In the early hours of the morning, my plane landed back home. Mary and I were excited to see our family again - me even more so because I hadn't seen them in ten bloody weeks. Papa greeted me with a huge dinner in honour of my return. They'd stayed up late so that I could have my first meal back with them. Mum wouldn't let me step a few feet away from her and kept me close the entire time.

Even with all the happiness engulfing me at seeing my family again - I couldn't help but feel as if I left half of my heart in California. Our goodbyes were quick because everyone was preparing for the match. Mary and I ended up leaving early Saturday morning since I no longer had to stay for a match, so we got an earlier flight.

Christian wouldn't let go of me. Like, at all. He kept muttering that he didn't want me to leave, and even thinking about it made me tear up. The moment I stepped out of his hold, I felt cold.

Charlie made me promise that I'd come and visit, and I made her do the same. Everyone I'd met there turned out to be absolutely amazing, and I already missed them. I had no idea when I'd see them again because soon I'd be starting university.

Ximena literally wouldn't let me leave. She latched herself onto me and Jisoo had to pry her off. The goodbyes with the girls were bittersweet. As much as I hated leaving them, I couldn't help but feel pure joy at the fact that they were my first proper friends. They had no relation to Christian and took me in merely because they wanted to.

It was hardest to say goodbye to Kenzie because she'd been my rock since the very beginning. She didn't complain when I had nightmares and cried. Each time, she'd make me scoot over in bed and hold me until I went back to sleep. Gabriella and Dallas both nearly suffocated me with their hugs. Deep inside, I knew that I'd see all of them again.

"You and me, all-nighter. The first one to fall asleep buys the other one breakfast," I murmured to a wide-awake Evie. The little girl sat with her knees hugged to her chest as she gazed up at me with extensive copper eyes. Even with the fourteen year age gap between us, I never failed to have fun with her. Her birth happened during one of the most troublesome times of my life. She was a gift.

She snickered, chestnut curls bouncing with the movement of her head. Surprisingly, Evie clung to my leg ever since I came back. Usually, she spent every second of the day playing pranks on me, but suddenly she was a loving baby sister. "I can't afford anything. I'll probably only be able to buy you a chip."

"I'm fine with that," I shrugged, leaning forward to poke her chubby cheek.

"Don't be silly," Evie giggled again. "It's already nine in the morning. We can't sleep now." She fidgeted with the blanket on my bed. Her hair was ruffled from sleep and I forgot how much I missed having her by my side.

Before I left for California, Evie slept in my bed every night as it helped with the nightmares. It only made sense to continue the tradition. I barely had time to blink last night before Evie showed up in my room with her stuffed animals and blankets. I quirked my eyebrow and puffed air out of my mouth at her. "You play dirty, Eve."

She bolted off from my bed and scrunched her nose up. "Go brush your teeth! Your mouth stinks!" I threw pillows at her and she jumped out of the way whilst laughing like a maniac.

Putting a hand over my heart, I shook my head and stood up. "And here I thought you were the perfect little sister."

Evie gagged, and I traipsed into the bathroom grinning. I stripped out of my pyjamas before turning on the shower and tiptoeing in. A shudder ran down my spine as the icy water contacted my skin. The cold did me some good because it was boiling today.

"Lord help me," I uttered when the water still wouldn't get hotter after five minutes and goosebumps began developing on my skin. Deciding to overlook the cold water, I spattered shampoo onto my hands and began scouring it into my scalp.

Said scalp was still tender after mum attacked me with a brush last night, trying to pacify my hair into an elegant bun. Ten weeks away from her. She must've missed me so much. As much as my scalp was on fire, I let her do what she needed to. She also questioned me about the scratch on my face and the fading bruise. I was honest and told her I got into a fight. She scolded me. When she wasn't looking, Papa high-fived me.

I dropped the soap and bent down to pick it up, nearly screaming when it felt like there was a worm crawling into my arse–but it was just my hair. My gum began bleeding slightly when I brushed my teeth a little too aggressively because of my growing animosity towards the shower. When my body shivered again, I washed faster so I could get out of the icebox we called a shower.

Wrapping a small towel around my body, I ventured back into my room to see Evie lying on my bed and playing a game on my phone. "You want to see the dance I made up in the shower?" I urged Evie as I shuffled towards my cupboard that Mum packed earlier.

Evie looked up from the phone and gave my body a once over. "I'm going to need you to put some more clothes on before you do anything else, sestra." A smile tugged at my lips because I missed hearing the Russian language.

