The arrival had been quite comfortable, even peaceful as we watched the glass fogging up and quickly filling with drops. He turned on the air conditioning while I once again enjoyed his large, rough hand resting on my leg.

"Nice necklace." he complimented.

"Thank you." I replied, fingering my necklace, remembering it was hanging around my neck.

We were engulfed in silence, with the rain contributing to the sound. I let go of my necklace and instinctively placed my hand on top of his, providing a constant caress over his knuckles with various scars. It seemed he didn't mind; occasionally, he glanced at the scene, but then returned his focus to the road, enjoying my touch.

I was about to close my eyes when the noise from the seat behind me startled me, making me turn my attention back and see a cardboard box.

"What do you have there?" I asked.

He grimaced. "It was supposed to be until we reached the faction." he shouted.

Then the meow of a cat sounded from inside the box.

"Is there a cat?" I asked.

Eric pulled over on the side of the road, parked the transport, left the keys in the ignition, leaned his arm on the steering wheel, and looked at me.

"Do you really think I would forget what day it is today?" His smile shone brightly.

"In fact, I was counting on it." I replied.

He rolled his eyes, grabbed the constantly moving box, and handed it to me.

"Just don't let it slip that we traveled to Amity and I ordered a cat with specific characteristics for your birthday, it would damage my reputation." he grinned.

I opened the box, which had various holes. Inside was a small black cat with blue eyes and a red collar, lying on a black padded bed.

"It's a male." I said.

"I haven't seen pets in Dauntless, I thought they were prohibited." I said as I reached in to take the cat out of the box and placed the box at my feet. I put the cat on my lap and stroked it.

"Only a few people have pets." he cleared his throat. "In the Dauntless initiation, you have to kill a dog. Not everyone passes that."

"And your initiation was Amity, so that trauma isn't a part of you."

No, my initiation was inconclusive. I didn't kill the dog, I was smarter than him and had to tackle him to the ground. I looked up at the man of my life. "Thank you." I smiled. "It wasn't necessary, but I loved the gift. Thank you so much." I took his hand and squeezed it.

"You have to give him a name." he raised his eyebrows. "A worthy one. He's from Dauntless. He needs a good name."

"Can't I call him Sparkles?"

"No." he frowned.

I laughed. "Fine. The God of War would suit him well."

"Ares?"

"No, Greek mythology isn't my thing. I was thinking more along the lines of Egyptian."

"Horus?"

"Yes, Horus, the Egyptian god of royalty, protector of the sky, hunting, and war. The founding god of civilization."

"I like it." he nodded. "Much better than Sparkles." he rolled his eyes and started the vehicle.

      ***********************************

"Hope you forgive me." Freya pouted.

Upon arriving in Dauntless, I took Horus's belongings. As a leader, I had everything essential for him brought in: food, toys, a castle, food bowls, and a leash. Just as the items arrived in the room, I received a call from Freya, who was in my office at the Intelligence Center. Eric had left, citing a meeting in the VIP section for the evening, promising a surprise. So, I went to my office with Horus in hand, my new little cat who tugged at my heartstrings, making it hard to leave him alone.

When I arrived, Freya had two trays of food with a smile that perfectly reflected a "forgive me" gesture, which I didn't find relevant, and I started eating while Horus explored around.

"You don't have to apologize." I shrugged. "My birthday isn't something I enjoy celebrating."

"But I'm your mother. I've been absent for 16 years. I want to catch up, but my work isn't allowing me." she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "And now even Joanna gave you a necklace for your birthday, and she's not even from your faction, let alone your mother. I should be giving you something."

"Don't worry, there's still plenty of time in the day. I'll allow you to buy me something." I chuckled.

Ever since Freya saw my necklace, she's been steaming with anger, unable to bear the fact that Joanna gave me something. You could even say she's jealous.

"And who gave you that cat?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "Was it Joanna too?"

"No." I shook my head. "It's confidential. I'm not authorized to say, and the cat's name is Horus."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't say it was Eric. He refuses to admit he has emotions." she scoffed.

"Is it too obvious?" I asked, putting my thumb between my teeth and biting it.

"He informed the leaders yesterday that today is your birthday, so it's very obvious." she crossed her legs while swinging back and forth on the swivel chair. "It's like a tradition, the leader who has a birthday gets an exclusive party in the VIP section. You can invite your friends, just tell the guard their names."she shrugged.

