COME WITH ME

After a period of absolute silence that the sound of a pin could echo out if it was dropped, Sophia asks with a frown on her face, "Why would you want that?".

Andrew doesn't reply immediately, but just smiles and then turns to look in the direction of the door, and from his reaction, it was very obvious he was well aware of the presence of the girls. But that doesn't stop him from continuing his words, "I have been through a lot. Paid a lot for some of my actions. I can't afford to be loved, the kind of enemies who I might make down the line would then come for my loved ones".

After saying those words, he turns back to face Sophia before continuing, "And that's something I wouldn't want at any cost".

The way he said everything fluently left her stumped for words, she couldn't even find the right words to say as a reply and her lips just quivers as if trying to word off something but the words couldn't just come out.

"I know they might also serve as something you would call home when tired and need some form of rest. But to me, am never bound to find rest until I achieve all that I want. Being blessed with such talents has already deemed resting to be a luxury I can never afford", Andrew's voice sounds out once again, while he completes his words in his head, 'I think I have rested enough though. In my previous life, I had taken all the breaks I can afford and I ended up heartbroken. Being given this second chance, I can't afford to screw things up once again. I have to achieve all that I want seeing how I have been graced with such talents. Resting would only be a waste of it all'.

Sophia was unable to say anything for a while, but as if grasping to a final straw, her eyes shines brightly, "What about Marian? You can't tell me you plan to leave your only family behind".

Andrew just takes a deep breath due to that question from Sophia before answering, "She wasn't supposed to come this far with me and face all those dangers on the way. She is supposed to be enjoying a life of luxury but she insisted on coming with me". "What if she still insists on following you no matter where you go?", not wanting to give up, Sophia keeps asking.

Andrew just turns towards the window before replying, "The main reason I brought her along with me, apart from her insisting was due to the fact that the village is unprotected and bandits could just come at any moment's notice to attack there. Can't risk the possibility that she would always be safe. She being here in the capital, far from any kind of danger seems safer and would help in facilitating her growth". He pauses for a while before continuing, "Life in this capital would certainly work perfectly for her and I would do everything within my power to see that she enjoys everything she desires".

Marian who was behind the door listening, was now sobbing while her back slides down the door with her hands covering her mouth, in an effort to prevent her sobbing sound from escaping and reaching the ears of Andrew. Eve who was beside her couldn't help trying her possible best to comfort her while glaring through the doors in the direction from which Andrew's voice was emanating. If looks could kill, perhaps Andrew would most definitely have died. 'Doesn't he care about the feelings of his sister?', Eve asks inwardly, obviously forgetting the fact that they were eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I know you are out there, Marian. And you too Eve", Andrew's voice sounds out shocking both Eve and Marian. She now remembers that they have been eavesdropping on their conversation, and Andrew has been in the know about what they have been doing. "You both can come in", Andrew's voice sounds out.

Even Sophia was shocked that they were listening in on the conversation. She had thought she directed them to stay a bit of a distance away from the room, but the door opens to show them both. They disobeyed her, which made her angry at them but at the same time, she felt pity towards Marian since she had to hear such words coming out from Andrew. She glares at Andrew, for he had known that they were there and he still went on to spout out those words.

Marian looks towards Andrew with her eyes which were red and still watery, seems like she had hurriedly cleaned her tears when she heard the voice of Andrew who told them to come in. She says, "Why do you want to leave me just like they all did? Did I do something wrong? If I did, please let me know and I promise to change. Just don't leave me alone", she says with red eyes, and a trembling voice. This was emotional blackmail, even Andrew almost changed his mind due to this but was able to hold on strong.

Quickly, he stops staring at her in order to stand firm in his initial decision. His voice later sounds out, "Am not leaving you anytime soon. I would make sure you are fully settled in here before going anywhere. You would have become independent to a large extent before I would leave here". Although those words were unable to fully calm her down, they still performed the job of stabilizing her mood. She cleans her face once again before asking, "Promise?". "Of course I do", Andrew says while nodding his head. He was giving his full assurance on this matter.

Marian fully understood why Andrew made his decision of wanting to leave her behind but she just couldn't fully accept it, hence her tantrums. She understood fully well that she would be a burden to him and that she would act as his weakness if he was to travel around the world as he had said. But she has always wanted to stay with him, not just him carrying all the burdens. She wanted to share all his burdens with him, but at the same time knew she was too weak to even be thinking about such a thing.