"Oh!" I feigned disbelief whilst combing through my clothes. "You think because you're turning six now you can tell me what to do?"

She muttered something in Russian. I scowled at her for calling me stupid, but she merely snorted. "I'm going to go see if Mary's awake," she snickered at me and jumped up, walking away. Mary would probably get annoyed with Evie so early in the morning. I rummaged through my dresser, then threw on a sundress. The flowery dress reached my mid-thighs.

It used to reach my knees, but that was back when I was still fourteen years old. I was about to fix my daisy necklace when I realised I wasn't wearing it. It was a weird sight, not seeing the pendant in its spot where it hung for the last few years. My neck felt naked, but I knew my reason for taking it off was important. Slipping on my white converse, I grabbed my phone from the bed and headed down to the kitchen.

There was a message from Christian. It said: you're in London and I'm in California. One of us is in the wrong place. I laughed at that and told him to have a great day, knowing that it was probably around early morning for him. I knew it was going to be busy for him and his family. Even though it had been barely a day, I missed him immensely. But I shoved the sad thoughts from my head. Today was about Uncle Olezka and my speech.

"My beautiful daughter!" The booming voice startled me and suddenly I was lifted into the air. I laughed as Papa spun me around, carrying me to the dining room before plopping me on one seat. "I have missed seeing your face in the morning. You were always the most excited about breakfast."

I smoothed out my dress, staring at the empty table and remembering that Christian had once sat in the exact chair I was sitting in. It seemed like such a long time ago when I first fell into his lap. "I've missed your food, Papa. Nobody cooks better than you." His beard was wild as always with his black hair sticking out in all directions.

He beamed with pride as Mum walked inside, hastily tying her chestnut hair back. She wore an apron that was stained with icing, and when I glanced over to the long counter, there were hundreds of cupcakes needing to be boxed. "I'm going to remember that you said that, Eden."

I laughed at the teasing glint in her hazel eyes. "Both of your cooking is good." Mum feigned a glare, and I laughed harder. Mary walked in, still looking sleepy. I reminded her she needed to get enough sleep because she was going to be in charge of tickets.

Evie sprinted past her and headed straight for the cupcakes. It was obvious that she'd woken her eldest sister judging by the smirk she wore. Mary spared me a glance before she plopped onto a chair and slammed her head on the table. Her short black hair shielded her from everyone's view.

"Oh dear," Mum whispered as she brushed the hair out of Mary's face. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" An incoherent mumble left Mary's mouth and Mum sighed. "She needs some coffee. Petya, make some coffee." When Mum went to get some mugs, I noticed Mary stifle a groan. She was pretending to be sick so that she wouldn't have to work at the festival. I smothered a laugh.

The door to the room opened and in walked a tall woman. Her long red hair billowed behind her with the pace of her walk. "Morning, family!" she cheered, momentarily startling Mary. She kissed everyone on the cheek before her emerald eyes suddenly landed on me. "Eden!" She yelled, startling Mary again.

I stood up, opening my arms as she barreled into me and lifted me off the ground. "Olivia," I murmured, melting into her motherly embrace. "I've missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you," she grumbled, squeezing tighter and pressing little kisses to my head. "Gosh, I feel like it's been forever." Papa laughed at Olivia's coddling as he prepared coffee for everyone. "Please, never leave again."

I didn't respond, merely smiled. Olivia raised a brow, but I blurted, "where's your annoying husband?" Just then, a bulky man with messy, dirty blonde hair walked in. On his hip was a little baby who was grinning from ear to ear. "Alina!" I exclaimed, bolting towards Matt so that I could take his daughter from him. "How's my baby doing?"

"Nala!" She exclaimed, drool dribbling down her chin.

Matt smiled at me. "Nice to see you too, cousin. It's not like you've been away for ten weeks. No, not at all." I rolled my eyes, continuing to snuggle Alina with her wild auburn ringlets as she giggled at me.

Max, Matt's identical twin brother, walked in next whilst lugging two bags behind him. "Sure, make Maksim do all the work. Is nobody going to help me load the van?" He glared at his twin brother. "Matvei, there are two boxes that need carrying." Matt and Papa left to help Max load the van. Seeing my entire family in one place was a little overwhelming.

"Are you happy to be back?" Olivia asked me as she took a seat, watching her daughter with a smile. Alina was the spitting image of her mum, from the red hair all the way to her features. Her eyes, however, were the same ocean colour as her dad's - a feature that all three Orlov brothers shared.

Before I could respond, Mary spoke up. "She left her boyfriend in California, now she's sad."