I nodded slowly. "I think you just ruined the surprise Eric said he had for me in the VIP section."

She covered her mouth with both hands, showing surprise and regret.

"You'll act surprised, won't you?" she was blushing, embarrassed with herself.

I chuckled. "Yes."

We both sighed after laughing, and Freya looked at me with a smile.

"Thank you." she spoke with a delicate voice, her accent sharp, almost on the verge of tears.

"Why?"

"For giving me a chance." she nodded convincingly.

I shook my head with a smile. "It's nice, it feels really good to trust someone with a secret that puts your life in danger. Someone who accepts you and takes care of you." I smiled. "Thanks to you, if you hadn't gone snooping in my mattress, you wouldn't have realized that I knew."

"How did he tell you?" she asked, curious, referring to Norman.

"When I found Norman's file, I planned to go to Amity, then I saw a picture of him next to you, and after the war games, I sneaked away." I sighed.

"What did he say to you?"

"It wasn't a pleasant conversation."

Freya nodded, understanding my position. She didn't want to talk about the topic either and agreed. She averted her gaze to a fixed point, resting her chin on her knuckles, which I had only just noticed had small wounds that were healing slowly.

"Last week, I went to see him." she whispered, lowering her gaze without daring to look at me.

"You went to see Norman?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes." she scoffed bitterly. "Who do you think you inherited your ability to sneak away in silence from?" she asked with a smile. "I had to confront him. Did you see him?"

"No, I didn't want to. I was with Joanna."I replied.

For a fraction of a second, she wanted to roll her eyes; she didn't like the way I talked about Joanna.

"I'm glad. I doubt he'll leave his house. I tackled him and hit him pretty hard." she showed her knuckles.

I raised both eyebrows in surprise. "You hit him?"

"Yes, I couldn't help it, I wanted an explanation."she sighed. "It wasn't a pleasant conversation, but I understood something, Amity isn't for him. He's from Dauntless, he always was."

"Yeah, it's not common for a Amity like him. We were lucky that people in the faction ignore everything as long as they don't get into trouble."

"I should have gone with you instead of him." she grimaced, lost in thought. "Maybe he would have risen to faction leader, and we would have been safe. You would have been born where you belong, here... All together." she whispered the last part as if she had been thinking out loud.

I raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"What happened there?" I asked delicately, watching the woman who gave me life as she traced her index finger over her lips.

She turned to look at me, snapping out of her trance, and cleared her throat. "Nothing, just a lot of shouting, that's all." she settled into her seat.

"Freya." I called her with a warning tone. "What happened?"

Her gaze changed to one of regret, sadness, and repentance.

"Forgive me." she sighed.

"I know you hate him, and you have every right to... Just say it." I interrupted.

"I kissed him."

Is it a family thing to kiss the wrong person at the most inappropriate moment?

"You kissed Norman." I repeated in surprise. "Before or after hitting him?"

"Grace, please." she massaged the bridge of her nose. "You're my daughter, I can't talk to you about this."

"Only with me can you talk about it. I don't think you'll go to Max and tell him you kissed your ex."

She glared at me as she shook her head.

"I hit him first, then I yelled at him, felt bad for hitting him, and gave him the first aid kit. We talked and shouted at each other, one thing led to another, and I kissed him." she grimaced. "Then things heated up, and..."

"Oh no!" I exclaimed, standing up from the chair. "Ugh, I don't want to know how you had sex with that man." I shuddered.

"You wanted to know." she laughed.

"Yes, but I didn't think it would escalate beyond a kiss." I frowned. "Now what? Are you in love? Don't even think I'll be a part of a rebellion, I'm tired of rebellions." I scoffed.

"No, it was a mistake. I have to forget about it, and so does he. What happened, happened, and I can't change it. He's there, I'm here, and that's it," she said.

I could see it in her eyes; she couldn't even believe her own words. Regardless of my father being a tyrant and someone who marked me for life, he still held importance to Freya, my mother who was lost in him.

Max was irrelevant in this equation; she felt only a fleeting sense of gratitude toward him, otherwise she wouldn't have kissed Norman.

"Fine, keep telling yourself that until you believe it." I nodded, earning a look from my mother.

      ***********************************

Heels, dress, hairstyle, makeup, red lips, and with all confidence, I entered the VIP lounge after notifying the guard of the likely entry of my friends, including my team. Eric was nowhere to be seen, neither was Freya, so I made my way to the bar and with a polite smile, I asked the bartender for a margarita.

