Chapter 231 - Shadow And Lies

When Shadow appeared in the enormous but cozy living room of the Alessandro Mansion, the first thing he saw was the girl who was laying on the couch curled up under a blanket with a huge pillow tightly clutched in her arms.

She was watching an anime series about the University romance between two childhood friends, a topic that she had recently started to like and was considering using as the plotline of her next novel that she wanted to start somewhere near Christmas.

He knew all about that because the girl had been constantly talking and discussing with him all the new ideas that she was getting for her new webcomic even before they returned from the Nightfall Academy.

He found all the tension, anxiety, and tiredness leaving his body and his soul becoming calm as soon as his eyes landed on her. She was indeed his life source in every way possible.

"Master Shadow, you are finally back." It was Mrs. Harris who noticed him first as she entered the living room with a bunch of fresh flowers in her hands.

Shadow nodded his head as he greeted the old lady who then disappeared into the hallway leading towards the backdoor. When he again returned his attention towards the couch where Emily was resting, he found the girl looking at him with a warm welcoming smile on her face..

"You are back." She whispered in such a low voice as if she was saying those words to herself. Still, his sharp hearing senses picked up each of her words.

He found his legs moving even before he permitted them to do so. He reached the couch where she was sitting before he too settled down next to her. "How have you been?" He asked.

But instead of answering his question, Emily's eyes were fixed on a spot on his neck. She slowly raised her hand and pressed her fingers against the dark purple bruise, instantly hearing a painful groan from the man who had been taken aback by her actions.

Slowly, she lowered her hand and let out a small sigh. "You are injured... again." Her voice came out in a whisper but he still clearly heard.

"It's just a minor injury. Don't worry too much. It will heal within a few hours." Shadow tried to calm the girl but he could feel the tension rising between the two of them, something that he did not like at all.

He thought that his injuries would have healed by now that's why he did not pay any attention to checking for assurance before appearing in front of her. Looked like he was wrong.

"You used to get healed just in a few seconds or minutes no matter how big or deep the injury was. Now it's taking you hours and even... even an entire day to heal..." Emily's voice quivered as she tried to not let her emotions overpower her.

Shadow probably noticed her situation because he immediately turned his body to face her and his hands came forward to hold her hands in his warm palms. "Princess, I'm completely fine. You don't need to worry about me. I know that..."

"Enough, Shadow!" Emily cut him off as she jerked his hands away and stood up, staring down at him as she felt her vision become blurry with unshed tears.

"I'm no longer a child. I'm no longer seventeen. You can't keep me fooling around anymore as you wish. Stop lying to me... I can feel it... I can... I can sense it here..." She pressed her palm over her heart as she tried her best to not cry because once she started, she would be unable to keep her emotions in check, not like she was doing a great job of that at the moment.

"... I can sense it... While you are busy finding ways to make all my powers unlock... you... you are becoming weaker yourself... You want to protect me but you are taking risks about your own safety... And I'm... I'm afraid... I'm afraid that in the end... I'll lose you..." And that's when she no longer had the energy to keep her emotions in control.

As tears started rolling down her cheeks, she found her legs becoming weak. Emily lost all her energy as her legs gave up and she landed on the floor. Her body was trembling as she sobbed her heart out.

It was really becoming too much for her, both emotionally and physically. The person who had always been there to hold her up during her worst nightmares was slowly drifting apart from her and she had no idea about what she should do.

Shadow found a single tear rolling down his cheek as he looked at Emily's state. Somehow, even without knowing or meaning it, he was still hurting her and she's unable to handle it.

How much he wanted to take all her suffering and pain away to give her a happy life. If he could, then he was ready to exchange all his wealth, power, fame, and even his life to get the chance of rewriting her fate by himself. 

He swiped away his tear before crouching down next to the girl who was fighting with an unknown force to keep herself in control. The fear of hurting her all over again was one of the reasons he could not find the courage of telling her the truth about their soulmate bond. He didn't want to hurt her, neither he wanted to bring any complications to her relationship with Kaiden.

"Princess, I promise to look after myself from now on. I'll listen to you and won't take risks with my safety. I... I will do whatever you want. Can you... Can you please not cry?" He knew that he was still bad at consoling her, even after so many years. After all, he had not the guts to just pull her in his arms and promise her that he won't leave her. He could not give her false hope only to break her by breaking his promise in the end.