I chose you - Chapter 17

I chose you

Chapter 17 – Trial and “womanization”

“What the heck was that about? Have you no respect for your older brother?!”

Envy was raving mad but Bradley didn’t really worried about his so-called brother. He was more worried of the news Father had in store for him.

The blond man was sitting in his throne, still plugged to many tubes and other things. It felt weird, as if that body of his couldn’t sustain itself. Bradley wished it was true. But Father had no flaw and if he did, he would need far more time to learn about them.

“I thought we had been clear that you had to try at least to show some interest to the wives that were selected for you.”

“And I thought my choice was already made.”

“I remember the nice argument you gave for your country girl, Wrath. But I also have to warn you, you shouldn’t close your eyes on all the options that are in front of you. I’m not the one who will have to play the family man, that’s going to be you.”

King felt angered even more by this remark. Of course, he would be playing his part.

“But all the more reason for…”

“I didn’t have them create a weak son for me, did I, Wrath? You seem… quite attached to that human girl.”

Bradley crossed his arms in front of his chest. He was not walking into that trap. Oh no. Lust nodded to him, as if to say his guarded reaction was the right one. But then, her smile flashed in the dark and he felt a shiver running down his spine and it was suddenly hard to stand tall in front of Father.

“If you’re too happy, you could forget your task.”

“I’m not forgetting anything, Father. I’ll follow every order.”

Hohenheim’s clone smiled his wicked smile, the one Envy was so good at having.

“Really now? Every order? What if I asked you to kill her?”

Bradley didn’t flinch. He had stilled himself, but one of his left souls died on the spot. The idea was too blunt. He could almost picture it and it hurt. It would be too easy.

“Though I don’t see what you’d get from it, if it’s what you ask…”

“Good boy. I’ll let you keep your toy. But you’re meeting a few perspective wives. We’re coming out in the open in many circles lately and you must choose our allies carefully.”

“I’ll do the choosing?”

“While keeping in mind my instructions. You should receive them soon enough. But keep in mind. If you don’t pay attention to any perspective wife, I’ll have your distraction removed.”

Bradley knew better than to complain. Father wanted him to play his part, he wasn’t asking him to choose from one of the perspective wives. But it still felt quite unfair. On one hand, he seemed to trust him to reveal their secret to a few selected candidates that would prove to be allies in the long run. They wouldn’t be told before that King was higher in the army and every homunculus would have their word in choosing them, well except Greed, Sloth and Glutonny, who were either too rebellious or lazy or stupid to voice an opinion worth their interest. On the other hand, he disregarded his interest for Amelia as a weakness and was clearly implying that he could have her killed off.

If Bradley had any options of getting himself out of this situation, he would have taken it. Right now, he felt so stuck. It was as if all the steps he could take were already traced down for him, on a thin line and he just had to stay in line. If he strayed for the path designed for him…

I’ll be risking her very life…

This couldn’t happen. But he couldn’t forfeit her either.

“I’ll meet them. But I can be quite obstinate. Blame it on that human body you gave me.”

Envy was clearly pissed at his way of answering but Father smiled it off.

…

The nerve of that dreadful thing! King was so angry he didn’t remember the last time he’d been just as mad. He needed more power and stability in his life. A promotion would do him some good, making him believe he was going forward and not backward. Another date with Amelia was out of the question for now, but he did write to her. Golden tooth announced him that a ball would be happening to celebrate with the higher society the official end of the civil war. And that was the occasion for him to appear as an interesting suitor.

Damn them all!

Grumman was excited because most of the military could assist the occasion. He even suggested that Bradley invited Amelia to the ball. It wasn’t entirely out of question, Kimblee was bringing his wife for example, which was rare. He never seemed to let her out of their house! But the situation was far too perilous for the future Fuhrer.

…

When Bradley had red about Amelia’s aunt being sick and forced to close their business for an undetermined time, he should have known that it meant the young woman would immediately look around for a job to help her family in sustaining itself. The recovery of her aunt didn’t seem close and she had little choice unless she’d wait to see their small economy disappear. Amelia didn’t wait when something could be done. He should have known that she wouldn’t want him to worry and wouldn’t say what was exactly going on.
When Bradley had heard from Juliett that some maids had been trained by military men to make sure the banquet would go fine and the reception would be a success, he should have asked her why she mentioned it. It wasn’t something new, the military was always hiring all the people it needed, especially for those occasion. Soldiers couldn’t be suddenly asked to work as maids. Well, so he thought, but some lower officers were among the small personnel.

