Chapter 150. Gathering
It took Kaelira a good few minutes to calm down. Her shoulders trembled less, her breath steadied, and the haunted look in her eyes finally began to fade. I didn’t say anything—just reached into my pocket and handed her a crumpled, barely-used handkerchief.
She looked at it like I’d offered her a dead rat, but took it anyway. Wiped her tears without a word, then let out a long, heavy sigh before sitting up straight again.
The moment she did, I couldn’t help myself. Mischief was my second language.
I grinned. "Damn, Kaelira. I didn’t know you cared about me so much. What’s this? You falling in love with me? Honestly, I won’t blame you. I am ridiculously good-looking."
She gave me a flat, deadpan stare that could’ve curdled milk. "Fuck off. I don’t do horror well, that’s all. I was crying out of fear, not love. Who would fall for a lusty bastard like you?"
I chuckled wryly, raising both hands in mock surrender. "That’s fair. Not gonna lie."
She scoffed and turned her head away, nose slightly in the air like a smug cat who just knocked over your drink on purpose.
I leaned my head back on the couch and exhaled. "Still... thanks for waking me up. Believe it or not, you did kinda save this lusty guy from some freaky horror-AI mindfuck."
She nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, yeah. And now you owe me for life. You should worship me. Bow down before your goddess."
I rolled my eyes. "Ywah, yeah. Your majesty—fuck off."
She clicked her tongue and flopped back down beside me. We let the silence stretch for a bit. Neither of us wanted to bring up what we saw—or what we might’ve actually felt. It was easier to pretend it was just a nightmare. A hallucination. Stress.