"Every day you're more beautiful, Grace." Ronald's raspy voice sounded beside me. "Bob, whatever she orders goes on my tab, after all, it's her birthday." he said to the bartender, who nodded.

"Thank you, Ronald. Although it wasn't necessary."I replied.

"Don't say that, of course it is. You'll be my right hand, anything you want, just ask for it." he winked at me.

I smiled, lowering my head. It was difficult to pretend and give loyalty to someone I didn't want to be loyal to.

"All the best for the right hand?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Of course." He smiled."Damian spoke with me."

"Really? And what did you talk about?" I asked, then the bartender arrived giving me a glass with the margarita. "thank you." I smiled.

"About you, of course." He smiled. "He talked about you with an incredible fascination, as if you were the goddess Aphrodite herself."

"Maybe I am."I placed my glass between my lips and took a sip.

He smiled. "I didn't know you knew Damian, how did you meet to have him totally in love with you?" He leaned his forearm on the bar. "Bob, a Scotch please." He raised his voice asking for a drink.

"We fought.I busted his lip." I shrugged.

"So your fists conquered him." He took the drink that Bob gave him and drank. "And how is Eric taking it? Does he know that you and Damian...?" He left the words hanging in the air, implying something, he was seeking information.

"There is no Damian and I." I specified. "He's quite stupid and very intense. And with Eric, I don't have to explain myself."

"Yeah." He chuckled. "That kid practically thinks he's the mastermind of the plan. Come, join me."He said, taking his glass and walking towards the large window with me by his side. "I thought Eric was your partner, then Damian told me otherwise and I'm really confused." He cleared his throat. "I want you to understand something, Grace. This isn't a game, and I want commitment from you, I want communication between us."

"I like your words, it's annoying to triangulate information, especially with someone like Damian." I smiled. "I prefer this to be straightforward. And in response to the other thing, no, Eric and I are not a couple, it's something without commitments."

"I'm glad to hear that." He bit his lip. "You're right, let the adults handle this. I'm surprised, you have a fascinating intelligence, you're like the daughter I always wanted to have."

I smiled without showing my teeth, raised the glass not knowing what to do or say. He's not exactly the father I always wanted to have. "A toast, to a new era." I proposed.

"To a new era." He clinked his glass after mine, and we both drank. "I'd like to introduce you to the other members of the group, it's vital to start implementing the plan and the more people you recruit, the better, of course you'll understand that Mike is the exception."

"Why?"

"He doesn't have the vision that both of us have, and Shira prefers to keep him away from all of this."

I nodded as I fell into the harsh reality. I spent about 5 weeks hidden from the rest of Dauntless pretending there was nothing with Eric, and now that I'm a leader, I have to pretend that my encounters with him are merely physical, and although maybe they were for him, they weren't for me.

"Our conversation will have to be postponed, this week we'll meet to talk." He constantly looked behind me so I did the same, seeing Eric, who upon seeing me with Ronald, went in the opposite direction, going to Raymond and several girls he greeted with a kiss on the cheek. "I see you're right, there's no commitment between you and him."

Did it hurt? Pff, of course it did.

"It's purely physical, Ronald." I laughed.

"Of course." he nodded. "I have to go, Shira just arrived and she hates being alone."

He turned around and went to his beloved who was by the bar. As for me, I turned around, looking at the large window, thinking about what I had just seen while enjoying another sip of my margarita.

It was just a kiss on the cheek he gave to several girls I've never seen in my life, and although it doesn't mean anything, it scares me. The last time, he got back at me for the situation with Damian, which amounted to absolutely nothing. Now, on this occasion, something did happen; I kissed him, and only now do I realize that he can do whatever he wants, he has the right to break our exclusivity.

It's a completely toxic relationship that I can't escape from, but I also couldn't bear to see Eric with someone else.

"I hate my birthdays too." Hill scoffed, arriving at my side. "It's a completely unnecessary day, the cake and the 'mañanitas' are embarrassing. The only good thing is whiskey on the rocks."

I laughed. "So I just have to endure this day?" I asked bitterly. "Then wait 364 days for the next one."

"Yeah, basically." She shrugged simply.

"Well."I nodded, finishing my margarita while my mind was on Eric.

"But that doesn't concern you." She nodded. "What's bothering you?" She asked.

I glanced at her for a moment and shook my head.

"You're strong enough for my problems to seem like complete nonsense to you." I chuckled.

