Chapter 91: The Sweet Reunion

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: The Sweet Reunion

The moment Xavier stepped through the door, Mira hurried over to him, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Xavier, I’ve got wonderful news!"

"I passed the first day of the Barley Cup! And that’s not all. My mother is coming home!"

Her eyes sparkled as she shared the news. She had just received a message from Helena confirming that she was safe and would soon arrive at Arcadia Academy under the protection of the Extraordinary Division.

After spending so long worrying about her mother’s whereabouts, Mira could finally breathe again.

Xavier smiled at her excitement and gently ruffled her hair.

"Two pieces of good news in one day?" he said. "We definitely need to celebrate."

He pulled out his phone and opened a food delivery app. It was already late, and neither of them had any intention of spending the next hour preparing a meal.

Instead, he placed an order for a generous spread of roasted monster meat and several servings of lean meat porridge.

The total came to around ten thousand crowns. It was not exactly an extravagant celebration by his standards, but it would certainly be enough for the evening.

While Xavier completed the order, Mira remembered something else she wanted to ask.

"Honey, Minister Bush told me that Mr. X’s friend was the one who rescued my mother," she said.

"I’d really like to thank him personally, but I don’t have his contact information. Could you get his number for me?"

Xavier’s fingers paused briefly over his phone. He quickly recovered and adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Mr. X isn’t someone who enjoys being disturbed," he said.

"Besides, we’re married. If I express our gratitude to him on behalf of both of us, it’s essentially the same as you thanking him yourself, isn’t it?"

He delivered the excuse with a perfectly straight face, though his mind was already racing with amusement.

I wonder what she’ll say when she eventually discovers that Mr. X and the man who rescued her mother are the same person.

The thought alone made him want to laugh.

For now, however, his secret was safe.

Mira considered his explanation and decided not to press the matter.

"All right, I’ll leave it to you, then!" she said, glancing toward the door, growing impatient by the second.

"Come on, let’s go! Mom should be arriving soon. I want to be there when she gets here."

"Let’s go together," Xavier said. "The restaurant is only about a kilometer from the academy’s main entrance, so our food should arrive around the same time we do."

With the order confirmed, Xavier put away his phone and accompanied his wife outside.

By the time they reached Arcadia Academy’s main gate, it was already half past ten. The area was quiet, with very few people coming or going at that hour.

Mira stood near the entrance, watching the road with barely concealed anticipation.

About fifteen minutes later, a black SUV approached from one direction just as a delivery rider dressed in yellow arrived from the other.

Mira immediately recognized the vehicle.

"Mom!" she cried.

The SUV had barely stopped before she rushed forward. Helena stepped out, and the moment she saw her daughter, every other thought vanished from her mind.

"Sweetheart!" she called.

The two women threw their arms around each other. For a long moment, neither could speak.

They simply held on tightly, as though letting go might cause them to be separated all over again.

Tears streamed down their faces as the pain and uncertainty of the past several weeks finally gave way to relief.

They had been apart for a month and a half. Now, at last, they were together again.

Helena pulled back just enough to examine her daughter’s face. She touched Mira’s cheeks, brushing away her tears while studying her carefully.

"Why do you look thinner? Have you not been eating properly?" she asked, her voice wavering between concern and affection.

Mira burst into laughter despite the tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

"Mom, I’ve actually gained weight!" she said.

Helena’s reaction was understandable. To a mother who had spent weeks worrying about her missing daughter, even the smallest change could seem significant.

In reality, Mira had been eating far better since marrying Xavier. Her meals were regular, and she rarely had to worry about going hungry. When Helena had last seen her, Mira stood about 1.7 meters tall and weighed roughly eighty kilograms.

She had not been particularly skinny, but neither had she carried much extra weight.

Now, her face was noticeably fuller, and her weight had climbed past ninety kilograms. Far from wasting away, she was looking healthier than before.

Mira wiped her tears and took her mother’s hand.

"Come on, Mom," she said. "There’s someone I want you to meet."

She led Helena toward Xavier, who had just collected their food order from the delivery rider.

"Mom, this is my husband, Xavier Kane," she said.

Xavier set the bags aside and greeted her with a warm smile.

"Hello, Auntie," he said. "It’s good to finally meet you."

Although he and Mira had been married for some time, this was the first time he had met his mother in law face to face.

Calling her Mom right away still felt a little awkward, particularly while he was maintaining his carefully constructed identity.

Helena nodded in response.

"Hello," she said. "And thank you for taking care of my daughter."

As she looked at Xavier more closely, a complicated mixture of emotions stirred within her.

There was curiosity, surprise, and a hint of uncertainty, but above all, she felt relieved.

During the drive to the academy, she had questioned Samuel Bush about everything that had happened to Mira in her absence.

The story of her daughter’s marriage had been one of the most surprising revelations.

She had also learned how frequently Mira spoke about her husband and how much affection she had for him even with his reputation of being a cursed man.

Now there was a sharp contrast on the rumor and what she was seeing.

Mira looked happy to be with him. And that’s all that matters.

That knowledge brought Helena considerable comfort.

She could only imagine how devastated Mira must have been when the Sinclair family cast her out. The people who should have protected her had instead stripped her of her security and left her to face an uncertain future alone.

Under those circumstances, finding someone who genuinely loved and cherished her was an extraordinary blessing. This Xavier was good for Mira, she concluded.

Now, seeing the happiness on Mira’s face as she introduced Xavier, Helena felt her remaining doubts gradually fade.

