Raven's P•O•V

"Are you - are you serious?" I stuttered. He looked at his shoes as he scuffed the rug a couple of times as an act of boredom, but it was something more than that. He gave the action a different presentation. By the way he did it, I knew he was fighting himself over his decision.

"The jet will be ready in fifteen minutes. Pack whatever you want," He said plainly and looked up and all I could see in his eyes was numbness. I felt guilt fill my whole body.

"You're going home," He finalized it and dropped his gaze, closing the door in my face.

I stared at the door for a second before turning around. They all stared at me with different expressions. Irina and Piper looked utterly shocked while Dimitri and DeMalo wore blank expressions on their faces, maybe an arched brow at most.

I shook the feeling of surprise off, knowing that as the girl who always thought about others, for once I needed to think about myself. This is what I had wanted since I got here...

I brushed past them swiftly, leaving them without saying a word. I stormed past people who had gathered in the hall and fled to the safety of the royal hall that my room was part of. I closed the door behind me and fell back against it, shutting my eyes and letting out a jagged breath I didn't know I had been holding. When I opened my eyes, I pushed myself off the door and grabbed a bag out of the walk-in closet. I noticed that the only thing I called my own was the outfit I had on the night I was taken here. I sighed and put the bag down.

Staring at the room, I looked over everything that temporarily was mine. To any girl, this would've been a dream come true. The jewels, the ball gowns, the royalty of it all...I got it all. I had it all. And now I was giving it all up. And a part of me was going to miss it.

The memory of the price of all these lavish things snapped me out of my mourning. The price was my life as a human and I wasn't ever going to pay that price. I shook my head and changed into my original olive green sweater and black skirt. I walked to the door and stopped one last time to look over the room. Soon this kingdom would all be a distant memory. A dream that I was about to wake up from.

I opened the door and walked out, facing the vampires that had gathered in the hall. They must have been the ones that had now caught word of what was going on. I ignored them and walked past them with all the strength and confidence left in me.

I was finally going home.

♱

I found Alec on the landing pad. An immense jet was being prepared as I walked up. With Alec was his family. He ran a hand through his hair, causing Piper to rub his back reassuringly. I walked up, and I could hear them talking.

"Son, this is ridiculous! You have to convince her to stay," Irina pleaded.

"Mother, I can't. You know I can't and I won't. She will never be happy here," Alec sighed in reply.

"Like hell, you won't. There is no convincing to be done. Happy or not, she cannot leave-" Dimitri scolded him, jabbing a finger at his heir as he spoke. Alec grabbed his wrist and pulled his father closer to him threateningly.

"She can and she will. There is nothing I can do and I'm not going to force her to stay," He growled, finishing the argument. A flare of rage ran through Dimitri's eyes. Alec shoved his father's hand out of his grip and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The tension between all of them was so thick it could've been visible. I could feel it as I came closer. I almost wished I didn't have to intrude, especially with how scared Dimitri made me feel.

I cleared my throat and they all looked at me with their deep, garnet eyes. Alec saw me and came over to where I was.

"Ready to go?" He asked, inexpressively, without sadness nor joy. I nodded sullenly and avoided the eyes of his family, nearly feeling ashamed. It was the kind of feeling you got after quitting or backing down. A feeling I didn't really expect.

"Maybe I should go with you two," DeMalo stepped up, trying to offer, but Alec shook his head.

"We'll be fine DeMalo," Alec dismissed his brother's suggestion. I kept my gaze low as I could almost feel them all looking at me.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Alec told them before leading me to the jet. I could feel remorse fill me as I stepped further and further away from them. I had everything. Riches, royalty... a family who accepted me - sort of. And I was throwing it all away.

"Raven!" I heard Irina call. I turned and saw her and Piper right behind me. I gasped, not expecting them to be there. They studied my eyes pitifully, seeing right through me. Irina embraced me in a hug and held on tight. I wrapped my arms around her and felt pain fill my chest.

When we parted from our hug, Irina held my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"Always chase after what you desire, but don't ever forget what you need. And if going home is what you desire, then chase after that desire. But never forget you are always welcome here dragă," She told me sincerely. I gave a weak smile in return, feeling my eyes start to turn glassy.

