Chapter 198 - Impostor

"Before you came into Suzuki Ara's body… What's your name?"

If her jaw wasn't attached, Suzuki Ara's would have fallen on the floor the way they suddenly slacked in shock.

Before she came into Suzuki Ara's body?

She couldn't believe it. How did Ryuu know she's a different soul?

Ah, but she did tell him she's a demigod. How could the gloomy Suzuki Ara be a demigod?

She wanted to tell him that anyway, but still, with him getting ahead of her like this more than stunned her. At least, Ryuu opened this topic, although she felt embarrassed she would answer him truthfully. She cleared her throat.

"A-Alinea…"

Her heart, as if acknowledging her old name, thumped loudly, happy to be spoken about again. Ara was nervous too. She just realized that even if she's in Suzuki Ara's body, her current circumstance might be bad for the prophecy.

After all, it was not her who was spoken about in the divination but the original owner of this body. The realization then turned to an inner struggle and self-deprecation – scolding herself for continuously being a hypocrite and not coming out to Ryuu earlier.

What if he didn't want her anymore because of this?

Ara felt scared and insecure until he spoke again.

"Alinea?"

His soft baritone was light to the ears – a pleasant sound in contrast to the rebuke she thought would come. Ara looked up at him with her silver-eyes wide. Her husband didn't look angry. In fact…

Homura Ryuu had on a gentle expression – a very gentle expression. It was like he didn't care that the woman he married was an impostor. His blue gaze that was normally icy towards other people remained warm pools as they stared at her.

This gave her hope, at the same time scared her further. She wouldn't want that gentle gaze to change. She would be very heartbroken.

"An indication of the beginning of a new train of thought," Ryuu said suddenly, confusing her.

Huh?

Her bafflement must have shown on her face as her husband chuckled at her expression. Ara felt like sulking over his mirth towards the chaos brewing in her heart for being exposed not on her terms, but she knew she had no right to feel indignation. She was the one in the wrong – the one who had hidden her identity.

"Your name," Ryuu explained afterwards, and Ara finally realized what he meant earlier.

In this world, her name, Alinea indicated the beginning of a new train of thought, or literally a new paragraph. The pilcrow, also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, alinea, or blind P, was a typographical character for individual paragraphs.

Ryuu was just telling her the meaning of her name. Still, it didn't wash away all of her apprehension until he assured her.

"It's a beautiful name," Ryuu said, and Ara found herself being pulled against his chest, but not before feeling him kissing the top of her head.

The gesture made her emotional again. She felt as if she was forgiven for her lies. She clung onto him tightly, her ear against his chest as she listened to his steady heartbeats to calm herself down.

Ryuu, as if sensing her unease, started rubbing the small of her back as he whispered to her soothingly.

"What's the matter, my love? Why are you so agitated?"

The question was funny considering he just told her that he knew that she's a fake. Ara's hold on him tightened, her long fingers making creases on his suit.

"Aren't you angry at me?" she asked.

She didn't bother looking up at him as she was scared to see his face.

"Why would I be angry at you?" was his casual counter.

Because of this, Ara was forced to tell him.

"Because I'm a fake," she whispered, her voice cracking with emotions. "I'm not her. I should have told you. I never intended to be an impostor I –"

Ara was not able to finish her words for Ryuu suddenly shifted her in his arms so she would look up to him, and his lips descended on hers, silencing her.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, probing, urging her to do the same. At first, she didn't want to as she still felt she didn't have the right. But he was persistent and firm. He wanted her. It only took a moment before her awkward reply let go of her hesitation and kissed him back.

The union of their lips was gentle – a soothing caress on her raging soul.

Feeling her relax, Ryuu ended the kiss, pulling his head back, but not before planting one last peck on the pink petals of her mouth.

"Are you calm now?"

The question made her wanted to laugh. She now felt so silly suddenly. Ryuu had never shown any negative feelings or actions towards her, and yet she had turned into a total mess.

"How long have you known?"

She wanted to know.

"Not a while. But I had an idea when you got drunk back in Gaienmae. You spoke of a brother who had you killed."

Ara's eyes widened like saucers. "I will never drink again," she sputtered so suddenly making Ryuu laugh.

Well, considering her love for alcohol, it was indeed funny. But that wasn't the point.

"But why aren't you really angry at me? I'm an impostor. I took over your real fiancée's body. If I didn't come she would probably still be here – and she would have been married to you properly too."

Knowing that fact, and saying it out loud was really entirely different. It hurt more now that it was spoken out loud. Suzuki Ara's personality was the one that really didn't care and she didn't have a lot of things she wanted in life.

If it was her who was still in this body, she probably wouldn't care about university much or a career after that and would be alright to have the ceremony with the Koutaishidenka of the Homura House. The original Ara probably wouldn't care if the Homura House announced the union publicly.

Unlike now…

Because Alinea wanted to do a lot of things – experience a lot in this life, Ryuu had to settle for a secret marriage. It was so she could live a normal life continuously away from the public's prying eyes.

With all of these things, she couldn't help feeling emotional again that tears started to well in her eyes. She tried her best to keep them at bay but some were persistent and they fell like melancholic beads trailing down her cheeks.

"What impostor are you talking about my love?"Ryuu asked softly as his thumbs wiped away her tears. "You are not an impostor."

Huh?

"But I'm not Ara."

Ryuu smiled. "You have your memories intact, right?"

Ara frowned but she nodded. It was true anyway. She had both her memories as Alinea and Ara's memories.

"Because while you are Alinea, you are also Suzuki Ara…"