Whatever else she might learn about her son in law, one thing was already clear. He treated her daughter well. And that mattered more to her than anything else.

"Why don’t we head home first?" Xavier suggested.

"We can talk properly once we’re comfortable." He glanced toward Samuel, who had remained beside the SUV. "Minister Bush, I’ve ordered plenty of food. Would you care to join us?"

It was only polite to offer. Samuel had personally escorted Helena back, and Xavier appreciated the effort.

However, Samuel shook his head.

"I appreciate the invitation, but tonight is a family reunion," he said.

"I wouldn’t want to intrude. Besides, I still have some important matters to attend to."

He offered them a brief farewell before getting back into his vehicle.

Despite Xavier and Mira’s attempts to persuade him to stay a little longer, Samuel remained firm.

A moment later, the SUV pulled away from the academy entrance, leaving the reunited family to make their way home.

Once they arrived at the villa, Mira eagerly showed her mother around. Helena looked through the spacious rooms and admired the comfortable furnishings, but she was far more interested in spending time with her daughter than in examining the house.

Before long, the three of them settled down to enjoy the late night meal Xavier had ordered.

There was plenty of food, and the atmosphere was warm and relaxed.

For the first time in weeks, Helena could sit beside her daughter without worrying about whether they would be separated again.

After they finished eating, Mira announced that she would be sleeping with her mother that night. Xavier did not object.

He understood that the two women had a great deal of catching up to do. He wished them a good night and returned to his own room, leaving mother and daughter to enjoy their long overdue private conversation.

Neither of them fell asleep immediately. There was simply too much to discuss.

Helena briefly described what had happened to her after leaving Valemont, though she avoided dwelling on the worst parts.

Her main concern was Mira. She wanted to know what her daughter had endured during the weeks they had been apart.

Mira had no reason to hide anything from her mother. Once she began talking, the words poured out.

"After they brought Dad’s body back, Adrian Sinclair took control of everything," she said.

"He had me watched, and then he forcibly removed my Celestial Core."

Her voice tightened as she recalled those painful days.

She told her mother about the betrayal, the humiliation, and the despair she had experienced after being cast out by the Sinclair family. She explained how powerless she had felt when the people she had trusted turned against her.

Then she spoke about Xavier.

"When I thought I had nowhere left to go, I met Xavier," she said. "He’s been so good to me, Mom. He never treated me like I was worthless or looked down on me because of what happened. I want to stay with him for the rest of my life."

Helena listened intently, occasionally reaching over to hold her daughter’s hand.

Mira continued, sharing the incredible changes that had taken place since their marriage.

"My health problem has finally been resolved, too!" she said.

"And you’ll never guess how it happened. There’s actually an empress living inside me!"

Helena stared at her in astonishment, but Mira was only getting started.

"I’m already at the 7th level of the Foundation Establishment Realm," she said.

"And today, I competed in the Annual Barley Cup and defeated all six of my opponents!" She raised her chin proudly, a playful smile spreading across her face.

"I’m cool, right?"

Helena could not help smiling at her daughter’s enthusiasm.

Mira continued talking for nearly half an hour, recounting everything that had happened since they were separated.

She moved from one story to the next, sometimes laughing at her good fortune and sometimes growing serious as she remembered the people who had hurt her.

Throughout it all, Helena listened without interrupting. By the time Mira finished, tears had soaked the pillow beneath her mother’s head.

The more Helena learned, the more her heart ached for her daughter.

Mira had been cherished by her family from childhood. She had grown up believing that the people closest to her would always protect her, only to have that trust shattered in the cruelest possible way.

The loss of her father, the forcible removal of her Celestial Core, and her expulsion from the family must have left her feeling utterly abandoned.

Helena could not bear to imagine how much pain her daughter had endured.

Yet, somehow, Mira had found the strength to carry on. And she had met Xavier at the moment she needed someone most.

Thank goodness. Without him, Helena did not know what might have become of her daughter.

As she thought about it, she finally understood that Xavier was not the powerful young master from an influential family she had once imagined him to be.

He was an orphan from an ordinary background. That revelation surprised her, especially considering the valuable elixirs he had given Mira.

There were still things about her son in law that she did not fully understand, but those questions could wait.

His background was not what mattered. What mattered was that he loved her daughter and treated her with genuine care.

For a mother, that was enough.

"Thank goodness you found such a good husband," Helena said softly, wiping her eyes.

She took Mira’s hand and looked directly into her daughter’s face.

"Sweetheart, your cultivation has improved tremendously," she said.

"In some ways, you might even be stronger than Xavier now. But no matter how powerful you become, never forget what he has done for you." Her expression grew serious.

"Don’t ever betray him or abandon him when your circumstances improve. You must remember the person who stood beside you when you had almost nothing left."

Mira nodded without hesitation.

"I won’t, Mom," she said. "I would never do that."

Her answer came from the heart. No matter how far she advanced in martial arts or how much her strength increased, Xavier would always be her husband. She had no intention of leaving him behind simply because her circumstances had changed.

Even now, she could still vividly remember the day they met at the matchmaking square. It had been the beginning of a new Chapter in her life, one she would treasure for the rest of her days.

After hearing her daughter’s answer, Helena felt reassured.

For a while, the two continued talking about happier things. Eventually, however, Helena’s expression hardened as her thoughts returned to the family that had caused them so much suffering.

"What are you planning to do about the Sinclair family?" she asked.