All this to say that King wasn’t prepared for the night of the ball, which was supposed to be an unpleasant occasion to exchange greetings and nice words with women he’d never seen and would never see again. He had already decided what would happen. He just had to work a few things out.

…

The reception was taking place in the Armstrong’s house, which was by far the biggest civilian residence in Central and could house at least three different balls at the same time. The first ball room had been decorated all day by a swarm of maids and butlers, with flowers, white drapes and the army symbols were hanging on every wall. The candelabras on the ceiling were shining bright, giving an intimate feel to the gigantic room. Music was being played by a small band of musician. Tables against the walls were filled with food and servants were walking between the guests to offer them some drinks and hors-d’oeuvres. Bradley was wearing a black version of his uniform, like every other soldiers out tonight. The Fuhrer had demanded the change since he was still mourning his departed daughter.

The young man felt really out of place. He was perfectly shaved, his eye-patch was brand new and itched on his skin, the uniform felt too tight, as if the scientists hadn’t made it on the right measurement or made a mistake when they washed the fabric. His shoes were too shiny for his own taste. Everything about his appearance was perfect, as it was asked from him. The only color in the room was from the dresses of the women. Every dress had been intricately conceived to look richer than the other. And right now he was surrounded by a freaking rainbow of those dresses with their owner giggling around him. Brown hair, black hair, red and purple lips curving into smiles as they admired his allure.

He was trying to smile too and rediscovering what a great actor he could be. They all seemed pleased to be around him. He made simple jokes, listened to each of their complaints and remarks about the civil war in turn, didn’t mentioning many thing about the killings and the heartache he had witnessed or commit. Bradley was important tonight as the man who had managed to get half of the rebels to join the army all by himself. He had been decorated for it with a medal. That made him some kind of hero of this civil war, exactly what he wanted in fact, for the future. But not for the attention that was getting him tonight.

One of the woman pushed her luck to graze his arm with her fingers. It was clearly made on purpose, even though she blushed, but that was enough to bring him off the track. He flinched a little too violently before that she apologized profusely. He wasn’t ready to see his personal space invaded like that. King needed them to keep their distances. He was already letting everyone close enough.

“Oh, I heard the first dance should start soon! Are you a good dancer, King?”

Hearing his name on another voice than Amelia’s was weird. He realized he might need to be around more different woman. He felt like some kind of cavemen. But he didn’t want to feel at ease around anyone else but her. He could have least have that to himself, couldn’t he?

“I manage.”

“What kind of answer is that?” they laughed together.

Those girls would be the end of him.

“Who will have the honor of testing your dancing skills?”

Shit.

Now he had to invite one of them. He should have kept his mouth shut.

“I don’t know. Which one of you feel brave tonight?” he asked as playfully as he could.
His heart wasn’t into it, but his question created a few sparkles in two or three pairs of eyes. The most brazen of the girl, the one who had grazed his arm took one step forward.

“If you put it like that, I’ll take the first dance.”

“But you must dance with every one of us, King!” another of them added quickly, disappointed to have been beaten to the punch.

“Sure.” He whispering, swearing mentally. He was their entertainment for the night, since their respective father or mother had told them he would choose one of her as a wife and might become quite the influence around this country.

His dance partner guided him to the center of the room, where the dancing would take place without annoying the other guests. It was some kind of waltz and Bradley had learned it in the last three days, with Grumman for a partner and Juliett as their instructor. She wasn’t up to dance herself, feeling a little off lately. As he spotted her in the room, wearing a navy blue dress, he observed that her face was a little green. She wasn’t all that well. He wondered what could be happening to her. What if some sort of illness was invading the whole town slowly?

“Where are you, King?”

He had started dancing mechanically, barely looking at his partner.

“Oh.” He faked confusion for the sake of good appearances. “I was just… worrying about a
friend of mine.”

“Is it a good connection?”

He frowned at her question, looking down at their feet to make sure he wasn’t messing the steps. Even though it wasn’t pleasant to dance with the woman, he had to put on a good show. And if he was supposed to be perfect, he would play his part.

“I mean, how does this friendship serves you? You won’t become much if you…”

“I know how those things works.” He cut her off with a harsh tone.

