Chapter 277: Fear And Trouble Comes Together

Teren sat up, meeting her face to face. He wore a troubled face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just asking." Trisha shrugged her shoulders, "I mean, it looks like you're being forced whenever we do it."

"Well..."

Trisha lightly smiled and continued before Teren could further speak.

"It's fine to be honest. I mean, I don't really care, I just want to know."

Teren let her flawed logic fly by as he nodded with a serious expression.

"So, it's fine if I'm going to be honest with my answer?"

Trisha gulped and slowly nodded.

"... y-yeah, go ahead."

"..."

Teren looked away first before meeting her eyes.

"To be honest, I like it doing it with you."

"Oh... I see, I mean it's obvio- huh? Wait, maybe, I heard it wrong."

Trisha frowned and leaned forward.

"I said, I enjoy it, seriously. I mean, who wouldn't..?" Teren lightly laughed as he looked away in mutterance.

"Huh?" Trisha then dropped to sit beside him, "I don't get it."

"Aren't you the one who's always saying that I enjoy it even though I complain?"

"Y-yeah... but I'm not really serious about that. Wait, you really like doing it with me?" Trisha further leaned forward, "I don't understand then why do you always wear a troubled face then?"

"That's the thing..." Teren scratched his head, "It feels wrong that I'm enjoying it."

"..." it took Trisha a moment before she realized where he was coming from, "Is this about Dehian?"

Teren nodded to which Trisha laughed, she then hugged Teren's arm as she does so.

"What the hell? So you feel bad for feeling good because of your ex?"

"..." Teren looked away with a reddened face. He didn't expect that they would talk about this. He thought it was already obvious from the start. However, it seemed that he's making Trisha insecure.

"I thought you don't like being with me."

Trisha continued to joyfully laugh while Teren sighed.

"It's not that. But that's the problem-"

"No, no, it's not a problem." Trisha interrupted him, "You two no longer have any relationship, so what's wrong with doing what you want? Do you still expect for you two to be back together?"

Towards this question, Teren's face became serious.

"It's not expectation, it's my goal."

"..."

Hearing this, Trisha loosened her hold on him.

"So, you really love her that much, huh..."

"Yeah, so much."

"Saying 'so much' is unnecessary, you're just hurting me."

Trisha complained but Teren was unapologetic.

"As if those words will hurt you."

"It does."

Trisha held his hand and clenched it to show her seriousness. This made Teren look at her and ask.

"How did you even come to like me?"

"I don't know... isn't this your grand scheme? Make me fall in love with you and then use me however you want?"

"You fell in love with me?"

"Tsk..." Trisha frowned, "I thought that's obvious already?" she asked, "Are you dense?"

"Maybe..."

Teren didn't deny it.

"Well, whatever..." Trisha looked away in a tantrum but then she remembered something, "Hold on a second, I would understand it you having sex with the imp but why do you keep hanging out with the other girl if you feel bad about it?"

It doesn't sit right to her.

"Other girl?"

"The other girl who was at the court." Trisha looked at Teren in the eyes, suspicious, "Cat and her friends."

"Oh, Catherine. But we don't have that kind of relationship, though?"

"Huh? But you just said..."

Trisha then made him recall what he said. Realizing the misunderstanding, Teren found it funny and tried to explain it.

"What? So by rougher, you mean the torture? I... I don't know how to feel about that one."

"Sorry about that."

Trisha then dropped on his lap.

"No, it's fine. So, that means, I'm your only girl right now? Excluding the imp which you deem as work, that is."

"Technically... but I wouldn't say your my girl."

Teren was skeptical as he said so.

"Do you hate me?" Trisha asked with puppy eyes.

"No, obviously not."

"Then, why don't just accept me as your girl?"

"... Trisha, we've talked about this already."

"I know..."

Trisha then turned away before feeling a gentle caress on her hair.

"Stop being sweet to me, you're in the middle of rejecting me." she said but didn't do anything against it.

"I'm not intentionally being sweet, though. I just thought I'd do it. Can this be called being sweet?"