"Don't doubt it." She assured. "But don't think I won't give you good advice; come on, this will be my birthday gift to you, a piece of advice from Aunt Hill."

Spending time with Hill means letting her talk and listening, letting her know she can trust you, and then she'll let you see a fraction of her emotions, and from what I can see, this is one of those moments, and I can't waste it.

"Is it because of Ronald and his pathetic rebellion?" she continued.

I turned to her with raised eyebrows. "What about Ronald?" I asked.

"Yeah, Eric told me." she shrugged. "He also told me he offered you to join him." she rolled her eyes. "He's so pathetic."

"So, you don't support his cause then?"

"No, he didn't even recruit me, we made it very clear our mutual disgust." she showed indifference. "I'm on Eric's side."

I nodded. "Great, nowadays I don't even know who to trust." I scoffed. "I have to be the undercover spy and stay on the sidelines."

"And is that what's bothering you?"

"No, actually it's not."

"First, let's sit down." she interrupted, walking a few meters to approach the armchairs. I followed her, sitting beside her. "Now, go ahead, tell me." she crossed her legs.

I sighed. "I fear that one day Eric will reject me." it was difficult to say, it scratched my throat. "Before, I thought I could handle it, but now I don't think I can."

"We're talking about Eric Coulter, Grace. That man has no emotional responsibility, let alone respect for women."

"I know, but beneath all those layers, there's a... a kind soul." I said.

Hill laughed. "Oh, child. Let me give you a lesson on maternal rejection." she leaned closer to me, resting her back against the armchair. "A mother who rejects her child, is emotionally absent and lacks affection, which creates a man who constantly seeks approval from any woman. Just as he was rejected, he will reject her in turn, searching for another woman who can give him what he never had: that love."

"That's terrible." I choked out a whimper, thinking about Eric while pondering the terrible childhood he must have endured.

"Yes, very ugly." she sighed. "Now, the more he shows you his human side, the closer you get to his breaking point in a relationship. And one day, he'll just feel exposed, vulnerable, and he'll leave you. It's a terrible vicious cycle that he's destined to live." she grimaced.

"I don't want him to leave me." I confessed.

"You also have an abandonment wound, don't you? From your dad, of course."she rolled her eyes.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"I was from Erudite, I suppose after the Choosing Ceremony, you always retain something." she replied. "But back to the point. When he leaves you, you'll ignore him, got it?"

"Faking that it didn't affect me?" I questioned.

"Exactly, he leaves you, and you leave him." she shrugged. "He needs to understand that not all women are at his disposal, and you need to understand that not every man who gives you the eyes is worth falling deeply for."

"And can't I just heal his wound?"

"No, that's pathetic. You're not anyone's shoulder to cry on. If you want to heal his wound, first you have to make him acknowledge his mistake, and you do that by leaving him just like he was left."

My heart squeezed as I watched Eric's back. I no longer saw him as a fearsome man who could kill you; he was quite the opposite, a wounded child, and I had an immense desire to hug him and heal his wounds.

Hill's hand took my chin, turning my head to face her.

"You haven't even been abandoned yet, and you're already on the verge of tears."she laughed as she shook her head. "You're completely in love with him, he's the love of your life, and I don't judge you because I've been in your shoes, and we're human, it's part of it." she lowered her hand. "And pain is also part of being human, but Dauntless doesn't want us to be human, it wants us to be emotionless robots. So when you feel like crying, do it in silence, where no one can see you. When the faction finds out that someone tried to hurt you, you're going to pretend to be a machine that couldn't be affected. You'll earn respect and fear; you kill two birds with one stone."

Her dark eyes showed sincerity and support, a side of her I didn't expect to see. I grimaced.

"Thank you, I know you made an effort not to yell at me for being weak and sensitive."

"You're welcome. I told you, it's your birthday gift. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to tell you how weak and sensitive you are." she smiled without showing her teeth. "Now, go have fun and don't get close to Eric until he approaches you."

I got up, and she walked away, blending into the crowd like a powerful woman, catching the attention of others. Meanwhile, I stood there, once again looking for Eric, who this time had a drink in his hand, laughing with several guys.

I sighed, maybe she's right. Maybe I should be the strong one now. And if I want to heal his wounds, I first have to heal mine. I have to understand that I don't need a man to be happy...

But who am I kidding?

Eric is the exception, he's not just any man.

He's Eric Coulter himself, he has something that no one else has, and that makes him irresistible.