She blinked and her blond curls twirled as he spun her around.

“I didn’t mean…”

He spun her around another time, making her dizzy and preventing her from talking. The waltz ended a few seconds later and he was free to take another dance partner, which would hopefully mind her own business. The next girl was shy and almost cute, though she was wearing a yellow gown that attacked his eye. The color would have suited her if it had been just a shade lighter.

“You must be glad this war is over.”

“There’s always another one, don’t worry.”

That cut the conversation short. The dancing was mechanic and he didn’t spun many other girl around. One of them made him laugh as she turned around, her short hair reminding him of Eli’s face as they’d been practicing. Juliett had insisted that Grumman played the girl, since Bradley needed more experience than him. It had been a funny exercise, though the contact was awkward. Grumman was pulling such faces and Bradley mustn’t have been quite better. They did drink between every few steps to feel more “festive” as Eli would say. The girl asked if he was laughing at her and he reassured her. Telling her she reminded him of a guy would have been a little ungentlemanly. Every other women from the group thought she was his final choice, since she had gotten a genuine smile out of him, something no one else did tonight.

There was still one girl he was supposed to dance with but the music stopped and he excused himself, needing a break. Those steps weren’t that hard, but nine different dull partners in a row was no small feat. He needed to catch some air. Or a drink. His last partner was a member of the Armstrong family and had quite a strong built, for a female. He called out a maid that was passing by with a tray. She was walking so fast she might have been running. Her shoes were spotless and she wore the same outfit as the other maid, but something about the way she moved made Bradley anxious. It wasn’t normal. But he needed this drink. He called a little louder to catch her attention. And it worked. Her brown hair reminded him of someone familiar but as she turned around to face him, a smile plastered on her face, her green eyes brimming with held back tears, his heart stopped.

“What would you like, mister?” she politely asked, offering him her tray.

Amelia’s voice was a mere whisper, but he could see the hurt in her face and her eyes. She must have seen him dancing with the girls. They were still all around him. The brazen one pulled on his sleeve and he saw Amelia flinching at the sight. She was supposed to be here, but…

“King, would you order something for us?” the girl asked.

The tray Amelia was holding started trembling as she waited for Bradley to voice his order. His mind was still trying to process the disaster unfolding in front of him. He could almost picture what she must be thinking in her head. This was just like her damn book. While they had always been equal, now she was dressed as a maid, offering her services and he was the rich guy asking for drinks. The more he waited, the greater the risk for the girls to notice what was going on and mess around with Amelia. He wouldn’t put it pass them. But he couldn’t act as if he hadn’t recognized her. He couldn’t invent himself a twin to make things look better, that would be preposterous. He was going to lose her before to even have her for real at this rate!

“Ame…”

“If you don’t need my services, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”

Her shoulders had dropped slightly. How come he couldn’t even say a word? How come he didn’t told her he would be at this ball dancing with anything wearing a nice dress, even laughing with them?

“Actually, I’d like a martini. Do you have one?” the brazen girl asked, oblivious to the situation, or at least, pretending to be.

“I’ll come back with one right away, madam.”

She curtsied like she had been instructed to and turned her back on them, making her exit. Bradley stood back for a whole five seconds, his thoughts a mess and his souls panicking in his mind. He should go after her. Waiting was just going to kill the poor courtship he had vowed to undertake with her. He’d never wanted to be here in the first place and now… She wouldn’t be coming back would she? She could send someone else. If he let her get out of his sight now, it would be over.

His heart was beating madly in his chest. The threats were forgotten for an instant and even his wrath vanished for an instant, replaced by fear. He couldn’t lose her like that.
It would be worse.

He didn’t look at the women around him as he excused himself and almost sprinted after Amelia. His eye was fixed on her small back and it was ability alone that permitted him to walk around all the people and not right into them. Just as she disappeared behind a door, a hand fell on his arms, fiercely pulling him to a halt. One look told him Lust was here to deliver him a message.

“Take good note of this Bradley. The human heart is easily swayed. Jealousy, distrust. They embody each of the sins we are. You need someone who will believe you no matter what, someone that will not endanger Father’s plans. If she cannot be it, you better learn it now than later.”