"Thank you," I whispered to her in a brittle voice.

I turned to look at Piper. I gripped her in a hug.

"I'm going to miss you," She whimpered.

"I'm going to miss you, too," I said, almost in a whisper. I parted myself from her and looked at both of them sadly. I gave a weak smile to both of them before turning around and walking with Alec to the jet.

I didn't look back after that, no matter how much it hurt to do so. Soon this would all be a distant memory...

♱

Alec and I didn't talk the whole time. The only words exchanged throughout the flight were between a flight assistant and me. And that was only twice during the ten-hour flight.

The jet skidded as it landed on the ground. It slowed to a stop and I could feel my heart sink into my chest.

I was home. I was back in New York.

I hurried out of my seat and went over to the door. The door opened, and stairs down to the ground were in front of me. I looked out onto the landing pad and felt my heartbeat rapidly grow quicker as I recognized the city lights. The sounds of sirens and cars welcomed me home.

At that moment, I had forgotten the pain and guilt left in Romania.

I rushed down the stairs and went to the cab that awaited me. Alec was right behind me. I opened the door, but before getting in, I stopped and looked back at him.

"I'll be fine to get back home," I told him, trying to reassure him that I'd be okay and that he didn't need to come with me.

"Please let me just make sure you get there alright," Alec requested. I sighed and obliged, knowing that this would be the last thing he ever asked of me.

I slid into the back seat with Alec beside me and told the cab driver my home address. I planned to go straight to my family home. My family was probably worried sick. It'd be selfish of me to go back to my row house first.

Fifteen minutes went by of me watching out the window in awe of the places I thought I'd never see again. We went through the city before heading to the outskirts. And soon we turned into my neighborhood. The houses were pretty decent, a little expensive but not too bad. The simplicity of the average American life made my heart swell as memories came back to me.

The cab pulled up in front of my house and I could hear my heartbeat fill my ears. I thanked the driver and didn't even have time to give him money before rushing to open the door. I stopped and felt a pang of hurt fill my chest. I turned to Alec and realized this would be the last I ever saw of him.

"Thank you, Alec," I said in a soft voice, thanking him for returning me to my home. He nodded but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

I turned and opened the cab door. I ran up the walk and went up to the door. I held my hand up to knock, but something made me stop.

I could hear laughter from inside. I stepped over to the window beside the door and looked in.

My whole family sat at the dining room table, laughing and talking loudly, something I never thought was possible with my completely bland family. Sat in my seat was a woman I hadn't met before. She was insanely gorgeous with a bright smile and curled blonde hair. Steven walked up to the table with a couple of drinks and kissed her on the cheek before setting her drink down in front of her.

My smile turned to a frown as I watched them.

Something about seeing this sight struck me. They were happy. Of course, I hadn't expected them to be saddened by my disappearance all the time, but even Steven... Even my own brother who loved me more than any of them seemed to not have a care in the world. My brother, the only person in my family who truly loved me, seemed to be playing the role my family wanted us all to act in. Normality. He loathed my parents for how they treated me and here he was smiling and laughing with them as if he had forgotten everything.

This made me realize that I had come here in hopes that my family had forgotten all the imperfections I had in their eyes. Maybe they had forgotten about how I was their least favorite child...

Seemed to me all they had forgotten was me completely.

And this sent betrayal coursing through me like fire.

I stepped away from the window, my whole body buzzing. I'd spent two weeks thinking they had been looking for me, hell, even worrying about me or where I was. I spent the last two weeks thinking about home and how much I wanted to go back.

I'd spent two weeks searching for a way to go back to my past life when in reality I ignored the beautiful life I had been given in Romania.

Tears burned in my eyes as I backed into the stairs behind me. I tripped backward but fell into Alec's arms as he caught me. I let the tears stream down my cheeks as Alec held me.

"Raven, what's wrong?" He asked in concern. I shook my head.

"I don't belong here anymore..." I murmured, my voice cracking as the tears flowed freely.

Alec didn't say anything as he helped me back to the cab. I got in numbly and looked out the window at my family home.

Finally, I was ready to say goodbye to my past life in NYC.

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