Chapter 98: Raindrops

Chapter 98: RaindropsEratz's expression was unreadable as his words hung in the air. The gentle rhythm of the rain outside the window seemed to amplify the tension between them.

He looked at her, his face calm, disturbingly so, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle, too gentle.

"There's really nothing to explain, Lisa. Nothing to complain about. It's fine."

His tone was infuriatingly calm, as if her outburst of guilt and anguish was no more than an idle conversation.

There was no anger, no hurt, just that calm, detached voice, as though everything she'd said didn't touch him at all.

Lisa's heart pounded. It was too much. How could he act like this? How could he be so

indifferent? Her breath hitched, and she swallowed hard, her voice shaky as she tried to make him understand.

"Eratz... please... I don't want to be a coward anymore," she stammered, trying to keep her voice steady. "I can't just pretend everything's fine. I know what I did..."

"It's fine," Eratz repeated, his voice so calm, it was like he was trying to soothe a frightened child. "I understand. You did it for your parents. They gave everything for you. It's okay."

The words were like a knife in her chest. He wasn't angry, he wasn't hurt, he wasn't anything.

His voice was so calm, so accepting, that it made her feel like everything she was carrying, the guilt, the shame, the pain, was just... nothing.

Her hands clenched into fists, trembling with the weight of everything she couldn't say. The air in the room felt suffocating. She was drowning in his indifference.

"Eratz..." she whispered, her voice fragile, barely holding together. "I..."

"It's fine, Lisa," he said again, almost too softly. "You did what you had to do. For them."

His words were meant to be kind, but they cut deeper than anything else. He was brushing everything aside, making her feel like none of it mattered. Like her pain didn't matter. Like she didn't matter.

Lisa's chest tightened, the pressure building up inside her until it was unbearable. She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't think. The calmness in his voice was driving her mad, pushing her to the edge of something dark, something she had been trying so hard to hold back.

"Stop it!" she screamed, her voice breaking, raw and desperate. "Stop talking like it doesn't matter!"

The room seemed to shake with the force of her voice. Tears streamed down her face, her red hair sticking to her wet cheeks, but she didn't care anymore.

Her whole body trembled, the emotions she had been trying to suppress for so long flooding to the surface.

"I can't take it, Eratz!" she cried, her sobs choking her words. "I can't stand how you're acting like none of this matters! Like I don't matter! I destroyed everything, I ruined your life, and you're just sitting there, saying it's fine!"

Her voice cracked, and her sobs came harder, more uncontrollable.

She felt like she was falling apart, piece by piece, in front of him. She clutched at her chest, trying to hold herself together, but it was no use.

"I did it for them, yes, but I..." she gasped, her voice ragged. "But I hurt you! I betrayed you, and I stood by while you were thrown away like you were nothing! I've lived with that every single day, and you're sitting there, acting like it doesn't even matter!"

Her words hung in the air, raw and exposed. The silence that followed was deafening, only broken by her ragged breathing, her sobs filling the space between them.

Eratz looked at her, his face still calm, almost too calm. He didn't say anything. He just watched as Lisa crumbled in front of him, her emotions spilling out uncontrollably, her heart breaking wide open.

Her sobs echoed through the room, her chest heaving with the weight of everything she had been holding in for so long.

She couldn't see through her tears, her vision blurred as she buried her face in her hands.

For a long moment, there was nothing but her cries filling the space between them. Lisa's sobs quieted, but the pain in her chest remained. She could barely catch her breath, her words coming out in broken gasps.

"It hurts so much... because Crystal was right," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Hate and love... they're two sides of the same coin. If you hated me, at least... at least I would know that I still mattered to you. That I wasn't nothing. But this..."

She choked on her words, her throat tight with emotion. Eratz just sat there, calm as ever, his gaze unflinching.

"This... indifference," she continued, her tears falling faster now. "It's worse than hate. It's like... I'm not even worth hating anymore. Like we were never even friends. Like I never meant anything to you."