Wrath pushed her aside angrily. His mind was set on one single thing. Going through that door and after Amelia. What he would tell her, he still didn’t know. If there was a way to fix this mess, he’d have to find it. He had no idea what she had witnessed, but for her to be in this state, it had to be way too much. A man courting a woman wasn’t supposed to be dancing and laughing with other ladies in a ball while the one he was supposedly interested in was serving drinks. It looked like some nasty twist taken from a bad novel. Grumman was so going to tell him that such mistakes were unfixable.

Beneath the door where she’d disappeared was a small kitchen with people working over everything. He was almost run over by a boy pushing a small cart of refills and had to hold the door for him. He desperately looked around, but Amelia was already gone.

“Can I help you, sir?” a tall and chubby woman asked him, her chef’s hat making her the ruler of this kitchen.

“I’m looking for one of the maids that was working for you tonight. Her hair is in a braid and she’s…”

The woman big brows frowned and her eyes turned cold.

“No that sweet girl that came in here crying? What was her name again…Corsin?”

“Corsaire.” He corrected.

The chef eyed him doubtfully. Was he the reason for her tears?

“You’re not going to hurt her, are you, soldier?”

“I need to know where she went.”

His voice wasn’t as commanding as he’d willed it. Wrath was close to panic. He could face confusion on the battlefield and cold steel in his flesh. Give him ten men to kill, a hundred of them, he wouldn’t mind. But thinking Amelia could refuse to have him around because of this misunderstanding.

“She’s gone through the backdoor. She’s been working for half of the night already, so I’m still paying her, you have nothing to say about that.”

He didn’t answer, making it through the kitchen and out through the backdoor in mere seconds. He needed to catch up with her. He sure hoped that nothing else would slow him down in his pursue. The court was far too big, but he noticed a red wine coat in the distance, almost making it through the ornamented gates of steel. The sky above his head was filled with cloud and it started to rain, making the stones slippery beneath his feet. Those shoes weren’t comfortable to run in. Nothing to do with his usual uniform. Thunder roared in the distance as he reached the gate. Amelia was on the other side of the streets, walking as fast as she could in the rain. She was holding down a hat on her hand, one that belonged to her aunt, because they hadn’t enough money to own more than one hat. The times weren’t easy. Bradley knew it. She would have own more books if she had idle money to spend. Right now, she was certainly mortified.

“Amelia!”

He hated having to call out to her. He was worried that would made her run again. Not that he couldn’t catch up to her. King knew he was a faster runner. But thinking of her running away from him… The feelings from the night where he had suggested that she walked away from him were vivid in his heart. The fear of losing her felt worse than hearing any threat from Father. Who else would comfort him or make him smile for real? Who else could support him in his mad life?

She looked over her shoulder, giving him a glimpse of her red eyes and pale face. Her cheeks were flushed. She was holding back her tears and it made it harder for her to walk around. There was no one on the street thanks to the rain. Bradley was scared one of his homunculi brother could show up.

“Go away!” she yelped, holding the sides of her hat flatter over her head.

The rain was cold on his head. The drops fell in his hair and followed all the way down his nape. Each drop seemed to be coming from her eyes. And each drop hurt.

“Please, Amelia.” He caught up to her, his hand grabbing her shoulder.

“I don’t want explanations! I’ve had enough of all those secrets.”

She tried to push him away, but he had to insist. He couldn’t let her imagination run wild. He spun her around, so that she would look him in the face, holding firmly on her shoulders. She was trembling and crying, her voice shivering in the cold rain. There was anger and doubt in her face and something that made it worse to face her. Deception.

“Listen to me, Amelia. This wasn’t… Whatever you think this whole thing was…”

He was looking for his breath, looking for the right words and she shook her head, unable to believe the nerve he had.

“What was it supposed to be then? I can’t compete with girls like that! I can’t…”

“I was forced to…”

“That’s bullshit, King! I’m not that naive.”

As she talked, she tried to pry his hands of her, to no avail. He was holding her in place, so that they could have this talk. He wouldn’t give up till the right explanation came to his mind.

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?! About leading me on? About pretending that you wanted to court me? Was that all a game?”

She looked awful, her face red from crying, her breaths coming out rashly, her chest heaving and lowering too quickly, her body shivering, her hat hanging pitifully on her head, her hair already wet because the fabric was doing nothing to protect her from the rain.

“There’s no game. I was serious. I am serious. What you saw was…”

“I don’t want to know! Let me go! Let me go!”

