Caleb and Thali welcomed Mina with open arms when she arrived on their doorstep with her pack on her back and eyes red from crying. She returned to her old bedroom, sinking onto her bed and her pack falling to the floor. Her broken heart was heavy in her chest but she felt empty. Even though things had been hard these past few months, it hadn't occurred to her that she wasn't wanted. In that single moment in the infirmary that day, it hit her all at once. Mina laid down on her bed, blankly starring up at the ceiling, hoping the numbness would spread to stop her heart from hurting so badly.

Mina had only been laying there for a short time before she heard yelling coming from downstairs. She sat up and cocked her head to listen more carefully, trying to discern the voices. One of the voices was definitely her brother, but the other sounded muffled. She stood up from the bed and opened her door a crack so she could hear better. Without the door blocking the sound, she could tell who the other voice belonged to. It belonged to her husband.

"Where is she? Let me see her!"

Mina stepped out into the hallway, but stayed away from the top of the stairs. She wanted to know what was going on, but also wanted to avoid the impending conflict.

"She doesn't want to see you!" Caleb responded to her husband's angry question.

"I need to talk to her. Mina!"

Kolya's voice almost sounded desperate. Mina felt her broken heart swell. What did he want? She took a few steps forward to stand at the landing at the top of the stairs. She looked down at the three figures standing at the doorway. Caleb was physically blocking the doorway, preventing her husband from entering the house. Mina crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying to keep her face blank.

"What do you want Acastus?"

He looked up at her in desperation, gesturing at Caleb.

"I want to talk to you. Will you please tell him to let me in?"

Mina moved her hand to signal to Caleb to let Kolya pass. Caleb moved out of the doorway, but kept his eyes on the man. He grabbed Thali's arm and pulled her off to the side so she wouldn't do anything rash. Kolya entered the home and moved to stand below the stairs, looking up at Mina.

"Can you come down please?"

Mina shook her head in response, keeping her feet firmly planted.

"I'm fine up here. Now what do you want?"

He sighed at her refusal to descend and held up his hand. Between his fingers was her ring that she had left with her letter.

"I want you to come back. I'm sorry for how I've been acting these past few months."

Mina shook her head again.

"Why should I? You don't want me there, you never have."

Kolya lowered his hand and his shoulders drooped in defeat.

"I know it may seem like that, but Mina it's not true."

At those words, Mina could feel anger boiling up in her chest. He was lying to her face. She abandoned her resolve to stay upstairs and quickly descended, startling the other three people in the house. She pointed her finger accusingly at her husband.

"That's a lie! If you wanted me there you wouldn't have trashed my room! You wouldn't treat me like I barely exist. I am your wife and you never have seen me that way. To you I'm not your wife, not a woman, or even a person. I'm just the thing you got stuck with because you were ordered to have me. I'm basically an object for you to keep in your home."

Kolya was taken aback by her words. He reached out to touch her, but Mina backed away from him.

"No. Don't touch me. I don't want you to ever touch me again!" Mina screamed at him, her anger turning into tears.

Mina continued to back up, moving back towards the stairs. She kept facing him, not wanted to turn her back on him.

"You once told me that I didn't have to do this. I could have an out and be happy. Well, I'm taking it. I'll go to Cowen and have our marriage annulled and you can go back to your old life."

Kolya stepped towards her and held up his hands.

"Mina stop. Listen to me. I'm sorry that I hurt you with my actions. I was so wrapped up in my own pain and feelings of guilt that I didn't see I was hurting you. I tried to apologize but I wasn't sure what I should apologize for. When I was given silence, I left it alone, hoping things would smooth over."

Mina stayed at the bottom of the stairs, her watery eyes focused on her husband, taking in everything he was saying to her.

"You are more than an object to me. To say I don't want you is far from the truth. I have wanted you since the moment I saw you. I made a promise as your husband and I want you to be by my side. But like I said before, I didn't want you to be forced into anything, so I kept my distance. I waited for you to make the first move. When you did, it made me so incredibly happy, but I had to leave. If I hadn't left on that mission, this never would have happened."

Mina's expression softened. She had been wrong. He truly wanted her after all. Part of her felt guilty for accusing him of not wanting her when he had all along.

"Acastus…" she started, not sure what to say.

Kolya stepped closer to her and held out his hand again with the ring resting on his palm.

"Please come back to me Mina."

Mina felt a small twinge in her chest. She had said the same thing to him before he left for Atlantis. She reached out and took to the ring from his hand and held it in her own. She looked down at it for a few moments before looking back up at him, meeting his eyes. His face held a hopeful expression. She could feel the pieces of her heart melding together in her chest.

