“Here you go,” Asher said, handing Daphne a plate heaping full of food.

  “I can't believe you prepared all of this for me,” she said with a small smile, taking the plate from Asher.

  “Anything for you,” Asher replied with a sweet smile.

  Daphne smiled a little in response, her heart panging a little. Would this have felt more normal to me if my mother had loved me? Maybe it really is me who's the messed up one? What if my mother's right?

  Asher came back into his living room with a heaping plate of his own. “You haven't started eating yet?” he asked, his eyebrows drawn downward.

  “Ah, sorry,” Daphne replied, smiling tightly and grabbing her fork. “I got distracted.”

  Asher smiled warmly, his eyes softening. “You look absolutely worn out,” he said.

  Daphne smiled wider as she took a bite. “I am,” she said as she got a chance to talk again. “I spent all day packing and moving stuff around. Tanpopo seemed to be panicking a little too, so I spent some time calming him down.” She shook her head a little. “I've been living so long in one place that I ended up with more stuff than I thought that I would.”

  Asher chuckled a little. “Moving is typically the best time to determine if you need to get rid of things or not. It's a shame that you're rushing to move instead of getting the chance to get rid of things.”

  “True,” Daphne agreed with a small smile. “If it's something that I think I might get rid of though, I've been packing it separately.”

  “Smart move,” Asher replied, giving her a sideways grin. “Are you all ready to move most of your furniture and boxes tomorrow?”

  Daphne pressed her lips together tightly. “I think so,” she said. “I think I've at least gotten the lion's share of everything. I'm sure it's going to take all week to get absolutely everything, though.”

  “You’re probably right,” Asher said, with a sharp nod. “But you and Tanpopo will be fully moved in by tomorrow.”

  “I am looking forward to it,” Daphne admitted. “Thank you for all of your help with this.”

  “Of course,” Asher said. “We're partners, after all.”

  Daphne's heart warmed a little despite how much it ached. She turned back to her food, picking at it, slowly eating.

  “Is there something else bothering you outside of the move?” Asher asked. Daphne looked over at him and his eyebrows were drawn downwards again.

  He's worried about me. I don't even remember the last time my mother openly worried about me. If she ever did at all.

  “…yeah,” Daphne admitted.

  “Did something happen?” Asher asked. “Was it related to Rose?”

  “Something did happen, with my mother,” Daphne admitted. “I remembered something terrible that happened when I was a teenager.” She studied his face, trying to determine if he wanted her to go into detail or not.

  “What happened?” Asher asked.

  Daphne frowned. Are we close enough for me to share this? I don't want him to think less of me. She chewed a tiny bit on her lower lip. I shouldn't be thinking like this. He went out on a limb when he told me that he had also come back to the past. I just need to trust that he'll tell me if it's too much.

  “She tried to kill me with vases,” Daphne replied. “Or maybe that's an extreme interpretation of the situation.”

  “What do you mean? She tried to kill you with vases?” Asher asked.

  Daphne bit down hard on her lower lip. “I had ripped up some of her flowers,” Daphne said. “She refused to let me join an after-school activity with my friends. All of my other siblings were allowed to join one activity, but she still said no to me, so I was angry and tried to punish her. Instead, she threw vases at me and very nearly hit me in the head,” Daphne said.

  Asher looked wan. “I don't think your interpretation of the situation is extreme,” he replied. “In fact, I think you've been far too generous with Kimberly Woods.” He shook his head. “I can't believe that she would do something like that.”

  Daphne's heart stuttered a bit. He doesn't believe me. Her stomach twisted up into a knot. I knew it was probably too soon.

  “I can't believe that a mother would ever do something like that with their own child. Your mother is more of a monster than I could have ever imagined.”

  Daphne swallowed hard, feeling her eyes prick with tears. “You believe me?” she asked.

  “Why would I not believe you?” Asher asked. “Why would you lie about something like that?”