And her crying was getting worse and the ruckus was waking people in the neighborhood.
She was drumming her fists against his chest and a few men walked out of their house.

“Leave the lady alone, soldier.”

“That’s no way to treat a young woman.” Another one said, clearly ready to intervene.

Bradley felt his anger building up. This just wasn’t fair. She was his only chance. Did he have to give up on her because of Father little play? Had the other made this whole situation unfold on purpose so that they could test her determination to be with him? He remembered Lust’s words. But it couldn’t be like that.

“I need to talk to you, Amelia. Please.” He insisted, his voice as low as a murmur.

She slightly calm down, maybe only for the people walking outside of their house. She didn’t this to turn into a scene.

“Do you need help, young lady?”

“Is that guy bothering you?”

“No. No,” she whispered. “He won’t hurt me, don’t worry. It can get any worse than that.” She added only for him. But her hand on his chest wasn’t a fist anymore. She was agreeing to listen.

Central’s people accepted her reaction and got back into their house, after eyeing Bradley with grave eyes. When everyone had gotten back into their house, Amelia let out a whimper and groaned slightly.

“I can’t believe I’m going all ballistic for this. My aunt had warned me.” She said, as if to laugh at herself.

“Don’t go saying that. I’m not trying to mess around with you. My higher-ups ordered me to entertain the girls at that ball. They’re all daughters of important investors, they didn’t mean…”

“They said you were looking for a wife.”

Crap.

The rain wasn’t making things easy.

“That was a lie. A make-belief. I already know who I want to spend time with, believe me.”

She shook her head. How could she believe him?!

“I wouldn’t blame you. A Fuhrer can’t be seen with just anybody. Even if you’re still nobody, you’ve turned things around during the civil war. You have a shiny medal. You’re dashing and hard at work. Perfect husband material.”

She didn’t spit the words. Her anger was so mixed with sadness she couldn’t be entirely cruel. King still looked down, feeling helpless.

“I’m sorry for showing up there. If I hadn’t been there, you could have been keeping everything in order. Those girls for high society and me to pass time in between jobs.”

“It’s not like that.” He winced.

“Then how is it? What did you mean when you asked to court me? Was it part-time? It’s the part that I missed, right?”

She started walking, slower than before, and he followed her, surprised that she wouldn’t ask him to leave her alone. She had to ask him those questions. She had to make him realize how hurt she was. And he wanted to apologize, but nothing seemed to be enough. He had a small idea, but it was madness.

“I am serious about you. If you could let me talk for a moment…”

“But you have a tendency at hiding things. And at lying to me. You said nothing interesting was happening lately and that you were bored in your letter.”

“Those girls bored me to death, Amelia. They’re superficial and…”

“Rich. Isn’t that enough to reach your goal? I could never give you status or power…”

She seemed sorry about it. She sounded almost apologetic.

“I never asked you for that!”

“Then what is it that you want from me that they can’t possible already have?!”

He didn’t answer immediately, his feelings too raw to be put into words. She was taking this a lot worse than he’d feared.

“Ame…”

“Stop saying my name like that.”

They’d reached the edge of another park, and since it felt quieter, she decided to finish their discussion there. They wouldn’t disturb anyone this way. She took refuge underneath a tree which had a very few leaves on its branches. They were both soaking wet but it was the least they could think about. The tree’s trunk

“I love you, Amelia.”

“Liar.”

“I mean it.”

“Then why were you dancing with them when you’ve never danced with me?”

She was turning her back on him, unable to hold his gaze anymore. Bradley knew he had not many options left. He was going to do another gamble to get himself out of this. He slowly removed his eye patch, not even making sure if no one was around to see his tattooed eye. The cold air on his scar wasn’t welcome. Right now, he was entirely focused on her. On the coughing and crying she was making as she tried to hold back her tears. She truly loved him. If it could still be true was now hanging in the balance. Seeing her with both of his eyes felt incredible. He could notice small things, the smallest shadows. It was painful.

“Amelia, look at me.”

“No. I thought you would be making excuses. I don’t want a kiss for an apology, I don’t
want to be manipulated again.”

“Melia, I beg you. Look at me.”

He waited until she’d gathered the courage to turn around and face him. He’d never felt this scared in his life. What if she yelled in fear, what if she decided to turn tail and disappear from his life? He flinched as she gasped, meeting his uncovered eye, but didn’t look away. Her tears stopped as curiosity took over.