Closing her hand around the ring, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his midsection. She let out something akin to a sob as she buried her head in his chest. Kolya returned her embrace, holding her tightly against him.

"Are you saying yes?" he murmured into her hair.

Mina pulled away slightly so she could look up at his face. His brown eyes stared deeply into her hazel ones. She couldn't grasp any words to answer him so she simply stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his. They stayed connected like that for a few moments before separating. Mina released him from the embrace and opened her hand to reveal the ring again. Kolya took the ring from her hand and slipped it back onto her finger, squeezing her hand gently before pulling away.

Mina flexed her hand, fiddling with her ring with her thumb. It felt right for it to be back on her hand. The short time she had been without it, her hand had felt odd. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Mina and Kolya both turned in the direction of the sound and saw Caleb and Thali. Mina blushed in embarrassment. Throughout the whole ordeal, she had forgotten that her siblings were standing there.

"That was very touching. Now that this was resolved, are you going to treat my sister better?" Caleb asked with a threatening undertone.

Kolya wrapped his arm around Mina, holding her close.

"I made a promise to take care of her, and that is what I will do. I have been shirking my duty, and I mean to make it up to her."

Mina smiled up at him before turning her gaze back to her siblings.

"I guess I don't need to be staying here after all."

Thali nearly jumped for joy that her sister was happy again. She returned Mina's smile before walking upstairs to grab her sister's pack. She returned and handed it to her. Mina took the pack and left the house with her husband. Similar to the first time he escorted her to their home, he linked her arm with his the entire way there.

When they walked through the door, he turned on the lamp by the door. Mina dropped her pack but stopped short at the sight of her letter laying on the floor. It looked like it had been dropped there as if in shock. She bent down and picked it up. Turning to face her husband, she noticed his sad expression at the sight of the paper.

"I only read part of it and I panicked," he admitted.

Mina noticed the edges of the paper were crumpled where he had gripped it. As she looked over her words, she noticed splotches on the paper where her tears had fallen while she was writing it. She wasn't even completely sure what it said.

"Do you want to know what it says?" she asked, holding the paper up.

Kolya reached out and took the letter from her, crumpling it up in his hands. He tossed it into the trash bin in the kitchen and took Mina's hands in his own.

"I don't want you to have to relive what you were feeling when you wrote that. I didn't have to get very far to feel your heartbreak. I'm so sorry that I made you feel like that Mina."

Mina wondered how many times he was going to apologize. It was a nice change from the yelling and the silent treatment. Still, part of her still felt hurt. She wanted to forgive him completely, but there was still the lingering thing in the back of her mind.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier today?"

Kolya looked at her with confusion, not sure what she was talking about.

"What are you talking about?"

Mina felt another pain of guilt go through her. Maybe he hadn't noticed Ladon's attempt at flirting. Her reason for doubting him may be unfounded.

"The whole reason I walked out. Another man flirted with me right in front of you and you said nothing. That made me think that you didn't even care."

Kolya seemed to realize what she was talking about and the smirk that she had so dearly missed spread across his face.

"You mean Ladon? I didn't even notice. He's had a thing for you for years and nothing has come of it so I figured it was nothing."

Mina's jaw dropped in shock.

"You know?"

Kolya chuckled in response.

"I'm not completely blind. I've been training him for a long time and have overheard many of his conversations. I always assumed he was talking about Sora, but I figured out it was you when I saw his face after you kissed me."

Mina stared at her husband in surprise.

"It doesn't bother you?"

Kolya closed the distance between them and pulled Mina close to him. He bent his head to give her a soft kiss before replying.

"Not when I know that I have you, and not him."

Mina was surprised by his sudden affection. It was such a change from his behavior of the past few months that it nearly gave her whiplash. Still, she liked the change. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him into another kiss like the one she had given him before. He seemed even more eager to reciprocate this time. Mina was shocked when he lifted her from the ground. She pulled away from him and gasped.

"Acastus your shoulder!"

He smirked at her and surprised her by shifting her in his arms to a bridal carry.

"It's just fine."

Mina laughed at the sudden change in position. She didn't often realize how tall her husband was. Now that she was in her arms, she felt like she was flying. He carried her across the house, with her smiling and laughing softly the whole way.

A/N: I will leave the next part to your imaginations ;) As this is a teen rated fic, there will be no smuttiness written by me. Everything is implied. Hope you all enjoyed them making up finally! Please review and let me know what you think!