  Daphne's chin shook a little, and she nodded. She glanced up at the ceiling, trying to blink the tears away. “As if Thanksgiving wasn't enough of a reason to walk away from her, once I remembered that I knew I needed to keep her out of my life permanently this time.”

  “Yeah,” Asher said, frowning. “Honestly, I'm surprised that you went so far as to bring her back into your life in the first place.”

  Daphne nodded. “I thought it would be the only way to get to the bottom of my murder. And my mother has actually been a little helpful, but not as much as I expected.” Daphne frowned. “The problem is that while I decided I had to be done with her, I forgot to block her. So, while I was at my new apartment, she called and I answered it, thinking it was you. She then proceeded to dump information on me about Maggie and Viola. So, I said goodbye to her and have her blocked now.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Asher nodded. “I'm proud of you,” he said.

  “Thanks,” Daphne replied.

  “I guess what I don't understand is why that's got you so down.”

  “I'm just not sure if it was the right thing to do or not,” she admitted, the tears forming in her eyes again. “Even though she leaves much to be desired as a mother, she's still my mother, you know?”

  Asher nodded glumly. “Trust me. You did the right thing,” he said. “Just because she's your mother doesn't give her the right to treat you the way she has.”

  “Are you sure?” Daphne asked, her voice cracking as the tears finally began to fall from her eyes.

  “I couldn't be surer,” Asher said. “Every time you talk about the kinds of things that happened between the two of you, I feel incredibly helpless. I wish that there was more that I could do to ease your pain. Besides offering flowery words and hugs. It pains me to see you as upset as you get about your relationship. And interactions with her. Yet all I can do is listen. My ability to help falls so much shorter of your pain. So don't blame yourself for walking away. You're right to walk away.”

  Daphne nodded, reaching her arms around Asher's neck and pulling him close. She buried her face into his shoulder, her tears dampening the material. “Hopefully you won't have to worry as much going forward about my pain with my mother,” she murmured.

  “I hope so,” Asher said. “But no matter how much pain you have from her, I will always be here to listen, okay?”

  Daphne nodded, taking a deep breath of his warm, clean scent. “Thank you for everything you've done for me,” she murmured “And in advance for everything you'll do for me in the future.”

  “Of course,” Asher replied, stroking her poofy hair. “I hope you'll do the same for me when I need it.”

  “After all of this?” Daphne asked, pulling her head up from off of his shoulder. She met his warm brown eyes. “Obviously I will,” she murmured.

  Their faces began to be drawn closer to one another, as if there were magnets pulling them towards each other. Asher's lips found Daphne’s and he kissed her deeply. “I love you,” he murmured between kisses.

  “I love you too,” Daphne replied.

  I have never felt like this towards anyone. When I came back to the past, I was convinced that Gary and I were in love, but I couldn't have been more wrong for so many reasons. Asher has done everything for me. He traveled through time for me. He's going to ensure his own twin sister can't hurt me. No one has treated me like this, not even my own family.

  Daphne felt Asher's tongue gently touch her lips. “Mmm,” she murmured, before letting him enter. He gently sighed as she did, and Daphne felt her stomach tightening. She grabbed a fistful of Asher's hair, pulling him closer. Asher groaned softly, pulling her tighter, exploring her body with his hands. She let out a gasp as Asher found his way to the bare skin of her stomach. Everywhere he touched tingled and felt like it was on fire. A deep heat was pooling within Daphne, and she moaned into his mouth.

  “Let's go to the bedroom,” Asher murmured, his warm, woodsy scent heavy in the air between them.

  “Okay,” Daphne agreed. They stumbled their way through Asher's townhouse, kissing and losing their clothes one by one. When they finally made it to the bedroom, they fell onto the bed, becoming a singular mass of sheets and limbs.

  Asher leaned over her and she felt her face heat up. Still, she tried to keep his gaze. “I love you, Daphne,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss her neck.

  “I love you too,” she softly replied.