I glared at Mary because I didn't want Mum to overhear or else she'd question me - but Olivia was already squealing. "Boyfriend? What's his name?"

Deciding to occupy myself with tickling Alina, I mumbled, "Christian." I didn't want to think about him because Mary was right - it'd make me sad. And I didn't want Mum to pester me about how our relationship was going to work when we were so far apart. She could be very analytical and was very protective of her daughters. She wouldn't want me to get hurt and for some, long-distance relationships were just asking to get hurt.

Olivia noticed the look in my eyes and smiled in sympathy. "Can you watch Alina? I'm going to help your mum with boxing the cupcakes."

The kitchen was busy as everyone got ready to leave for Uncle Olezka's food festival. Papa walked back inside with his brother at his side. "Denara!" He greeted, marching over to me and pressing kisses to my cheeks. I laughed, forgetting how affectionate my family was. "How have you been?"

I smiled, bouncing Alina on my hip. "I'm good, Uncle. Just sad that I'm going to miss your festival."

He patted my head with a smile. "It is alright, solnyshka. I know how much you have been looking forward to the literature festival, is it?" I nodded, and he beamed. "Then I only want you to be happy. Besides, you are relieving me for the day of the burden I call Aleksandr."

"Ouch," Alex laughed as he sauntered in, greeting the women before glaring at his dad. "And here I was feeling bad. Now I'm glad I'm missing your festival." Uncle Olezka jokingly punched his shoulder before walking over to Papa. Alex then turned to me. "You ready for today?"

Alex had come over earlier so that we could discuss today's journey and our plans. I nodded. "Marlene texted me with the details and I've got my speech ready and memorised."

On the plane, I occupied myself with going over my speech and even in my sleep; I was practising it. I wanted everything to be perfect. Having helped Marlene with The Man In The Library, I wanted to make sure that the book continued to have an impression on readers everywhere - even if they didn't know what happened.

He frowned suddenly. "You sure you're ready to speak about it?" I nodded again, and he eased slightly, probably because he asked me the same question numerous times. "Okay." For the rest of the morning, we helped everyone get ready. Evie, Olivia and Mum were busy with the cupcakes. Mary was organising tickets that would be needed to buy things at the festival.

Matt and Max took turns to drive things to the park where everything would take place, whereas Papa and Uncle Olezka sorted out last-minute arrangements with stall owners. I babysat Alina and Alex ended up cooking breakfast for us all. Babushka also arrived and bossed everyone around. It was amusing, to say the least.

"Denara!" She yelled when seeing me seated with Alina. "Good to have you back, my girl. How was it in America-land? Did you bring your hunk of man with you?" The kitchen went silent, and I gulped. Mary snorted. Babushka frowned. "Why are you all looking at me like I have toe sticking out my head?"

Papa turned to me, and I pretended to tickle Alina. "You have boyfriend, Denara?"

Uncle Olezka moved to stand next to his brother as he crossed his bulging arms. "He is proud Russian, right? With a fitting name like Dmitri. Or Isaak."

Mum set down her cupcakes and rushed over to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Stop it," she told her husband and brother-in-law. "You guys can threaten Eden's boyfriend another time. We've got a busy day ahead."

"But we want to meet this boy. Introduce him to family," Uncle Olezka smirked to himself. "We need to make sure he is strong enough for our little Denara." Papa stared at me, making me squirm. There was a question in his gaze, one that I answered with my blushing.

Eventually, Papa grinned. "It is alright, Olezka. There is no question of his strength. He is even scarier than you. Christian is like ice block." I laughed to myself, imagining Christian's reaction to Papa's words. He probably had Papa's approval since the moment he stepped through the doors.

"I still want to talk to this Kristiaan," Uncle Olezka insisted like a pouty child and Mum rolled her eyes. Olivia tried to calm her father-in-law down by offering him a cupcake, but he refused.

Babushka sipped from her coffee as a smirking Alex placed her breakfast in front of her. She cleared her throat. "Olezka, you have always been brat. I hate you. You make being mother difficult. But I love you anyway." Turning to me, she said, "Do the video telephone so Olezka can see American man."

I was about to object but Alex added, "what a great idea, Babushka!" He smirked at me and kissed Babushka on the cheek. "You always have the best ideas."

The older woman scowled. "Do not annoy me, Aleksandr. I will stab you with knife. In balls." He stepped away, but I couldn't find it in me to laugh at his fear because Uncle Olezka was pestering me to video call Christian. I was glad the twins weren't there because they'd have been relentless.