Trisha made herself comfortable on his lap and nodded.

"It's so sweet."

"..."

Teren didn't know how to feel about it when Trisha turned to him.

"Hey..."

"Hm?"

"What if... you and your ex didn't get back together?"

She asked with a low voice. Upon receiving that question, Teren gave a bitter smile. Imagining it pricks his chest.

"I don't know... honestly..."

"I'll take care of you." Trisha then buried her head onto his belly.

"You'll do that?"

"Woof."

Teren giggled at her answer.

"On that note," Trisha then looked at him, "What do you want me to be? A cat or a dog?"

"Why is that important?"

"So that I know how to act. Though, there are more than just cats or dogs as pets... pick one."

"You're already saying 'woof' then you asked that?"

"Sorry, meow." Trisha purred.

"..."

"Is there something you want to say?"

She then asked after seeing Teren pause.

"No, I was just... I thought that was too cute."

"Really?"

Trisha giggled.

"So you want me to be a cat?"

"I don't know... I can't decide, they're both cute." Teren pondered.

"So serious... let's just make it vague then? I'm just your pet from now on."

"Are you fine with that?" he then asked her to which she frowned.

"What? Are you going to take me as your girl then?"

"..."

"No, right? Then stop asking."

"But why a pet?"

"It's because I'm yours and then you'll take care of me." Trisha simply explained without shame.

Teren then continued with another question.

"What if you found someone else you like?"

"Then, I'll see if you're getting jealous or not."

Trisha didn't seem to like the question as she casually answered.

"I don't understand you. Why do you like me that much?"

"You're seriously asking me that?" Trisha then buried her face on his belly again while secretly feeling his abs.

"If you don't want to answer..."

"No, it's not like I don't want to or I don't have the answer. I just don't know the point of the question."

"I'm just asking."

Trisha then removed her head and just held his hand as she decided to answer.

"Fine, I'll say the reason. Hmm... where do I start? Not first of all but, you're stronger than me." Trisha then pointed her fingers up as she listed them, "You're sweet, handsome, my type, smart... and most of all, I can rely on you without feeling guilty, insecure, or anxious."

"..."

"Do you understand now?"

"Yeah..."

Teren nodded while he was internally telling himself-

'So that's why she came back after all the things I've done to her. If I stayed harmful and a tyrant, she would've just killed me or stayed away from me. But because I want to pay for what I've done out of guilt, she gambled and expected care from me in compensation.'

Truly, maybe, out of every person in the whole world, Teren is the only person whom Trisha could truly feel comfortable relying on. She wants to be spoiled by him and wouldn't feel bad about it. She had shown all of her weaknesses, he knows everything about her. Since he's caring for her, Teren had become Trisha's dream man.

But there's a problem that Teren's afraid of.

"Trisha, sorry, but I will not always be the 'me' right now in the future."

"... what do you mean?"

Trisha raised her eyebrow not understanding where he was coming from.

"I'm a person who would kill his own parents. Once I'm back at that point, even if I like you, you will suffer being with me."

"... oh." Trisha felt the weight of his words but after pondering, she answered, "If that time comes, I'll just let you kill me then. What's the point of living if the Teren I know now is gone, right?"

"..."

"Why do you always keep me hanging, say something, I just said something embarrassing." Trisha said with a bashful smile. She still did not receive an answer so she glanced and found that Teren was looking away with a frown.

'Is he angry...?' was her first thought before realizing what's happening. With a mischievous smile, she sat up and tried to look Teren in the eyes but he looks away.

"Hey, what's this? Are you troubled since you're falling for me?"

"N... no..."

He said in a low voice to which Trisha giggled. Striking while the iron's hot, she sat on his lap and forced him to face her but his eyes would roll away.

"Say that when I'm that point..."

Teren then said.

This gave Trisha the urge to kiss him so she did. After a hot passionate kiss, Trisha replied to him.

"Sure, but tell me how to avoid that situation. I don't want the Teren now to disappear, do I?"