Chapter 6

    Kariette led Gavin out of the mansion to a garden, a place that was quiet and eerily serene at night. The new father still felt uplifted after the bedtime storytelling experience. He never imagined he would experience such a day.

    And the person he esteemed most was the woman walking ahead of him!

    "I never thought I would have a child with you," Gavin was so shocked he didn't know how to react further. Who would have thought a brief fling of just a month would result in pregnancy?

    "Neither did I..." Kariette gazed upward, seemingly lost in reminiscence.

    "After the demon's demise, we all returned to this world. It was only by the third month, when I visited the hospital, that I realized I was already one month pregnant."

    Kariette sighed deeply before locking eyes with Gavin, her expression a complex mix of emotions. Yet, what Gavin clearly perceived was her feeling of being let down, which oddly filled him with guilt.

    "Can I punch you?"

    "..." Gavin was taken aback.

    "I looked for you! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find you. You can't understand. I couldn't tell my parents or siblings. How was I supposed to explain to them that I was pregnant and the father was absent? Moreover, being the eldest daughter of the Coford family, our family's reputation was at stake. I felt so despairing, so hopeless!!"

    The woman poured out her emotions, her eyes burning as if on the verge of tears, startling Gavin to his core.

    He had never seen Kariette show such vulnerability. She was always strong and composed. That was her image. But now, she was like any other woman, displaying feelings of inadequacy, despair, and disappointment. A few short sentences conveyed immense pain, deeply resonating with him.

    "I'm sorry..."

    "I want an explanation... Where did you disappear to! Why didn't you contact me? Our relationship might have been brief, but didn't I mean anything to you at all? Not just to me, but to all of us. It's been three years. You vanished for three years!"

    Kariette stared at him, a mix of anger and hurt in her eyes. If she didn't get an explanation that day, she would freeze him and toss him into the Arctic Ocean.

    "..." Gavin stood silently for a moment, then closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts.

    "I'm not like you. I only returned six months ago."

    "?"

    What does that mean?

    Didn't everyone get to return to this world once the demon was defeated?

    Kariette didn't truly understand, prompting Gavin to elaborate further.

    "I was indebted to a mysterious person who kidnapped us to that place. I had to work for him to pay off the debt. It was a lengthy past, so I returned later than the others by two and a half years. I'm sorry... I didn't have time to contact you all. I had something crucial to do because my family disappeared."

    “…” Kariette was about to speak but then paused, listening intently to his explanation.

    "The first thing I wanted to do when I returned was to look for my family. I came back much later than everyone else. I missed them, but I couldn't find them anywhere. It was as if they were erased from the world entirely. Anxious, I set out to find them, but despite my efforts, there were no clues. I was like a madman. I missed my father, mother, and sister. I wanted to embrace them, but..." Gavin inhaled deeply, suppressing his emotions as he looked at the woman before him.

    "Compared to me, you, a woman alone yet pregnant without a father for your child, must have suffered more. It's my fault... I should take responsibility. I should have returned sooner, at least a year earlier, or even with you. You must have had a hard time."

    "Yes... It was tough. At first, my parents were furious. If it weren't for Kurt and Holly, I wouldn't know how I could have survived. I even considered terminating the pregnancy. But I remembered that when I was sick as a child, the doctor said I would have difficulty conceiving, so I decided to keep the baby."

    "What happened next?" Gavin was eager to hear more, his heart beating fast. He was too agitated to hide his excitement, yet he felt a chilling dread, imagining if he were in the same situation.

    "I raised Eris. Fortunately, my parents forgave me, and they opened their hearts to their own flesh and blood, becoming loving grandparents. Though my reputation in our circle was tarnished, I have overcome it. Now, all I want is for my daughter to live a long life... and to see you again."

    “…”

    "I love you, Gavin. When I couldn't find you, I thought you were dead. Now that we've met again, I feel relieved. But I think our relationship is over."

    "What do you mean?" Gavin furrows his brows.

    "It's all in the past now. Our relationship is just history. We can be good friends to each other, be parents to Eris together, but beyond that, we have nothing else between us."

    "So now we're just old friends who have a child together, nothing more?" Gavin asked, trying to comprehend, but when the woman nodded, his face reddened slightly in frustration.

    "Kariette Coford! Do you really think so lowly of me? Do you actually believe I wouldn't take responsibility? I got you pregnant and ruined your reputation. If I don't take any responsibility, I'm just scum," Gavin protested vehemently.

    He was prepared to be completely exploited by her, to be stripped down to his bones, yet what she did infuriated him. What kind of situation was this?

    "You don't understand... Why would I force you to take responsibility for me?" Kariette looked deeply into Gavin's eyes, her gaze filled with a profound and lonely chill, reminiscent of walking through a snowstorm, before she spoke softly.

    "What's the difference between taking responsibility and not?"

    "This..." Gavin was speechless.

    "Since we've known each other there, it's been no less than twenty years. But have you ever truly loved me, Gavin Carlos?"

    "..."

    "I felt better about you every day, but I never felt that you shared the same feelings. I believe if I hadn't confessed to you a month before the final battle, our relationship would have just remained as friends. Now I'm starting to doubt whether you ever truly liked me or if it was just because I confessed first that you reciprocated."

    Gavin remained silent, overwhelmed.

    He had had many women in his past; Kariette was one of them, entering his life as a [business partner] and a [friend], not as a [lover] at the beginning.

    A month before the final battle, he simply wanted to live his youthful life to the fullest, uncertain if he would die at the hands of the demon, so he accepted Kariette's confession.

    He might have respected her and felt good about her, for Kariette was unlike any other woman. But that wasn't love.

    When Gavin remained silent, Kariette knew the answer and laughed at herself internally.

    "If you don't love me, why should you take responsibility? I, Kariette Coford, don't need your pity. I can take care of my life. I don't need a man to spoon-feed me. I can still be happy."

    "You're being too harsh. I admit, I'm at fault. I know you're hurt. If I had known you would face this, I would have come back sooner, even if I owed that person a debt. I genuinely want to take responsibility. Tell me what to do. You're making me very uncomfortable, you know?"

    "No... I don't want... Besides, even if you were to take responsibility, our life together wouldn't be happy," Kariette raised her hand, wiped her tears, took a deep breath to compose herself, and then spoke coldly,

    "Let's get to the point. I didn't call you here to reminisce about the past but to inform you of something as [Eris's father]."

    "?"

    Gavin widened his eyes before receiving a stack of documents Kariette handed over. He began reading and soon realized they were medical documents. He could understand them and became engrossed.

    Kariette stood close by, watching his reaction. Gavin's face turned paler by the second, his hands trembling visibly.