Olivia sighed, wiping icing from Evie's face as Mum begged me to just call Christian before Uncle Olezka burst into tears. He replied to that with, "I am proud Russian man! I do not cry."

He wouldn't even listen when I said that there was a chance Christian was asleep. Alina nibbled on my shoulder as I took out my phone and called Christian, praying that he didn't pick up. And just my luck, he picked up.

It looked like he was still laying in bed and I felt bad for waking him up. His hair was all over the place and his voice was deep when he finally spoke. "Hi, baby," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Gotta say, I miss having you next to me in the morning cause now I can't just roll over and f-"

"Meet my family!" I yelled, startling Alina, who was biting my shoulder. Christian was immediately wide awake, back straight and peering at his phone. Olivia was laughing like a hyena and Mary was chewing her lips to keep her laughter in. Mum narrowed her eyes at me and Alex choked on his own spit. Babushka winked.

Luckily, Papa was occupied with Evie because she was crying after the cupcakes and Uncle Olezka was too busy trying to figure out how he could see Christian via the phone when he was all the way in California.

My uncle grabbed my phone from me. "Kristiaan? It is I, Olezka Orlov. I am calling to make sure you are not weak man. Denara needs strong man with no weaknesses." I groaned in embarrassment, burying my face in Alina's hair. "Do you have weaknesses, Kristiaan?"

"Just one," Christian responded smoothly. "Now, can you give my weakness her phone back, please?" I blushed nearly the colour of Alina's hair as Olivia swooned, shoving Mary who also sat wide-eyed. Alex nodded in approval.

Uncle Olezka scowled. "I will not. Anything you have to say to Denara will go through me." Papa chuckled at his brother's antics. Since Uncle Olezka never had daughters of his own, he always treated us like his daughters.

"You're not as scary as you think you are," Christian yawned, and I froze, knowing that he was trying to aggravate my uncle.

"I am Russian-"

Christian interjected. "I don't care."

"I am her uncle-"

"And I'm in love with your niece. Full-stop. Are we done now?" Uncle Olezka growled before hanging up, and the last thing we heard was Christian's chuckles. I suppressed a smile. After I got my phone back, I sent him a quick message to apologise for my uncle.

Papa held Evie to his wide chest, rubbing her back as he told his brother, "see? Ice Block."

Before I knew it, everyone was ready to leave for the food festival. Nerves were heightened because I knew that they'd been planning it for months, but I assured them that things would run smoothly. Matt and Olivia were the last to leave the house. I handed a sleeping Alina to Olivia as Matt started the car. "Good luck for today," she told me, kissing my cheek.

"Thanks," I grinned, watching them disappear as I waved. It was only me and Alex left. When I heard the rattling of his car keys, I knew it was time. Taking in a deep breath, I asked, "you think I can do this?"

He locked the Bed and Breakfast and said, "I think you can do anything. You're the strongest person I know, Eden. Look how far you've come." I smiled at him and he noticed the empty space around my neck. "Your necklace-"

"I know," I cut him off, following him to the car. He didn't question me further, and I was grateful for it. I checked my phone and noticed that Christian still hadn't responded. I knew he was probably getting some much-needed sleep, and I told myself that I shouldn't bother him. "Do you really think I can do this or are you just being nice?"

Alex chuckled as he started the car. "Eden, you went all the way to California to play football - a sport you refused to play professionally again because Ruben taught you how." I froze, memories hitting me of Ruben and I playing soccer. When Christian first asked me how I learnt to play, I told him I learnt from Matt because he was a coach - which was partly true. But Ruben actually taught me how to play.

It felt eerie, talking about Ruben to someone who knew him. Ever since his passing, my family never mentioned his name again. Ruben's mum, Aunt Jane, moved away, and I had zero contact left with her. I always wondered if she blamed me for his death.

It was as if everyone forgot him, and I was the only one who remembered. We had planned to go on adventures, and when we were younger, the most talked-about place was Neverland. But now I was grown up with no best friend by my side. After today, I was going to make sure that people remembered him.

"Soccer differs from speaking about my past," I mumbled.

"Oh, so it's soccer now?" Alex teased. "I'm sorry, Miss America." I giggled at him, leaning back in my seat. "Trust me, Eden, you're gonna ace this. And I'll be there with you every step of the way." My phone went off, and I saw it was a message from Christian.

Stop doubting yourself, baby. You've got this. I'm sorry that I can't be there with you, but I know you're gonna do absolutely amazing. I'm proud to call you my girl, Eden. I love you.

I smiled to myself, suddenly feeling as if I could conquer the world.