those words aloud to him.
    My mother’s gaze falls to her lap as he continues to stare at her after her heartfelt declaration. I know what she’s waiting for. She’s waiting for him to say the same three little words to her, but he simply remains silent as he continues to gape at her.
    “ I…love you too,” Lucifer finally tells her, the words sounding like they cost him a lot of effort to say.
    “ You don’t have to say that just because I said it,” my mother tells him, obviously hearing the same hesitation in his voice that I did.
    Lucifer reaches out a hand and places it underneath my mother’s chin, gently lifting her head up until their eyes meet.
    “ I love you, Amalie,” he says, his words sounding surer this time. “I’m sorry it didn’t come out quite right the first time. I’ve…just…never said them to anyone before now.”
    My mother smiles shyly