  Her heart glowed brightly in her chest. Asher's love enveloped her, radiating throughout her whole body and encapsulated every ounce of her being.

  Words will never be enough to express how much you mean to me. You're on a mission to protect my happiness, even if it's as delicate as a paper flower.

  ~

  “Do you want the dishes to go in this cabinet?” Asher asked, holding up a stack of plates in Daphne's new apartment.

  “No, the one next to it,” Daphne said, pointing to the cabinet near her new sink.

  “Ah, sorry, I already forgot which one you were talking about,” Asher said, his face dazed.

  Daphne giggled a little, a small smile lighting up her face. “It's okay,” she answered. “You've already helped me more than I expected.”

  “Why wouldn't I help my girlfriend move into her new apartment?” Asher asked, setting the pile of plates down next to the sink and opening the cabinet.

  Daphne felt her face warming. “I'm still not used to you calling me your girlfriend,” she admitted.

  “Why not?” Asher asked. “Do I need to say it more often?”

  “It's only been like a month,” Daphne replied with a small chuckle. “At least give me a few months to get used to it.”

  “Even though I somehow managed to cross space and time for you?”

  “Hey, I crossed space and time too!”

  “But you died,” Asher pointed out, narrowing his eyes playfully at Daphne. “I crossed space and time to save you.”

  Daphne clicked her tongue, a bright smile widening on her face. “You're right,” she conceded.

  “Yes!” Asher exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air before turning back to and putting the plates into the cabinet. “There's no other man in this world that can one up me!”

  Daphne rolled her eyes, still grinning. “Considering neither of us really know how we got back to the past, you're setting the bar awfully high.”

  Asher smirked at Daphne, grabbing the stack of smaller plates. “Hopefully it makes you less inclined to leave me when the going gets tough.”

  Daphne scoffed. “As if the going hasn't been tough with my life hanging in the balance.”

  It was Asher's turn to click his tongue. “Fair, fair,” he agreed.

  Daphne grinned as she put away her cooking pots. It's so much more fun to have an engaged partner. I don't know why I was so unwilling to let go of Gary before.

  They worked in silence for a few minutes. “Do you think you could help me move my TV?” Daphne asked as Asher finished putting the bowls into her cabinet.

  “Of course,” he replied with a grin. “Did you get the TV stand into the spot you wanted it?”

  Daphne nodded as the pair walked into the living room. “The movers asked me where I wanted it so they could put it into the correct spot. I arranged the rest of the living room last night as well.”

  Asher looked at Daphne, his eyebrows raised at her. “You should have called me and asked for help.”

  Daphne shook her head, feeling a small smile creep on to her face, despite her better judgment. “It was super late, and I went to bed almost immediately after.”

  Asher smirked. “I could have stayed over that, wouldn't have bothered me.”

  Daphne felt her face turned Crimson. “Yesterday was Sunday,” she protested. “I knew you would have had to be up early for work today.”

  Asher shook his head. “Didn't you see the news? I officially took over the business on Friday. I can do whatever I want now, so long as the work gets done and the business stays profitable.”

  Daphne narrowed her eyes at him as he turned to pick up the TV. “At least one of us can't let you shirk your responsibilities,” she shot back.

  Asher lifted the TV with a grunt and carried it a few feet over to the TV stand. Daphne saw his back muscles changing and stretching as he put the TV on the stand. She felt a shudder run through her and gently bit her lower lip. Stop it. You have enough to unpack before he has to leave. There's no time for extracurricular activities.

  Asher turned to look at her, pushing his dark hair off of his brow. It stuck up slightly, and Daphne felt heat pulse through her.

  “How does this look?” he asked, meeting her eyes.

  “It looks great,” Daphne replied, attempting to reign in her desire again. “Thank you.”

  “Of course,” Asher replied with a lopsided smile. “What's next?”

  “Would you be willing to put the rest of the pans away in my kitchen while I put some of my clothes away?”

  That will give me a chance to cool my jets.