Chapter 121
"Clair, I was just thinking about you. We need to talk," Draco said, his voice a bit somber.
Clair paused, her gaze shifting between Draco and Bahamut, the grocery bags in her hands momentarily forgotten.
Recovering herself, she took a deep breath, approached the kitchen table, then gently set down the bags before turning to face Draco, her expression a mix of apprehension and determination.
"There's something important I need to discuss with you too," she replied, her tone resolute.
Draco nodded, bracing himself for the conversation ahead.
"Of course, Clair. Please, have a seat," he offered, gesturing to the chair beside him.
Bahamut shifted uncomfortably, sensing the tension in the air.
She glanced between Draco and Clair, uncertain of her role in the impending discussion.
Draco cleared his throat, hinting at Bahamut to leave, but Clair shook her head, signalling that it was okay for her to stay.
"Alright, Clair, what is it you'd like to discuss?" Draco asked, giving her the opportunity to speak first.
Clair took another deep breath, steadying her frayed nerves.
During the walk to Bahamut's house, she had tried to sort through her thoughts, repeating the questions she had asked herself the previous night and mulling over the answers she had gained at the time.
The reason for her confusion was that she kept trying to find a conclusive reason for why she loved Draco, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She was grateful for all he had done to preserve their family, she admired his strength and knowledge, and she felt indebted to him for all he had provided.
He had been there through the best and worst parts of her short life, but did that mean these were the reasons she loved him?
Had she, somewhere along the way, become obsessed with him due to these things, mistaking obsession for love?
The more she asked herself, the more confused she became.
Just when she had been about to give up on everything, a memory from her childhood popped into her head, a memory from when she was only four years old.
Thinking about it, she couldn't help but reminisce about her younger years when everything was much simpler.
She had been with Draco basically all her life, more precisely since she was around a year old.
Her mother had decided at the time to move in with Draco's family, and she had been watching him ever since, eventually falling in love with him at some point in time, one she couldn’t quite recall.
'Do I really need a reason love someone?' Clair questioned herself.
She mulled over this question for a while and soon found her answer.
There didn't have to be a reason that she loved him; she just did, and she was going to tell him that at this very moment.
If he were to reject her, then so be it.
There was no law that stated love must be reciprocated.
She was young, and it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Perhaps the experience could become a bittersweet memory when she thought of it in the future, but right at this moment, she wanted to tell him that she loved him.
Clair took a deep breath and looked directly into Draco's eyes.
"Draco, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've come to the realization that... I really love you." Her voice was steady, though her heart was pounding in her chest.
Draco's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden blunt revelation, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Clair quickly raised her hand to stop him.
"Please, let me finish," she said, her tone softening.
"I know it might seem sudden, or even inappropriate, given our relationship. But the truth is, I've loved you for as long as I can remember. You've been a constant in my life, a source of strength and guidance, and I've come to rely on you in ways I can't even begin to explain." she paused, her gaze flickering to Bahamut for a moment before returning to Draco.
"I don't need a complicated reason to love you. I just do. And I wanted you to know, regardless of how you feel about me.” she paused again, a heartsick smile forming on her lips and her eyes flickering with subtle expectation.
“I understand if you don’t reciprocate, and I’m prepared to accept that. But I had to be honest with you, and with myself.” She concluded.
Draco remained silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
Clair could feel the tension in the room, the uncertainty hanging thick in the air.
Bahamut shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting between the two.
Finally, Draco cleared his throat and spoke.
"Clair, I... I don't know what to say." he ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Clair had seen him do countless times when he was deep in thought.
"This was...what I was expecting to discuss with you, but when you present it like this I…..." he paused, his gaze softening as he studied Clair's face.
"I care about you deeply, you know that. You've been a part of my life for so long, and I can't imagine it without you. But..." he hesitated, his brow furrowing.
"I'm not sure if what I feel for you is the kind of love you're talking about. I don't want to hurt you, Clair, but I also can't pretend to feel something I don't." he said,
Clair nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I understand, Draco. I appreciate your honesty, and I'm thankful for everything you've done for me. I don't expect you to love me the way I love you, but I needed you to know how I feel." she managed to squeeze out.
She took a deep breath, mustering a small, bittersweet smile.
"I'll be okay, I promise. I just ask that we can still be... well, whatever we are to each other. I don't want to lose you, Draco." she pleaded.
Draco reached out and gently squeezed her hand, his eyes filled with a mixture of affection and regret.
