Chapter 435 - Kept In Dark

''Jian Yu…''

Han Jian Yu tilted his head to the left when he heard the voice ringing in the distance, ''Mia..'' It was as if someone breathed life in him when he saw her. Despite the darkness surrounding the place, the ray of light casted a soft glow on her and he was able to see her, standing at a distance, wearing the same dress she wore before, ''Where have you been? Why were you not responding to me and what is this place?" he stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms without a moment's delay.

She looked into his dark eyes which were gleaming with unshed tears. She stood up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing his eyes.

His palm shifted from her face to her waist. Han Jian Yu wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her closer to himself. 

''I love you,'' she whispered before kissing the tip of his nose. 

His heart skipped a beat and his arms gradually tightened around her waist.

''I lied to you,'' Mia pulled back to create some distance between them as she looked into his eyes, ''To me, you are not just any man I slept with. Caring for you, asking where you have been, when you will be back, whether you ate or not, all of it, I'd not do it for any other man. I have never done it for anyone either,'' her fingers stroked his jaws gently with every word she uttered.

Han Jian Yu looked into her hazel eyes, feeling his heart stirring by her words. 

She raked her fingers in his hair as she leaned closer before placing a gentle kiss on his lips, ''I have loved you since a long time,'' she tilted her head to the side as she chuckled, ''Since the day I started thinking about you, it was never only lust. You have been there in my heart, maybe in some corner, covered in a layer of haze which couldn't be seen. But I have always felt you.''

''And why did it take so long for you to tell me about it?" A soft smile played on his face as he looked at her. 

''I refused to accept it. Falling for a human so easily… I refused to accept it. But, I won't deny all the times my heart skipped beats for you, all the times when I found myself smiling when you were smiling, all the times I had this urge to be held closer in your arms and all the times when all I ever wished was to stay with you, forever,'' she shook her head,''I won't deny it anymore.'' 

He tilted his head slightly and the corner of his lips tugged up, ''I've waited for this for so long, you know? For you to tell me what you really feel instead of putting walls between us. And there is something I need to tell you as well.''

Mia quietly glanced at him. 

''Mia, I lo-'' 

''Shhh,'' Mia placed her finger on his lips interrupting him before he could speak any further. 

Han Jian Yu glanced at her and his brows tugged together in confusion. 

''You are able to see this place and do you know what that means?'' she asked. 

He looked around the dark place once again before shaking his head. He didn't know.

''That means I am not alive,'' she whispered. 

His grip on her waist loosened and he took a step back from her as he looked at her in disbelief, ''What do you mean by not  alive?" He cupped her face before shaking his head, ''What games are you playing, Mia? Don't do this... to me..'' His lips thinned. 

''Why do you think will I play games with you?" Mia took a step back from him. 

''You told me your mother was an immortal and she passed her powers to you. You have powers and there is no way that you can die like this. I don't believe it,'' he whispered, his tone was laced with disbelief, ''What are you punishing me for?" 

''I told you my mother was an immortal and she died because of the curse. When did I tell you that I am an immortal?" she smiled helplessly as she glanced at him, ''She wanted me to live more, to see more of the world and she passed me this ability of having nine lives. But it was not a blessing for me like she expected during the time of her death. Because she was cursed back then, the blessing of nine lives was also a curse to me. Each life, I would only be able to live till 30 human years, not more than that.''

Han Jian Yu's lips parted but no words came out of it and he just stared at her quietly. 

''When Mei absorbed the life essence from my tail, I thought she won't live past 30 but later I realized that this curse is only effective on me because it was passed to me from my mother. Unlike me, Mei is safe and so is her baby.''

''You…''

Mia interrupted him, ''I did not care for you, I did not care for her either and I watched her dying right in front my eyes. I know you were didsasppointed with me when I told you about this but the truth is, I care about you. At that time, I suppressed the soft corner I had for both of you but right now, you people are like a family… a family that I was blessed with after ages ago.''

''Did you always plan to do this?" his fingers curled into a fist and he took a step back from her, the corner of his eyes turned red as he watched her nod.

''You called me and you did not mention anything about it? All this while, I am the one you kept in dark, about your identity, about your feelings, about your decisions, about your pain, about your sufferings, about your death and about every single thing that matters to me…'' he stepped closer to her and grabbed her shoulders, ''What gives you the right to do this to me every time? Have you ever been fair to me? You push me when you want and you pull me when you like and I let you do that to me only to know that all of this is nothing but an illusion," his fingers dug in her skin.