“What…?”

“I’m a monster Amelia. They made me one. And I’m sorry for putting you through this. Just showing you means putting your life in danger.”

She shook her head, not believing him.

“You’re no monster, Brad. It’s just… What is it? What did they do to you? Who are they?”

Her right hand reached for his face and the caress was nothing but sweet and gentle as she follow the scar on his skin, staring at his eye.

“I wasn’t burned. This whole ambition of becoming Fuhrer… It was their plan.”

“Whose plan?!”

“The guys from the orphanage. They raised me for it.”

“That’s crazy.”

“It’s real. Look at the symbol on my eye.”

It was the military lion turning into a snake. The symbols she had been setting up all day in the ballroom. She hid his tattooed eye beneath her hand, which made him sigh. She was certainly disgusted, but she wasn’t running away for now.

“It can’t be.”

“I wouldn’t get my eye tattooed like that for fun.”

“Course not. Does it… Does it hurt?”

“Sometimes.”

Was it really that easy? She wouldn’t mind more than that? He removed her hand, so that he could entirely hold her gaze. She didn’t look away. She even let him dry the tears on her face with his thumbs.

“What happened?”

“If I tell you everything, it will only get worse.”

“But why would they want you to go after those girls?”

“That’s… You named most of their reasons. I don’t have much of a choice.”

Her back was against the tree’s trunk and he was closing in on her. He wanted her arms around him. His arms around her. Her tears gone and forgotten. He wanted to put the eye patch back on and go back in the time. She would never see him as a normal man again. She was under shock, that’s why she was reacting so calmly. She would panic soon enough, wouldn’t she?

“Brad…”

Her voice sounded so small, so filled with doubts.

“Does… it scare you?”

She hesitated before to nod, ever so slightly. He gulped down.

“A bit.” She added, to make a little less wrong.

“I’m sorry. I’m too egoist to give up on you. You could be my choice in this nightmare, Amelia.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Will you stop saying nonsense? I’m always serious.”

“But you have more than one choice.”

“Not for now. So if I could still… If you still accept me to court you, knowing this…”

“That’s if I can forgive you.”

His fear showed in his green eye, but she gave him a frail smile, pulling him down in a wet kiss, tasting of salt and rain. His heart was beating madly still and she understood some of the pain he’d been carrying around. How lost he felt in a world where his life had been designed for him. I’ve been raised for it. She felt such compassion for him, more than ever. They parted just to breathe, Bradley gathering her in his arms, as close as she could be. Her hat had fallen back she felt cold next to him, just as he did, still soaked through. Their forehead rest against each other.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” he tentatively asked.

“For now. But I need to know what I’m getting myself into.”

“A one year courtship deal with flowers, chocolates, books, puppies and anything you could think about.”

She laughed but shook her head.

“No. I meant you, Brad. You said you were a monster.”

Darn, his breathing went uneven at that. Those words were killing him.

“Your eye wasn’t always like that?” she asked.

“No, it wasn’t. I don’t know how much you should know. I didn’t ask for it. I did what they told me. I survived it.”

“You can still see with it?”

He blinked, surprised and backed away a little while keeping her in his arms.

“I mean, you can see me?” she asked, hiding his human eye.

He was pale, pale and open, unsure. Was she accepting him, even with that thing?

“I can.”

“But it’s different.”

“I can hide it again if…”

“No! You don’t have to. We’re all alone. And it’s a part of you now, even if you didn’t ask for it.”

He looked surprised and shocked. He even had to blink a tear or two away and a shiver ran through him, clearly enough for her to see how vulnerable he was.

“Are you crying, King?”

“It’s… just the rain.” But the rain had subsided and he quickly added, looking for his countenance: “I should take you back home.”

“Shouldn’t you go back to that ball?”

He shook his head.

“The next ball I’m going, you’ll be hanging on my arm.”

“Oh, that’d be wonderful. But am I enough?”

He raised his eyes to the sky, holding back his laugh.

“I don’t deserve you, you know. You’re more than enough.”

Before that she could protest, he kissed her, pouring all his feelings in the act. His heart had rarely felt this relieved. He knew he couldn’t give up on her. His decision was made. And if this was a silly test, she passed it. Now he had to protect her as best as he could. So that he could enjoy loving her, kissing her, holding her and looking at her every day.

To be continued..