Air Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Fifty-Five - Jae

Jae sat down across from Ijn, the real one, at The View. This time they sat close to the windows and as far away from where he'd had his last disastrous date. He gazed out at the mountains for a long time before finally gazing her way. "I'm sure you're wondering what's going to happen now. If we're still going to move forward or not."

"I knew it. I ruined everything that first night. I'm so sorry." Ijn continued to babble but it became incoherent as she started to hiccup and sniffle. Briefly, he thought of her twin and how he missed her calm. Then the anger returned, followed by sadness. He'd always said he liked her best when her emotions were raw. It couldn't only apply to the good ones. No longer having to guess was nice. He'd figured out how the real Ijn ticked right away.

With some hesitation, he reached over and grabbed her hand. "No, this isn't ruined. Not completely, at least. I took three days to myself so I could gather my thoughts on the whole thing. Did you make a mistake? Yeah, you did. I'm angrier with her than I am you. There's a lot of private information she knows. Stuff I'll have to share with you, but I only wanted you to be the one to hear it in the first place."

He couldn't even say her name. Thinking about her brought up a slew of mixed emotions. Disappointment, mostly. It all led back to him resenting her even more because he'd have been happier with Ijn if he'd known only Ijn.

She took in a few breaths, her shoulders relaxing. "Min's not a bad person. We've both had it hard in the dating department. That's also my fault."

"I remember. She's been held back a lot," Jae said. He'd never understood why that part of the story was so important to hear multiple times. Now he did.

"She wanted to help take care of me," Ijn continued. "I'm so high maintenance. Comparing the two of us, I'm sure you've noticed. It's painfully obvious, isn't it?"

It was. "You do realize I'm probably the most high maintenance guy on the planet right?" He cracked a smile, wanting to lighten the mood. Desperate to. The doomsday cloud hanging over them was suffocating. "Haven't we talked about how you're work, and I'm work, and we'll work together?"

"Yes," she whispered. "It feels different now. I feel different. Do you understand what I mean? I want to make sure you understand who I am."

The words coming from within her were so passionate. Wow. He swallowed. "Yeah, I get it, and I want you to understand me." And he hated Min for knowing him more, for getting him so well. He'd been so attracted to that aspect of her especially.

"Better all of this comes out before we get engaged," Ijn said, her voice still quiet. "Now you know the full extent of what you're getting into. With me and with my family. I just want you to know, I had no clue of what she was doing."

He managed a nod. "I believe you. It doesn't change anything." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the white gold diamond ring he'd chosen. The metal was carved into flowers, a diamond of different colors in each center. Ijn, the real Ijn, loved colors and flowers and all things shiny. It was a ring he'd picked out specifically for her before his trip. The fact he didn't know what kind of ring Min would like gave him some comfort in his decision. Only a small amount, because he wondered what ring she'd have picked instead.

Ijn's dark eyes grew wide as she gazed at it. "Amazing."

"I got good taste, I know," he mumbled.

She shook her head. "No, you're amazing. The ring is too, but your willingness to forgive and love is incredible."

I'm doing the right thing. There would also be a great deal of pleasure when he saw how much his wedding to Ijn hurt Min. Not the best motivation to get married, but Jae didn't always make the decisions based on good behavior. Ijn would make him happy. All of her quirks were flaws he could handle. He'd learn to love them just as much as he loved the good parts. And Ijn did have good things going for her. It would work. All he had to do was rebuild the deep connection with the right sister.

"Will you still marry me?" he asked quietly. "After everything that's happened?"

"Of course I will!"

He didn't mean to hesitate when he put the ring on her left hand. Hopefully, she didn't notice.