Chapter 264 | It’s Beautiful
Dexter looked offended. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
Mira lips curled upwards. "The haunted house."
Dexter rolled his eyes. "That was only one time."
Lyra shook her head vigorously then held up three fingers.
Dexter glared at her. "Traitor."
Dexter turned to Selene. "Ignore them."
He gently squeezed her hand and spoke softly. "Don’t worry. I won’t let go."
Selene’s smile became shy. "Okay."
Mira watched the exchange before looking away, but he noticed.
Dexter leaned toward her. "Scared?"
Mira’s crimson eyes narrowed. "Of a roller coaster? I fought monsters for a living."
Dexter smirked.
"Yet somehow you’re avoiding the question. Don’t worry, I will hold your hand too."
Mira stared at him while Dexter smiled, and she finally pointed toward the queue. "Push."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Dexter."
He laughed and pushed her toward the entrance.
---
The queue was surprisingly long. Dexter didn’t understand humanity, but unfortunately, he was beginning to look forward to it too.
They joined the line, and Lyra immediately leaned around the people ahead as she looked excitedly at the train.
Dexter watched her with amusement.
"You’re enjoying this before we’ve even gotten on."
She nodded. ’’It looks fun.’’
"You’re strange."
Lyra’s lips curled as her voice resonated in Dexter’s mind. ’You married me.’
Dexter froze, and Mira’s head snapped around while Selene’s eyebrows rose. Lyra herself seemed to realize what she’d just said, her eyes widening slightly, but Dexter slowly smiled.
"Interesting."
Lyra looked away.
"Very interesting."
She focused intensely on the roller coaster, and Dexter chuckled. "Lyra?"
Nothing.
Mira sighed. "Leave her alone."
"Why?"
"Because your face is annoying."
Dexter looked down at her. "Jealous?"
Mira’s expression became dangerously calm. "Would you like me to test how much your skull has improved?"
Dexter immediately faced forward. "Beautiful weather."
Selene laughed.
---
Eventually, they reached the front, which presented the first complication. Mira looked toward the roller-coaster carriage.
Dexter called for the ride attendant and explained to her.
The woman gave a reassuring smile.
"We can accommodate her," the woman explained. "The restraints are adjustable, and we’ll stop the loading platform until she’s secured."
Dexter nodded. "Good."
Mira glanced at him. "I can manage."
"I know."
That didn’t stop Dexter from moving beside her as the ride attendant locked the wheelchair in place. He bent down, and Mira’s recovered right arm moved around his shoulder as he carefully lifted her. She was becoming more accustomed to being carried by him—perhaps too accustomed, because weeks ago she would have glared at him throughout the entire process. Now she simply adjusted her arm around him and let him handle it.
Dexter carefully lowered her into the roller-coaster seat, and since her legs remained passive, he took extra care with their positioning before the attendant helped secure the specialized lower-body support.
"You comfortable?"
Mira shifted her upper body slightly. "Yes."
"Good."
He inspected the restraint himself anyway, and Mira rolled her eyes but didn’t complain again. Dexter straightened and looked at the carriage, which had four seats across.
Lyra immediately moved toward the far-left seat.
Lyra sat down, and Dexter shook his head. That left Mira beside her, then Dexter, then Selene—exactly what he’d promised.
Dexter took the center-right seat, leaving Mira on his left and Selene on his right. Selene sat carefully, but the moment she heard the restraint lowering, her entire body stiffened. The locking mechanism secured across her with a loud clack, and she swallowed.
"D-dexter..."
"I’m here."
His right hand immediately found hers, and she grabbed it hard. Dexter’s eyebrows rose, because for someone who had spent years sick, Selene possessed a surprisingly strong grip.
Mira was watching him, so Dexter extended his other hand. She stared at it. "What?"
"I promised."
"I never accepted."
"Then reject it."
Mira looked at his hand as the attendant moved down the carriage checking restraints, then slowly placed her recovered right hand into Dexter’s. He smiled.
"Say anything and I’ll let go."
"Understood."
Her fingers tightened, and Dexter’s smile widened while Mira glared at him.
Dexter said innocently. "I didn’t speak."
"Your face is irritating."
"Didn’t you call me handsome a few days ago?"
Mira snorted. "I must have been blind."
Dexter chuckled.
The attendant reached them and checked Mira’s specialized restraint first, then Dexter’s, then Selene’s, and finally Lyra’s. "Everyone comfortable?"
Dexter nodded, Lyra gave a thumbs-up, and Mira said, "Yes." Selene hesitated, but Dexter squeezed her hand, and she breathed slowly.
"Yes."
The attendant stepped away. "Enjoy your ride."
The platform gates closed, and Selene’s fingers tightened again. Dexter looked toward her. "You okay?"
"No."
He laughed softly. "At least you’re honest."
The carriage jerked, and Selene’s body trembled before it began moving. They left the station with the sunlight striking their faces, and Lyra immediately looked around excitedly while Mira leaned back.
Dexter held both women’s hands, but he let his thumb caress Selene’s hand softly to calm her nervousness.
The train reached the first incline and began climbing, the mechanical clicking of the chain filling the air.
At that moment, Selene became completely still, and Dexter could feel her hand tightening with every click as they ascended ten meters, then twenty, then thirty.
The festival gradually fell away beneath them, and Dexter looked around at the view from this height. The entire public garden was visible, with the enormous artificial waterfall glittering in the distance and families becoming tiny figures scattered across the green field.
Dexter smiled. "Selene."
"No."
He blinked. "I haven’t said anything."
"I know what you’re going to say."
"What?"
"That I should look."
Dexter glanced at her pale eyes. "Actually, yes."
"I can’t see properly."
"I know." The train continued climbing. "But you said you can see colors."
Selene hesitated, and Dexter squeezed her hand. "Don’t try to see everything." Her face slowly lifted. "Just tell me what you can see."
Selene swallowed, and for several seconds there was only the mechanical clicking of the chain beneath them. Then...
"Blue."
Dexter smiled. "The sky."
Selene’s expression changed. "There’s..." She turned her head slightly. "Green."
"That’s the garden."
Her lips parted, and something bright reflected across her slowly healing eyes. "White."
"The waterfall."
Selene became silent, and Dexter watched her. She couldn’t see the details, perhaps the festival below was nothing more than blurry patches of light and color, but she could see them. For someone who had lived in darkness, even blurred colors were a world returning piece by piece.
Selene’s grip loosened slightly. "It’s beautiful."
Dexter smiled. "Told you."