Burst Finish My Heart: Free de la Hoya x OC | A Beyblade Fanfiction

Chapter 29: Truth

Surprised by the depth of his admittance, Ferox almost uttered a cuss word, but she restrained herself. Free was emotionally vulnerable, so her words had to be carefully chosen.

At the same time, she was uncertain what best to say. If Ferox said that her cross words came about because she had lost her temper, it would be the truth. Unfortunately, it could also affirm Free's belief that he had disappointed her, so she considered it an insensitive response. 

Yet Ferox was most worried about how Free had implied that his self-worth relied on her. She could tell that he wanted her to list reasons why she had developed a romantic interest in him, but she did not want to take that way out. It would breed an unhealthy connection between them, where she had him hanging from a string by the neck.

She may have resented how he had treated her, but she cared too much to stand by idly.

Ferox's heart started to palpitate. Her hands began to sweat as her legs proceeded to shake. Nevertheless, she remembered Tala Zmaj's advice, and she pursed her lips.

Knowing that there was no going back, she declared, "That's not true. You're not a disappointment. Te amo, Free, but I don't get to decide whether or not you deserve love. Because you'll always deserve love, whether it be with friends or a lover. You'll always be more than the celebrity that I saw on TV."

Free found his mouth falling ajar.

He had almost succeeded in convincing himself that he could not experience reactions like that anymore, since he had grown so empty that nothing seemed to matter. But Ferox continued to stir up his heart with her emotionally provocative statements.

She had said, 'I love you' for the first time in his native language. And it was undeniably eloquent, stated as if it were a concrete fact, stated as if he bore inherent value. The warmth in her brown gaze could not be faked either, leading Free's face to burn.

In an instant, his world had shattered. Free felt silly for growing worked up over whether or not she would accept him. As long as he treated her kindly, Ferox was consistently compassionate. Faced with his honesty, Ferox neither overreacted nor blamed him. Instead, she validated and comforted him...as a mother would toward her son.

Free considered that thought peculiar. Perhaps, he bore a subconscious longing for Ferox to fill the void that his parents had left behind. Guilty about wishing for Ferox to fix his problems, Free blurted out, "Lo lamento mucho. Eres la chica más guapa del mundo."

"What does that mean?" Ferox said, her eyes widening.

"It's...embarrassing," Free replied. He internally scolded himself. Ferox kept making him lose his marbles with that lovely face of hers.

"That's okay. 愛してる," Ferox whispered.

His heart thumped. Free asked breathlessly, "What does that mean?"

Ferox raised an eyebrow. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you said."

Free smiled at her quip.

It was incredible how she still had room for forgiveness and kindness. Yet although Ferox had immensely hurt him, he had oddly enjoyed her intense aggression and refusal to back down from his insults. Most bladers cowed to him, so her unwavering self-respect heartened him.

"I said, 'I'm really sorry. You're the most beautiful girl in the world'," Free admitted. "What you said meant a great deal to me. Maybe more than you will ever know. I haven't been a good boyfriend, but I hope that we can move on from all of this. That may be a lot to ask for, but I promise that I will be better from now on."