"Of course, Clair. You will always have a place in my life, no matter what. I'm here for you…..always." he hesitantly replied.
He didn’t want his words to be interpreted in a weird way.
Bahamut, who had been silent throughout the exchange, finally spoke up.
"I'm so sorry, Clair. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult and heartbreaking this must be for you," Bahamut said softly, moving closer to Clair and enveloping her in a warm, comforting embrace.
Clair hesitantly accepted the hug, her tears finally spilling over as she allowed herself to be vulnerable in that moment.
The emotional weight of Draco's rejection had been building up, and now that the confrontation was over, she could no longer hold back the flood of emotions.
Despite the pain, Clair couldn't bring herself to hate Bahamut.
She had realized that even if the goddess wasn't around, Draco simply didn't see her as anything more than family.
It was a painful realization, but one she had to come to terms with.
Across the table, Draco leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he contemplated the events that had just unfolded.
The confrontation had been far more emotionally charged and hurtful than he had expected, even though he had tried to prepare himself for it.
He hadn't even had the chance to say most of what he had planned, Clair had just been that overwhelming.
‘Aaah, my heart aches so badly right now, yet I feel a strange sense of relief. Is this the right emotion for this moment?’ Draco wondered, staring blankly at the ceiling, his brow furrowed in thought.
After a few minutes, Clair's sobs began to subside, and she started wiping the tears from her eyes as Bahamut gently continued to pat her back.
"Sniff, I'm okay now," Clair said, prompting Bahamut to release her from the embrace.
Staring into Clair's still-teary eyes, Bahamut opened her lips as if she was about to say something but then hesitated.
‘Poor child,’ she thought, her hand lightly caressing Clair's face.
‘I had thought that she would be one of his fated partners, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. All I can do is pray that she will find the right partner for herself in the future, perhaps Michalis will do?……...Na’ she mused.
Before Bahamut had descended to the lower world, Chronepsis had given her some information about the future.
Some of this knowledge she was allowed to share with Draco, while other aspects were to be kept to herself.
One of these future revelations was that Draco was destined to have numerous fated romantic partners.
The exact number and identities of these partners were not disclosed to Bahamut, but this had been a major reason why she wasn’t aggressively resistant about Clair also becoming his partner.
As a powerful goddess, Bahamut was not expecting herself to fall in love or even become one of Draco's fated partners, as the gods were generally resistant to the whims of fate.
However, sometimes things happened for unknown reasons, so once she was sure of her own feelings, she embraced It and confessed to him.
Being a fated partner meant that no matter what happened, they would inevitably become partners as long as they both lived.
So in a way, Clair still had a chance. She just didn’t know it.
"S-so... what happens now?" Clair suddenly asked, breaking the silence and snapping both Draco and Bahamut out of their inner musings.
"I... I don't know," Draco replied honestly, feeling the awkwardness permeate the room after his rejection of Clair.
Silence stretched for a moment before Clair spoke up again.
"Aaah, uhm, congratulations," she said, much to the confusion of Draco and Bahamut.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing.
"Aren't you and Bahamut together now? I mean, I was congratulating you both on that," Clair replied, looking at them with a puzzled expression.
"Uhm, we aren't officially together yet, though," Draco revealed.
"And I don't plan to, and will not allow any official dating until the coming of age for everyone in the familia, which includes me." he added.
"What?!" both Clair and Bahamut exclaimed, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Why? That's like around 4 years from now," Clair asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
"It's quite simple, really," Draco explained.
"The main reason is that we're all too young. We need more time to mature both physically and mentally” he added.
Bahamut's expression shifted from one of surprise to one of understanding, after his explanation but Clair…….
‘Ugh, aren’t you already mentally mature enough and physically you…….’ Clair thought, glancing down at his crotch,
“Hey, eyes up” Draco warned.
“Tsk, what’s the big deal?. Its not like you are interested in me anyway” Clair tried teasing, but ended up recalling her rejection.
The atmosphere once again became somber.
‘Has she become unhinged’ Draco couldn’t help but wonder, seeing the sudden change in her demeanour.
Clair currently didn’t want to be around Draco and Bahamut at the moment, but felt that she was running away if she suddenly got up and left the room, so she had to put on a weird facade upfront.
Click !!
A clicking sound coming from the front door suddenly drew everyone’s attention.
Turning to the source, two familiar figures had just entered the kitchen.
“We’re back” they announced but were immediately taken aback by the dreary emotions that lingered in the air.