章 291: — not just a reminder of what you’ve lost

"Was Ma really that much like me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid that speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile moment.

Ragnar turned to her, his eyes softening with a rare tenderness. "In so many ways," he said, his voice carrying a note of nostalgia. "She was strong-willed, stubborn even, but always determined to care for the people she loved. Just like you. She had this way of making everything better, even when things were at their worst. And she never gave up on anyone, no matter how difficult they were… no matter how difficult I was."

Anara felt a lump form in her throat as she listened, realizing that this was the most her father had ever shared about her mother.

She had always known her parents' love story through the whispers of others, but hearing her father speak of her mother in this way made her feel closer to her mother than ever before.