endless path infinite cosmos Pt. 2

chapter 207

Hearing Chloe's words, Vahn felt slightly pained but also felt a gentle warmth slowly spreading through his body. He could tell she meant her words, but Vahn also understood that she was vulnerable after telling him her story. Though it was a strange realization, Vahn felt like the Chloe in his embrace right now was similar to himself from the past. It was almost as if their roles had reversed and Vahn felt that if he accepted her at this moment, Chloe might dedicate herself to him entirely. She already did so much for him, and Vahn didn't want her to experience such a sad life, even if he did his best to make her happy.

Chloe had been watching him attentively and realized that Vahn felt a little lost at hearing her confession. Though she could see the affection in his eyes, Chloe felt like she had pushed things too far, too quickly. Since he was going through a lot of rapid-fire changes in his life, her confessing to him now almost felt like she was trying to take advantage of his weakness. Her initial reason for coming to him tonight was to help comfort him, but now their roles had reversed entirely because of the security he brought her.

Before she could get lost in her own thoughts, Vahn tilted her head and locked eyes with her as a smile spread on his face. He spoke gently and with a firm conviction as a subtle blue light shone in his aquamarine eyes, "I don't want you to become reliant on me, just as you didn't want me to become reliant on you in the past. You should know, better than most, that I care about you deeply. Ever since our first date, your image has been firmly implanted within my mind. The things you taught me have helped to shape my character and have put me on a path where I can experience real happiness."

The warmth that had begun to fade from Chloe's body began to spread again and she could feel her own body temperature rise. From Vahn's perspective, he could see a flush cover her face as her eyes turned slightly glossy. Taking a breath, Vahn continued, "I love you as well Chloe...for a long time. I want to save you from the darkness and help you find happiness."

Chloe's face beamed with a smile, but Vahn could see a sad expression in her eyes as she anticipated his next words. Holding her closely against his body, Vahn said in a pained voice, "I want to accept you right now...but I'm not ready. I'm not strong enough, and there are too many things going on in my life that it feels like I'm being spread thin. I want to shower you in affection and be together, but I don't want us to cross the line. Just like you told me after our reunion not long ago, I don't think either of us is ready to have sex..."

Unexpectedly, Chloe began laughing after hearing Vahn's words and it caused his brain to buzz a bit since he wasn't sure what he had done to garner such a response. In Chloe's mind, she had been worried that Vahn was going to turn her down because she pressured him too hard. She didn't expect that his mind had immediately turned to sex and that he had been worried about them being too intimate with each other. They had already affirmed their feelings during the reunion he talked about, and she just wanted to confess how she felt since she hadn't been able to do so previously.

Vahn didn't know how to respond to how she was behaving, but he noticed her affection had hit 99 after hearing his words. This actually made him feel even more confused and he failed to react before Chloe sat on his lap with her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes with her gleaming green eyes. Vahn's felt a bit of a panic well up inside him until Chloe smiled and said, "You idiot, I don't need something like sex to love you. It's more than enough right now that we both feel the same way about each other. I'm aware of your situation better than most and I wasn't going to try and pressure you into doing anything since one of the things I was worried about was your reliance on sexual activities to begin with."

Her words made Vahn realize that he had jumped the gun on matters and drawn a strange conclusion because of his lack of experience with these types of situations. Because he had dealt with girls like Hephaestus, Tiona, and Ais, Vahn had a slightly skewed version of what it meant to love someone other than family. He also remembered that it had always been him telling Chloe how he felt and her giving him a chance. This was the first time she had genuinely confessed to him, and he got a bit carried away considering that they were currently in bed and he had been somewhat distracted by her breasts.