Her chest heaved, the weight of her confession crushing her. She felt raw, exposed, as if every scar she'd been hiding was now on full display.

"Please," she begged, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Hate me, Eratz. Show me that I mattered to you, even if it's through anger. Make me regret what I did... anything, just don't act like I'm nothing to you."

Eratz sat there, his expression the same, but he let out a long sigh and scratched his head, almost as if he were trying to make sense of her words.

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes looking away for a moment before meeting hers again.

"Lisa," he began, his tone still calm, almost casual. "You're making this way too complicated. Seriously, what do you want? What will that change?"

His voice wasn't cold, but it lacked the intensity she so desperately craved. It was just... calm.

"My life's changed a lot since back then. I've moved on. Genova Academy, Kenny, Crystal... even you, none of it really matters to me anymore. I'm not angry at you, I'm not holding onto any of that."

Lisa's heart clenched, her tears flowing freely now. The way he spoke, so detached, so unaffected, was tearing her apart.

It was exactly what she feared, the confirmation that she had become irrelevant in his life.

"I've got new things, new projects," he continued, scratching his head again. "I don't dwell on the past or play the guilty game. That's not how I live. It's not that I'm pretending, it's just

how I feel."

His words felt like a punch to her gut. She had been bracing herself for his anger, his resentment, anything to prove that she still had a place in his heart, even if it was a bitter one.

But this, this indifference was worse than anything she could've imagined.

"I don't care about Kenny, Crystal... or you," he said, his voice unwavering. "Not in the way you think. It's not because I'm heartless or cold. It's because I've moved on. And you should too."

Lisa sat there, her breath catching in her throat, staring at him through her tears. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She had spilled her heart out, laid everything bare, and his response was a calm, almost philosophical dismissal. He wasn't angry, he wasn't hurt, he simply... didn't care.

"Eratz..." she whispered, her voice broken. "How can you say that? How can you just... not care

anymore?"

He looked at her, but there was no trace of the anger or passion she had hoped for.

"Because, Lisa," he said quietly. "I've moved on. You were part of my past, but my life's different now. I'm not the same person you knew back then."

The weight of his words sank in, and Lisa's sobs returned, even more desperate than before.

She had wanted him to hate her, to scream at her, to show her that she had mattered enough

to hurt him.

But instead, he was offering her nothing but a peaceful indifference, a quiet resignation that her role in his life had ended long ago.

She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried, feeling the full force of what she had lost, not just Eratz, but the person she had been to him.

Lisa lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she spoke through her tears.

"I... I will tell the truth about what happened. Rowan and I... we're working to clear your

name, Eratz."

Eratz rolled his eyes, exhaling a long, tired sigh. He looked at her, almost annoyed.

"That would be the stupidest thing you could do," he said, his tone sharp but not unkind.

"What would that even change? What's your goal here, Lisa? What do you think is going to happen if you do that?"

Lisa's tears flowed harder now, her hands trembling in her lap as she shook her head, her voice

breaking.

"I... I don't know," she admitted, her words shaky and desperate. "I don't know anymore, Eratz. My goal... it was to get to you, to fix things, to make things right. But now... now I don't even know what I'll do without you."

Eratz observed her for a long moment, his expression softening slightly as he watched her struggle with her emotions. After a while, he let out a slow breath, leaning back slightly. "Look, I'll give you some advice, in memory of the past. For our past friendship," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "Go back to the academy. Eat, sleep, wake up, and start the day as a new person. There are many ways to find happiness, Lisa, but it's not on the path you're on

right now."

Lisa looked up at him, her face filled with tears, confusion and sorrow.

"What... what do you mean?"

Eratz sighed again, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Your parents didn't sacrifice everything just for you to feel like you owe them some grand

success in return. They didn't want that from you, they just wanted you to be happy," he said, his voice steady but gentle. "Live a life that makes you happy, Lisa. That's how you'll make

them happy." Lisa's heart broke at his words, her tears falling even harder now.