Andrew motions for Marian to come towards him, which she slowly but steadily did. She softly enters his embrace to ensure that he doesn't feel much pain. In his embrace, Andrew slowly runs his hands through her hair. He has always been fond of this hair of Marian, it was smooth to the touch.

He raises his head towards Eve and mouthed the word, "Thanks". This was the first time she has ever seen Andrew say those words, although not loudly, it was still something which shocked her to the core. After all, she hasn't done anything worth being thanked for. She lowers her head as she doesn't want anyone to notice the emotions running through her face. She was totally happy at this moment, she hasn't felt this way for other guys whom she has dated. But now she was feeling this way for a boy younger than her, this feeling was new to her but she loved it.

Noticing she was being a nuisance to them, Sophia leaves them and goes back to her office. She was still astonished at the answers which Andrew gave her though, and although she hasn't fully given up, she knew that Andrew's mind was fully made up about his decisions. Eve almost wanted to go along with Sophia but Andrew signals her to stay. Although it was a subtle move which would seem meaningless to Andrew, it still warms the heart of Eve.

After a while of being in his embrace, Marian releases herself and the people remaining in the room just talk about miscellaneous stuff to lighten the damped atmosphere in the room. And no sooner than later, there was laughter heard coming from the room. And so when it got too late, the girls went home and the day passed on uneventfully.

The days continues down in that fashion and soon, Andrew was able to start walking for long, seems it won't be long before he would be discharged now. Eve always comes to visit since the new session hasn't resumed. She had a lot of time to spare before then, and she seems to have forsaken studying because of Andrew. She would always look beautiful in her dress when she came to visit. Love is indeed something that could not be understood.

Andrew enjoyed her company though and bit by bit was getting close to her, noticing all these, she couldn't help being happy. Although he had recovered enough to feed himself, he still indulged the help of Marian when eating. The meals were usually handmade by her and he usually enjoyed her meals. Due to this, Eve had to go visit her as early as possible to help her in preparing the meal. Although she almost ruined the meal due to her bad cooking, Marian salvaged the situation and everything turned out for the best.

Olivia also came to visit although she always stays behind in Sophia's office, from which Sophia reported all that happened during her talking session with Andrew to her.

From her little story, Olivia was shocked at the attitude of Andrew towards everything. Although he usually seems impulsive, he thought that far ahead. They were both shocked at the recovery prowess of Andrew, he was able to stand up and even start walking so soon within just a short week. If they were told about this from another source, they would have thought that he was a regeneration realm monster who has been critically injured and thus was slowly recovering.

The time frame of his recovery was just too short to be believed. After some more talks, they finally concluded their meetings, upon which Olivia leaves the office with a serious face.

It was finally the day when Andrew was to be discharged, although he couldn't still perform many strenuous tasks, he was now capable of being able to walk without any support. But he still got tired easily as the wounds hasn't fully healed. He was prepared to go to an area in the capital to rent a house and he still had to buy new clothes too. He planned to take Marian out of Olivia's house as soon as possible. He hated the fact that she was staying with them and didn't like the idea of imposing on them. So he wanted to get things done as quickly as possible. He has gotten ready and a jug of wine could be seen in his hands, no matter how they tried, they couldn't figure out how he got the wine and hence they gave up on that and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, as no matter how they tried to advise him against drinking, it seems as it all fell on deaf ears, as the next moment he would be seen drinking once again.

On his way out of the room with Eve and Marian by his side, Olivia could be found at the entrance of the room with a beautiful smile on her face. Her appearance here shocked Andrew to the core, he hasn't expected to see her here at all. He understood the fact about her being able to know the day of his discharge as she could have asked Marian or even her sister could have reported the matter to her. But seeing her present in front of him with a smile on her face was something Andrew couldn't have expected.

He stares at this woman with a frown on his face, and then he asks, "Did you come to see me because you have missed me?". There was no reply from Olivia as the smile was still plastered on her face. "You didn't have to see me off though. You could have just passed me your address and I would have secretly come visiting, to avoid public eyes and all that. Being seen with a boy of my age would affect your public image and although I do understand that you might like my service on the bed, that shouldn't have urged you to come forward this blatantly", Andrew says all in one breath.

But in response to his words, Olivia just says a single sentence while her smile becomes more vivid, "You are coming home with me".