Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Justice
Crying? Her?
Ivy froze and touched the wet tears on her cheeks. It was only then that she realized that she was crying.
But why? She had faced situations worse than the current situation, and yet not once had she cried (except for the time when Silas had died and her family died), but today... Her heart felt heavy.
She felt a lump in her throat and a strong urge to bite Silas.
Silas tightened the hug, while his hand carefully wiped away her tears.
Ivy froze in his arms, her fists trembling as she hit his chest weakly. "Let me go, Silas! I would rather not see your face!"
But Silas only held her tighter, his voice shaking now.
"No, I won’t let go. Not until you hear me. Patricia means nothing to me. She was never my choice. It was a stupid plan, and I regret it every second. She was never engaged to me. The only one I want is you, Ivy."
Her chest rose and fell quickly, her eyes burning red. "What plan?"
Silas scooped her in his arms and walked toward his bedroom, his heart aching terribly at Ivy’s watery red gaze. He walked toward the bedroom and explained,
"I have never once met Patricia in my life. She was someone I had hired to make you understand something."
Ivy was unwilling to back down and struggled, but when she realized the strength difference, she could only lie in his arms helplessly.
Once inside the room, Silas sat on the bed and placed Lana on his lap. Looking at her red eyes, his heart almost broke in two. He gently brushed her hair back, his thumb stroking her cheek.
"Ivy," he said softly, his voice low and hoarse, "you ruthlessly left me after realizing that you had triggered a death wavelength. I begged you to stay, but you ignored me, believing it was for my own good."
Ivy pursed her lips and refused to talk. Her eyes flashed with stubbornness.
"I never blamed you." Silas continued, his deep blue eyes stayed trained on her pink eyes, "But a question popped up in my mind. Were you planning to continue to run away from your loved ones due to your so-called jinx?"
Ivy stayed calm. She stayed quiet. Her lips pressed tightly together, and her eyes looked away.
Silas saw that silence, and his chest sank. He knew at once. His guess was right. His face grew a little darker, but his voice stayed gentle.
"Ivy," he said, "even if you stay far from us, that does not mean we will live ideal lives. Without you, life turns pale. It turns empty. To me, it has no color at all. My world was not beautiful. Only when you are near do I feel like I want to live. You give me that strange will."
He held her gaze. "You chose both of us. It was a choice I should have made as well. You left on my behalf, but did you think for one moment that I would be hurt?"
Ivy’s eyes shook, but she kept her lips sealed. Finally, she whispered,
"If I stay near you, you will face dangers again and again. One day, you will get worn out. Or worse..."
She stopped. She could not finish.
Silas understood anyway. His eyes softened.
He smiled faintly. "If that is the case, then I will still make sure you do not live a miserable life. Even if danger comes, I will stay."
His hand rose, brushing a strand of her hair back.
His voice turned low.
"I was wrong. I should never have pulled Patricia between us. I should never have given her the right to call herself a substitute. I know it hurt you. But I swear to you, Ivy, I only wanted you. I went too far trying to teach you something, but occasionally your stubbornness leaves me no other choice."
Ivy’s eyebrows drew together. She stared hard at him. "So are you saying you are right? Are you justifying what you did?"
Silas quickly shook his head. He raised his hand in the air like a vow.
"No. I deserve punishment. If you want, give me any punishment you like. I will accept it. But there are some things I need justice for, too."
Ivy blinked and frowned. "Justice? What are you talking about?"
Silas’s eyes burned as they locked onto hers.
"I begged you to stay. Yet you still left me. You only came back because of Patricia. If Patricia had not appeared, maybe you would have kept running, holding onto that idea that because of your jinx, you had to stay far from me. But then, when you saw Patricia, who looked just like you and had the same jinx as you, being accepted by me, you realized something. You had been resisting everyone. You believed that no one would want to be with you if they learned about your jinx. But that was not the truth."
Ivy’s fists clenched tight. Her heart beat fast.
Silas’s voice shook, but it was strong.
"The truth is, we would do everything to stay with you. Because we know you are the one in danger, too. Not only us, Ivy. You are the one who suffers most from your jinx."
Ivy stared at him, her lips trembling.
"Are you saying I should just stay with the people I love, even if I know about my jinx?"
Silas raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. You should. It is our choice to remain by your side. We already thought it through. I thought it through. I accepted it. Even if one day it means I will die..."
Before he could finish, Ivy slapped her hand over his mouth, eyes blazing.
"Don’t. Don’t say that word again. If you say it, I swear I will bite you."
Her heart screamed inside her.
’How can he say it so easily? Does he not know how much it terrifies me?’
Silas froze, then chuckled softly. He pulled her hand down, his smile weak but warm.
"Alright. I will not say it. I promise. However, now you need to give me compensation for running away."