"Tessa... Raise your head..."
Tessa's sobbing reduced as she slowly raised her head.
Her eyes instantly landed on the person in front of her.
The person in front of her was no longer wearing a mask, and his face was exposed.
A small smile formed on Tessa's face as she sobbed again.
Instantly, she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him.
"You liar..." she chuckled and muttered into his ears as her arms wrapped tightly around him.
He tapped her back lightly.
"Alright, that's enough. Stop crying now."
"No!" Tessa pouted. "I can cry all I want, and I'll be the one to decide if it's enough or not."
She stopped hugging Arin and looked at him directly in the eyes. Though, it was more like she was glaring at him.
"Moreover, you're the reason why I'm crying, so you have to take responsibility for your actions."
Arin smiled wryly as he scratched the back of his head.
He stretched out his right hand, touching Tessa's face, and began cleaning her tears with his thumb.
Tessa's cheeks instantly turned red as she looked down shyly.
"How did you know I was Arin, though?" Arin asked, ignoring Tessa's reaction.
As he waited for her response, he still continued cleaning her tears.
He already knew that there were lots of ways Tessa was able to find out that he was Arin, but he just wanted to hear it from her.
"Your actions," Tessa said as she began twiddling her fingers.
"Small actions like always putting your hands in your pockets, short replies, and all that. I realized that those things Chaos usually does were the same things Arin also does. Though, I also noticed after some time that Arin no longer does those things."
She raised her head, looking at Arin.
"And I believe you stopped doing those things because you realized that I was getting suspicious, right?"
Arin smiled. "Hmm, yeah..."
Tessa chuckled. "I thought as much..."
"Though, apart from that, I also noticed a bracelet Arin usually wears, and I saw that same bracelet on Chaos's wrist once."
"I guess I forgot to pull it once when meeting her as Chaos," Arin muttered to himself.
"And also," Tessa continued, "maybe you didn't take note, but when Leon made the decision to come along with us, he called you by your name... Arin."
Arin's expression instantly hardened.
"I didn't take note of that..."
He laughed as he added, "That alone is enough proof..."
Her expression softened once again as she stared at Arin straight in the eyes.
The next second, she began shifting closer to him, and finally, she was now seated very close to him to the point that their shoulders were touching.
She stared at Arin deeply, her blue eyes flickering before she muttered, "But above all, I knew that I couldn't fall in love with two people at the same time..."
With her eyes never leaving Arin's, she continued,
"I was having those same feelings for Chaos, but then, I thought... I can't have feelings for two people at the same time, right? And that was when it dawned on me... I was feeling that way because they were not actually two different people... They were the same person..."
Arin just kept staring at her, unsure of what to say.
He never had any romantic relationship in his past life on Earth, so he was really inexperienced when it came to stuff .
"Arin..." Tessa muttered.
She raised her right hand and placed it on Arin's face.
She stared at him while caressing his face for a few seconds before adding,
And before Arin knew it, Tessa's face instantly moved forward with insane speed.
Their lips crashed together — not gently, not timidly, but with urgency that sent Arin's mind reeling. His eyes instantly widened as he felt unable to do anything.
The thudding of Arin's heart pounding louder than any thought.
Tessa clutched the front of his cloak tightly, as if afraid he'd pull away.
He didn't hold her, neither did he pull away.
He was just frozen in place, almost like a statue.
The subtle glow from the moon bathed them, as if it was making them aware of its presence.
By the time they parted, both breathless, Tessa's face was flushed scarlet.
"... Sorry," she muttered, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't mean to headbutt you with my kiss..."
Arin blinked, then let out a nervous chuckle. "You should warn me next time."
She smacked his arm lightly, hiding her smile.
Arin was genuinely shocked by the way she was able to switch from bold to shy and vice versa.
He stared at her. "I th—"
"Shh..." Tessa muttered, interrupting Arin.
She placed her thumb on his lips as if telling him not to say anything.
With a small smile, she began. "I know... With our current situation and plans, anything romance is not the priority now."
"But... I'm just glad that I've told you how I feel. You might not have those same feelings towards me, but trust me, Arin... I'll wait."
The intensity in her eyes increased as she continued.
"Arin, even if it takes two years, or five years for you to develop those feelings towards me... I'll wait."
"But now, I just want you to always know that I love you... And nothing will change that."
Arin smiled as he stared at Tessa.
That was the only thing he could say now.
He didn't know what he was currently feeling, and he didn't want to say anything rashly.
He wanted to properly process his feelings, and then, he would truly know...
He would truly know what he was feeling.
Tessa smiled back at him and nodded. "Thank you, Arin."
Suddenly, she stood up and stared at Arin.
Arin also stood up curiously.
With a firm gaze, Tessa began.
"Arin, I have just one request..."
Arin squinted his eyes.
For some reason, he felt request was important...