Chapter 240

Chapter 240

Lila walked on, almost as though in a trance, and didn’t stop until a pair of warm hands grabbed her. She gasped in alarm as the hands spun her around.

And hugged her.

Lila was puzzled. “What is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Of course I know that.”

This was Lacias’s familiar embrace. Lacias’s smell. Lacias’s kind voice. She’d recognize even in complete darkness.

“Ah!” she yelped, as he suddenly lifted her off her ground. “What are you doing?”

“Shh—quiet.” He began walking. “You should stay quiet if you don’t want to get caught.”

“Caught by what? It’s not like I’m a runaway.”

“Yes, not anymore.”

Lila frowned at the reference to her past. “Unfair.”

“Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush right now.”

Lacias was walking very quickly, moving toward a spot without people. The Rings were still blasting in the sky, and everyone was watching that. No one paid Lacias or Lila any attention.

Lacias finally came to a halt in a blind spot.

“Why…why aren’t you putting me down?”

“I never intended to.”

The next thing she knew, her back was against the wall and her legs were in the air.

“Wh-what are you doing? I’m heavy.”

He chuckled. “You’re like a feather. I can barely even tell that I’m lifting something.”

“I’m a little scared! Put me down.” If Lacias let go, even a little, she would fall. Lila wrapped her legs around Lacias just in case.

“You’re not acting like someone who wants to come down,” Lacias said, stroking her legs. “I promised.”

“Huh? What?”

“That I’d kiss you the moment you returned.”

“That’s, um—”

His lips crashed over hers. Lila blinked in surprise. Then her eyes slid shut and her lips parted.

“I…I have something to say, Lacias.”

“Hmm? Tell me.”

Lila puffed her cheeks, gazing blankly at him. Her eyes were filled with a combination of hesitation and determination. Slowly, carefully, she told him everything that had happened between her and Enrique earlier. And then, with some more hesitation, she added that she was a possessor of this body, a possessor not of this world. She kept her eyes squeezed shut as she brought up this part, unable to shake the thought that she might be abandoned by Lacias.

Lacias said nothing. Hiding her trembling hands, Lila opened her eyes a little. He was staring at her, a look of wonder on his face.

“Why are you so nervous?” he wanted to know.

“I have been…fooling you all this time.”

Lacias scoffed. “I already knew.”

“You…already knew? How?” Lila’s eyes widened at his answer. She’d never mentioned it. How could anyone even imagine something like that? Her curiosity was growing by the second.

“Do you remember when I pushed you on the swing?”

“I…do.”

She’d ridden the swing she was unafraid of, thanks to Lacias. How could she forget?

“And the conversation we had?”

“Conversation?”

In all honesty, she couldn’t remember. When she told him, Lacias’s expression turned frosty.

“You told me then,” he said. “That you were abused by your biological father.”

“Ah…”

I was playing with my friends in the playground. But I was dragged by my drunk dad. He grabbed my hair.

As the memory flooded her mind, Lacias spoke again.

“Mrs. Marshmell…doesn’t have a biological father. She was raised in a childcare center.”

“I see…”

Mrs. Marshmell thought that the owner of the childcare center was her parent. Not her biological one.

“Why…didn’t you ask me?”

“I figured you’d tell me if I waited like this. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Lila’s heart beat excitedly. He cared about her. She began to tear up. Was this from happiness?

“Lila,” he said. “Did you see the event I prepared for you?”

“Mhm. It was splendid.”

“You were watching it for a long time.”

“You’ve been watching me the whole time?”

“Of course. I was trying not to run to you.” Lacias brushed her hair back and smiled. “There’s one thing left.”

“One thing?”

“Look up.”

She obliged. Many colored Rings were still floating in the night sky. And through all that…

“Wow, so pretty.”

“Is it?”

“Yes…huh? What is that…?”

Lacias’s Ring started to pop up.

She figured it would be like a firework. Lila’s lips parted at the familiar shape. The Ring went up into the sky and started to form words.

“Come to think of it,” Lacias said, coming to stand behind Lila and hugging her, “I never officially proposed to you.”

The words formed just then: PLEASE MARRY ME.

She stared at them over and over again.

“Not like a fake contract marriage,” Lacias told her. “Please be my real wife.”

She stared at him.

“I’m confident I can make you happy forever.” He smiled. “Stop tearing up.”

Her eyes were wet with tears. Lila hadn’t even realized she was crying. She nodded. Just looking at his kind eyes was enough to reduce her to tears.

He hugged her as she rubbed her eyes, and patted her on the back, brushing her hair.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. His voice was sweeter than any desert. “You will be of utmost importance in my life. More important than me.”

She lifted her toes again. At the same time, Lacias bent toward her. They kissed, surrounded by the fancy night and rowdy atmosphere. And then they hugged each other like they were the only ones, so tightly that there was no room between them.

-End-