Chapter 18
After Belle and her father had arrived home, Belle found it hard to stop thinking about the Beast. She had to, though. Her father needed taking care of. He wasn’t the same man that left their house to sell the clock all of those weeks ago. He was a little more scatterbrained and distraught.
With each day, it got better for both of them. It didn’t take long for a sense of normalcy to return. Eventually, Belle’s father went back to making his clocks. Belle went back to assisting him when she could, cooking meals and taking the occasional fishing trip to the stream.
The agony she felt from losing the Beast hit her in waves. But the more time passed, the more release she felt from the pain.
“Papa, are you sure you’ll be okay without me today?” Belle asked her father a final time
