Chapter 182: Dahlia’s Safety
Zoran quietly entered Dahlia’s room and walked toward her bed. Leaning down, he carefully grabbed the empty bottle that she was still holding.
"And I just told her not to get drunk," he mumbled. "She just refuses to listen..."
Sighing, he then moved Dahlia’s body to position her comfortably on her bed, pulling up her bedsheets to cover half of her body as he tucked her into sleep. Nodding at a job well done, he then sat on the edge of the bed and simply stared at her sleeping face. Every night, he would often visit her and check on her while she slept... And of course, he wouldn’t miss sneaking in a kiss on her forehead every night without fail.
Zoran was someone who had a hard time expressing himself and what he truly felt. He was the one that saw and met Dahlia first. He would never forget how he, for the first time in his life, fell in love with her at first sight. He met her in the public market of the Capital City of Valcrez. She was fifteen at that time, and he saw her chasing after a man who happened to steal from her.
"Aren’t you feisty for your young age, my dear?" he whispered with a chuckle.
Zoran helped her out back then, and from there, they became good friends. He was twenty at the time, and he was already a good friend of Nikolai since his family had business connections with the Ichor Clan. Add to that, Nikolai wasn’t actually as scary as the other vampires since the man hated human blood. Since Zoran himself was human, he deemed it safe too to introduce Dahlia to him.
Looking back, that meeting almost seemed destined by fate, seeing as Dahlia’s family was also connected to Abel Ivanov. From their shared connections, a solid friendship formed between all of them including Dahlia’s sister Rosela. Little did Zoran know, however, that Dahlia and Nikolai would eventually fall in love as the years passed by.
Watching Dahlia sleep, Zoran let out a breath as he moved his hand to gently caress her cheek. "I wonder if things would’ve turned out differently if I had been braver that time and told you how I feel," he muttered with a downcast tone. He then chuckled as he added, "Even now, nothing has changed. We’ve been together for five years, and I still can’t tell you how I really feel."
He took a deep breath as he continued, "How come you’re not angry with me when you found out the truth about how I’m depriving you of your memories? Was I only hallucinating to think that you somehow already learned to love me?"