She stood up, her legs trembling beneath her as she stepped closer to him, grabbing his face

with both hands.

Her voice cracked with raw emotion as she pleaded with him.

"But I want a life with you, Eratz," she cried. "I want to go back to what we were. I just want

to be with you!" Eratz looked at her, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips, but there was a sadness

behind it. He gently took her hands off his face, holding them for a moment before letting go. "Lisa," he said quietly, "that's exactly why I can't let you into my new life."

Lisa's breath hitched as she stared at him, her heart sinking as she realized what he was

saying. "You're still looking for something from me that I won't give you. That's the real problem here," Eratz continued, standing up and stepping back slightly, putting distance between them. "You need to figure out what will make you happy. But it's not me, and unless you start seeing me differently, we can't be friends anymore."

He moved toward the door, resting his hand on the knob as he glanced back at her one last

time.

"I don't hate you, Lisa. I don't know if it's bad or not. But this... whatever this is that you want, it can't work."

Without another word, he opened the door and stepped out, leaving Lisa standing in the

middle of the room.

As the door clicked shut behind him, she crumpled, her head falling into her hands as she broke down in sobs, the weight of everything finally crashing down on her. Outside, the rain had slowed to a soft drizzle, the cool air clinging to the night. Eratz walked through the entrance of the hotel, lost in thought for a brief moment, when he

saw Mercury waiting for him by the doorway.

She had her hands in the pockets of her jacket, her expression calm but curious as she watched

him approach.

She gave him a teasing smile as he approached.

"Well, well, look who's finally done with his little chat," she said, crossing her arms and

leaning against the doorframe. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be so tough, you sure were sending a lot of panicked messages."

Eratz shot her a sideways glance, a smile tugging at his lips.

"You could've been here in an instant," he muttered. "Instead, you took your sweet time just

to piss me off."

Mercury chuckled.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said with a playful grin. "It's kind of cute. My little boy was so afraid of accidentally cheating on me that he had to call for backup." Eratz smirked, running a hand through his damp hair.

"I was just testing your priorities. Wanted to see if you'd drop everything to come running to

me. Guess I can't trust you, huh?" Mercury laughed, nudging him with her shoulder as they started walking together.

"You wish. You're lucky I didn't take even longer just to mess with you more. Plus, I knew you

could handle it. Besides, we've gotta save some energy for the finals." Eratz raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening, his voice dropping to a lower tone. "Save energy, huh? That's too bad. I had some plans for us tonight, you know, something a

little more... exciting than just going back home."

Mercury blinked, caught off guard, suddenly, she grasped the idea, a blush creeping up her

neck as she tried to keep her composure.

"Plans, huh?" She tilted her head, biting her lip slightly. "Um... Well, we could always call

home, say there's an emergency at the agency. Then, maybe we... sneak off somewhere more

private." Eratz's smirk widened.

"Oh, but I'm sure we could. I had something more in mind though, a lot of crazy stuff... but

maybe you're right. You probably need all your strength for the finals." Mercury blinked again, her confidence faltering for just a second. She opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated, realizing he'd flipped the situation on her. She pouted, narrowing

her eyes playfully.

"You think you're funny, don't you?" she said, feigning annoyance. "Teasing me like that."

Before he could respond, she grabbed him by the neck and pulled him into a playful headlock, tightening her grip as she ruffled his hair.

"Looks like someone needs a reminder of who's really in charge here," she teased, her voice playful but with a competitive edge. Eratz laughed, barely trying to break free.

They both laughed, the tension easing as they started walking side by side, the rain now only

a light drizzle. As they left the hotel behind, the city streets, glistening with rain, offered a beautiful sight to see.

They exchanged a few more teasing remarks, but the weight of the upcoming days lingered in

the back of Eratz's mind.

The finals were approaching fast, and with it, the challenge he had been waiting for. Tomorrow, the draws for the Greenridge League finals would be announced. The battles that would determine the top beast masters in the region were finally about to

begin.