Chapter 298: What Matters Most

Sophia paused at the door, hand on the frame, her body still half turned toward the corridor. Brynhild’s voice—gentle but carrying that steady quiet strength she always had—was enough to tug her fully back into the room.

Sophia blinked. "Is... is there any issue?"

Brynhild shook her head immediately. "No, no issue at all," she said, smiling. She adjusted Raina in her arms with practiced ease before continuing. "I just wanted to tell you something."

Sophia walked back into the room, she settled back on the chair she had stood up from before. She wondered if there was something important Brynhild wanted to tell her.

Okay she didn’t even need to wonder. Brynhild wouldn’t call her back if there wasn’t something important she wanted to tell Sophia.

"What is it?" Sophia asked softly.

Brynhild smiled at her. "You didn’t need to come back to sit," she told Sophia.

"You sounded like whatever you wanted to say was something serious and I’m not going to listen to it while standing so, here I am." Sophia said gesturing to the chair where she sat.

Brynhild chuckled lowly.

"I just wanted to tell you that you and Orion look good together," Brynhild told her.

Sophia blinked. Then laughed. "Well, of course we do. Have you seen me? I look beautiful... not counting the hair."

"Nah, the hair isn’t that bad." Brynhild waved her off. "And true, you do look good. I daresay it’s because of you that Orion is handsome."

Sophia laughed. "Way to boost my ego."

Brynhild laughed too. "But you know that’s not what I meant," she told Sophia who nodded.

"You two look good together because you fit together," Brynhild told her.

Sophia tilted her head. "We... fit?"

Brynhild nodded. "You do. I knew from the very first time you two met each other that something special was going to happen."

Sophia felt her cheeks warm. "You sure it was something related to the both of us being together or it was related to the both of us trying to kill each other? Because I know I annoyed... I still do but don’t tell him I admitted it... the hell out of Orion."

"The both of you annoyed the hell out of each other," Brynhild told her. "No one fits better than two people who annoy each other daily."

"But you don’t annoy Lysander." Sophia told her.

"Except when she’s messing with my herbs or being absolutely stubborn? Not at all." Lysander spoke up, making the other two laugh.

Brynhild shifted, wincing a little as she moved from the strain of her incision. Lysander had not exaggerated—the healing was slow and frustrating, and certain movements made Brynhild grit her teeth even when she tried to hide it. Still, she kept her posture steady, gaze warm and focused on Sophia.

"Okay fine, so maybe you were right," Sophia said with a smile on her face.

Brynhild chuckled. "You know, I always suspected you would put Orion on his toes. You made him attend a festival he absolutely despised attending. You made him enjoy it... all I’m saying is, you guys are good together and I know you’ll be able to knock Orion upside the head when he’s being dense. You’ll be able to make him have some sense when he’s being absolutely frustrating and annoying."

Sophia snorted. "Don’t you know? I do that all the time."

"You do," Brynhild agreed, laughing softly. "And you do it well."

Sophia gave a little bow. "Thank you. I take pride in my work."

Brynhild lightly rolled her eyes. "But all jokes aside, I’m being serious," she said gently. "Orion... he is strong. A force. And he has a good heart, but he can be so unbelievably dense when it comes to some things and I tell you he always puts people first before him."

Sophia stared at her for a moment, the humor still lingering but fading beneath something softer, deeper.

Brynhild drew a breath then, steady and slow. "What I’m trying to tell you," she continued, "is that you shouldn’t let what people say about you and Orion get to you. Don’t let it get to him either. Put yourselves first."

Sophia’s chest tightened as she listened to Brynhild’s words.

"Brynhild..." Sophia began.

But Brynhild lifted a hand. "Listen to me."

Sophia fell quiet. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"At the end of the day, you and Orion are the only two inside your relationship. Only the two of you know what’s real in it, what’s true, what’s happening behind closed doors. What you feel. What you choose." She paused, adjusting Raina again as the baby shifted with a little sigh. "Everyone else—those who whisper, judge, assume, or run their mouths for sport... they can go fuck themselves a plate of waste and share their opinions with their mad, gossipy selves."

Sophia choked on air.

Brynhild gave her an innocent look. "What? Did I lie?"

Sophia pressed a hand to her stomach to stifle the laugh bubbling out of her. "Brynhild."

"What?" Brynhild repeated, shrugging. "People always talk, Sophia. They always have something to say, especially when they see something they can’t understand or can’t control. But you and Orion—" she nodded firmly, "—you know what you are. And if the two of you are happy, then that is enough. More than enough."

While Sophia appreciated Brynhild’s words, she could not understand why Brynhild was telling her all this.

She swallowed. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Brynhild didn’t answer immediately. Raina made a sudden soft, needy sound—something between a complaint and a request—and Brynhild moved her instinctively, guiding her to the other breast. Raina latched quickly, tiny mouth working in determined little pulls, her small hands curling near her cheek.

Sophia felt her heart stutter at the sight. It was ridiculous how cute this child was. It was also ridiculous how she was an aunty to the child.

Brynhild watched her watch the baby, her eyes warming even more.

Then she asked quietly, "You know the full pack is aware now, right? About you and Orion?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes, Orion told me."