Chapter 38 - I Will Not Leave You
"Master is willing to give freedom to you. Are you going to leave him?" Harris asked the question while looking straight at Anya, as if looking for answers in Anya's eyes.
Anya looked back at Harris when the man said it and pondered for a moment after hearing Harris's question. Would she leave Aiden, for the freedom she wanted?
However, no answer came out of her mouth. She immediately got up from her seat and walked towards her room with brisk steps, leaving Harris standing alone in the living room.
After climbing the stairs, she could see the door to her room was wide open. Her steps got faster as she got closer. However, as soon as she stood in the doorway, her legs suddenly stopped as if they were stuck on the ground. She couldn't move.
What should she tell Aiden? What could she do now?
She could see Aiden sitting on the edge of the bed staring out the window. His hair was still wet after bathing. The water continued to drip, soaking the pajama he was wearing. His back looked a little limp, making the usually terrifying man look helpless.
A feeling of guilt crept into Anya's heart when she saw the man's back. She could see how heavy the burden he felt with his inability to see the world.
"Did Harris tell you?" Aiden could feel Anya's presence. Even though he was closing his eyes, he could hear the sound of the woman's footsteps as Anya walked toward the room. He could also feel Anya's doubts when she stopped suddenly at the doorway.
When he opened his eyes, he could see the reflection of Anya's figure walking towards him even though his sight was a little blurry. It seemed he was too exhausted that his eyes got more blurry than usual. He could not see the woman's face and expression, but he could vaguely see her figure.
Without saying anything, Anya immediately went into the bathroom and took a new towel. Then, she walked over to Aiden and stood in front of him, wanting to help the man dry his hair.
When standing in front of Aiden, Anya realized that the man had buttoned his pajamas wrongly. His pajama looked messy because the buttons were in the wrong place.
Anya tried to keep her tears from spilling out looking at the man in front of her.
The man who always thought about her in any condition, always helped her whenever she was in trouble, all the while bearing his own burden. A man who was so tough and cruel in the face of his enemies, turned out to have a side where he was helpless and could not do anything about it.
Anya draped the towel she was holding and stretched out her hand to help Aiden fix the buttons on his pajama.
Aiden's body felt stiff when Anya suddenly touched him. After realizing what Anya was doing, he realized that the pajama he was wearing was a mess.
Aiden cleared his throat and held Anya's hand, "It's okay, I can fix it myself. This is normal." After saying that, he adjusted the buttons on his own shirt. He felt a little embarrassed by his carelessness, he didn't usually make small mistakes like this.
Anya knew that Aiden was a man with high self-esteem. He hated getting help from other people and was used to doing it all by himself. It was as if a little thing like this had tarnished his pride, making him look like a man who couldn't do anything.
Anya didn't insist. She rose to her feet and began to dry the man's hair gently, "Let me help you. Even if it's just a small thing, I also want to be of use to you…"
Silence enveloped them, no one started a conversation between them. There was only the sound of the towel Anya was using to dry Aiden's hair.
"Why don't you sign the divorce papers? I give freedom to you…" Aiden said, opening the conversation between them.
"That's not the freedom I want. Together with you I can be free. You never forbid me to do what I want… and that's freedom." Anya said as she continued to gently rub the towel she was holding onto Aiden's hair.
She stared at Aiden's beautiful brown eyes. God was so cruel, he gave this man such beautiful eyes, but also made him unable to see. There were no more colors in the world, no more light. There was only darkness that followed him all the time.
Tears started to trickle down Anya's face, unconsciously falling into Aiden's hands.
Anya cried. The woman was crying over her husband's situation.
"Why are you crying?" Aiden asked, his hand holding Anya's, making the woman stop drying her hair. However, no answer came out of Anya's mouth. The woman did not want to open her mouth, afraid that her tears would overflow.
Aiden took a deep breath. He didn't know what to do at a time like this. He didn't know how to comfort a woman who was sad. Before this, he never paid attention to any woman who approached him.
Anya cupped her hands over her face, tears streaming down her face even more. Aiden immediately grabbed her body, took her to his lap and hugged her. He gently stroked her back, waiting for her to stop crying.
"Leave me… and you will be free, like before." Aiden said in a low voice. His voice was hoarse as he said it. It was as if he was holding back his feelings.
"I will not leave you ..." Anya replied with a chuckle. She felt her throat tighten.
"I'm only giving you one chance. After this, you can never leave me…" Aiden said. But when he said that, the hands that hugged Anya's body felt tighter as if Aiden wasn't willing to let her go.
"Hmm ... I'm not going." Anya muttered.
Anya knew how hard it was to fight alone. Even if she had perfect eyes, she still had to struggle to survive. She couldn't imagine Aiden who couldn't see. Aiden needed someone to share his burden, to help him. And Anya was willing to be that person even though she didn't love Aiden.
Aiden had helped her a lot. Maybe this was the only way she could return the favor. By standing next to Aiden, accompanying him.
"Maybe we didn't get married because of love. But there must be a reason why we are meant to be together…" Anya leaned her head on Aiden's shoulder.
Aiden was silent and did not answer Anya's words so that Anya assumed that the man agreed with her.
Silence enveloped them again. The comfortable feeling that Anya felt made her feel sleepy. Especially after crying, her puffy eyes felt heavy. However, Aiden's embrace on her body didn't loosen up at all so she couldn't move anywhere.
In the end, she closed her eyes and fell asleep in Aiden's arms.
Aiden could hear Anya's breath and saw the woman sleeping in his arms. Anya leaned all her weight on Aiden and fell fast asleep.
Aiden kissed the top of Anya's head gently, "Who said I don't love you ..." He whispered softly, while his lips were still touching Anya's hair. Anya couldn't hear what Aiden said as she was fast asleep.
That day, they fell asleep while hugging each other. There was no distance between the two of them, like the previous days.
That day, they realized that they needed each other.