Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

"Does it bother you?"

Kaden's voice echoed softly across the surreal garden around them.

A question that caught Meris completely off guard. She turned her head toward Kaden, and right there—her heart skipped a beat.

Kaden was looking at her with his blood-red eyes, those same eyes that seemed to want to drown the world in a profanity of blood… but inside them, there was an unmistakable softness.

And Meris caught that softness immediately.

How could she not? She was the type of girl who observed the man she loved down to the very last detail.

She smiled quietly, "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Me having two wives," Kaden said directly, not wasting time. He then turned his head and looked ahead of him, as if unable to bear the sight of Meris's conflicted eyes.

"Did you ever see a woman who wants to share the man she loves?" she asked.

"Did you ever see a woman who wishes to see her man laughing, talking, and touching another woman like he does with her?"

"Tell me, Kaden… did you ever see that type of woman?"

"If yes, please, I would love to meet her. I wouldn't mind learning how her brain works," she said, her voice laced with an undertone of sarcasm.

Kaden didn't quite know what to say at that point.

Because truly… he didn't know any woman like that.

It might have looked like he wasn't aware but he was very aware of how unjust it was for a woman to share the man she loved.

Can you imagine that?

You, devoting yourself completely to one man—and that same man can't even do the same for you? That same man looks at, smiles at, loves, and sleeps with other women beside you?

Tell me, folks… is that fair?

It's not.

No matter how much degeneracy flows through your veins, you have to admit that is not something fair.

But what could we do about it?

Just like I said, the matters of the heart were complicated. You can't understand them, can't pierce their secrets.

Kaden might not love Rea—not yet at least, since he hadn't had the time to truly know her—but he also wasn't sure he wouldn't love another woman in the future.

So instead of telling lies and empty words,

"I'm sorry," he said.

And that sorry meant many things.

"I'm sorry for not being able to love only you. I'm sorry for requesting your whole attention and love while not being able to give the same in return. I'm sorry for making you feel like you're not enough, for making you feel lacking. I'm sorry for… making you sad, Meris."

He paused, catching his breath, his voice trembling faintly with emotion near the end.

"…I'm just… sorry for being hypocritical."

That's all he could say.

Because really, what else could he say?

Spout empty declarations about how he'd give her the moon? Promise she would be the only one, the only queen of his heart?

Lie to her completely just to soothe her soul?

Why not?

That would have been one way to handle this situation.

But Kaden didn't want to do any of that. He just wanted to apologize, for being a man with a restless heart.

It looked simple, but his words touched Meris deeply.

Because they made her realize that Kaden wasn't oblivious to her feelings or her situation.

It made her feel seen.

It made her feel acknowledged.

And what's better than that?

She didn't get fancy words or pretty promises. She got the raw, sincere honesty of the man she loved—the man she chose, even if there would be other women.

Yes, Meris never planned to give up on Kaden in any way whatsoever.

Because she was obsessed.

And when you're obsessed, you accept everything the object of your obsession wants even if you don't like it.

But now, with Kaden's words, Meris smiled beautifully.

"You're good with words. And you seem to know what to say in every situation," she said with a small, beautiful smile on her lips.

Kaden smiled subtly, "You think so? I was just being honest, you see."

"Hahaha! Yes, I don't doubt that, actually. I know you're honest after all…"

Meris gently grabbed Kaden's chin with her delicate hand and made him turn to face her. She locked her silver eyes into his crimson ones, and with the most magnificent smile Kaden had ever seen in both of his lives,

"I can see your honesty in your eyes, Kaden. I know you meant every word you said. I know you feel sorry."

"I'm happy to see that you care about how I feel in this situation… but I want something else."

"I want a promise," Meris said, her hand still holding his chin.

Kaden was nearly hypnotized by everything happening right now, but he still nodded, ready to hear what she wanted.

"I just want you to promise me that you'll never get tired of me… and never abandon me, no matter what I do or become."

She said it gently, yet the words hit hard, making Kaden's eyebrows rise in confusion.

"Getting tired of you…?" he repeated.

But Meris just shook her head, "Promise me."

Kaden stayed silent for a moment.

If he promised, it would be sealed forever.

He was Warborn. He might have been a little different, but at his core… he was still a Warborn.

And when a Warborn makes a promise, they keep it—even if that promise could one day cost them their life… or bring them deep, excruciating suffering.

A terrible burden.

That's why Kaden seldom promised anything to anyone.

But at this moment…

He didn't quite have a choice, did he?

"I agree," Kaden finally said, making Meris visibly sigh in relief.

She didn't want to wake up one day and find her love had grown tired of her, like couples do nowadays.

She didn't want to be abandoned because of who she was.

Kaden only knew her mischievous and happy self.

But what would he do if he discovered that she was the type of woman who could let a whole house full of innocent people burn if it didn't affect her or her loved ones—without feeling anything?

What would he do if he found out she could kidnap an innocent girl and torture her just because that girl glanced at her man for not even a second?

Would he flee? Or would he stay?

She didn't know. And she didn't want to find out either.

So… she made him promise.

Yes, it was selfish. Almost manipulative. But…

'I love him… I cannot lose him. No matter what… no matter what… no matter what…'

She kept repeating those same words in her head, over and over, without need—until suddenly, her voice echoed again.

"Haven't you forgotten something?" she asked, startling Kaden who had been lost in thought.

"What?" he asked, not knowing what she was talking about.

Meris leaned forward even more, her face an inch from his.

The tension suddenly rose as their breaths began to mix together.

"You forgot to tell me how much you love me, and how now we're together, and that…"

She leaned in closer, her lips brushing slightly against his lips…

"…and that for eternity and beyond, my love."

—End of Chapter 138—