I blinked, a small jolt running through , my eyes widening as Gabrielle’s words sank in.
"A-Agreeing to beco one of his harem... D-Don’t you know what that even ans?" I asked, my voice shaky and laced with disbelief. "Y-You hated too, didn’t you? I just... I think it’s only going to hurt us more if both of us end up being part of the sa harem."
My heart was thudding hard against my chest. Just saying those words out loud made my throat dry. My thoughts were tangled up in knots, and the more I tried to make sense of it, the worse it got.
Gabrielle just looked at . She was calm and steady. Like she wasn’t fazed at all.
"I don’t really see the problem here," she said, her voice smooth, almost indifferent. "You’re the one treating it like it’s so huge deal, even though, frankly, I don’t think it’s as much of a problem as you think it is."
Her tone was so annoyingly relaxed. It made my chest tighten. I couldn’t tell if she was brushing it off or just being honest. But either way... it made question everything I was thinking.
Was I really the one turning this into sothing bigger than it was?
Maybe I was. Now that I think about it... I guess I had been overthinking it this whole ti. Maybe it really wasn’t that deep. But then again, how else was I supposed to think about it?
"You love Master, don’t you?" she asked, suddenly shifting the conversation in a direction that made my heart skip a beat.
It was like a punch straight to the gut.
Admitting that... it wasn’t easy. It made my chest tighten, made my cheeks heat up like I was being put on the spot in front of a crowd. But I couldn’t deny it. I really couldn’t.
Because the truth was... I did love Leon.
And not just the kind of love you feel for soone casually or temporarily. No. This love ran deep—so deep that it scared sotis. I didn’t think I could ever love another man again. Ever.
If I didn’t feel this strongly about Leon... maybe I would’ve been able to move on. Maybe I could’ve found soone else by now. But no matter how I imagined it, I couldn’t picture anyone else being able to fill that hole inside .
And I ant that in both ways.
Leon wasn’t just the one who gave love—the kind of love I wanted to give back unconditionally—he was also the only man I could ever imagine physically satisfying . Even though I’d never seen another man’s cock before, I just knew there wouldn’t be anyone else whose dick could make feel the way Leon’s did.
It sounded pathetic when I thought about it like that, but it was the truth.
Of course, that wasn’t the reason I loved him... but still.
The point was—I loved Leon. Deeply. Truly. Hopelessly.
"I do," I finally said, the words barely above a whisper.
"And you can’t imagine anyone else replacing Master, right? Neither in your heart nor your body."
Her voice was softer now. Not taunting. Not mocking. Just... certain. Like she already knew what I was going to say.
And damn it, she was right.
"Yes," I breathed.
Gabrielle nodded, like she’d already expected my answer. "Then I don’t see any problem here at all, Irene," she said, her tone calm, almost gentle now. "If you really love Master that much, then why not be one of his won? The only issue you seem to have... is . But I’m not going to leave Master either."
Her words hit hard—but not in a bad way.
"And Irene," she continued, her eyes eting mine, unwavering, "I don’t think you need to worry about that. Of course I want us to get along. It’s said that Master’s power is reflected in how well his won get along with each other, but... if that’s not possible for you, then that’s fine. You don’t have to force anything."
I stared at her in silence.
That actually... made sense.
Even if we couldn’t stand each other, it didn’t an we couldn’t be in the sa harem. We didn’t have to interact. We could just ignore each other, exist on separate sides, and let Leon be the center.
But still...
"Irene..." Gabrielle said again, her voice slicing through my thoughts. I looked up at her. "You keep saying I hate you, but... I don’t really think I do."
I blinked, confusion hitting like a slap. "What?"
What the hell was she going on about?
"That ti... back at graduation?" she started, her gaze lowering a little. "I don’t think I ant what I said back then. It was more out of frustration. Frustration that I couldn’t reach you and Rose. That I couldn’t help you two get back into Gold Class."
My breath caught in my throat.
Wait... seriously?
Rose had said sothing like that too. Not exactly the sa, but... she said her disappointnt wasn’t at us, but at the fact that we didn’t graduate together. That she hated the situation, not .
Was Gabrielle really saying the sa thing now?
"It’s up to you whether you believe or not," she said, her voice dropping to a lower, quieter register. "I don’t think I can change that. What I said back then... yes. It hurt. Even ."
"S-So you’re saying you didn’t an it?" I asked, still trying to wrap my head around it.
"I don’t know," she said simply. "I really don’t. I don’t even rember exactly how I felt back then. It’s been years."
Years...
All this ti, it was just holding onto the anger. The resentnt. The bitterness.
I was the one stuck in the past.
That was... pathetic.
"Irene," Gabrielle said softly. "Would you accept my apology... if I offered it to you?"
My eyes widened slightly. "What...?"
Gabrielle? Apologizing?
This had to be the first ti I’d ever heard those words from her. My heart started beating harder, like it was reacting to sothing dangerous.
And honestly, I was scared. Scared to hear it.
Because if she apologized... if I accepted it... then what would I even have left to hold on to?
"I-I don’t know about that," I said, voice tight.
"Well then..." she took a breath, her eyes locking onto mine with a sharp seriousness I’d never seen from her before. "I apologize for what I did back then. I hope you can forgive ."
The way she said it—it wasn’t fake. It wasn’t so empty, rehearsed line.
It was real. Genuinely real.
But even then... I didn’t know what to feel.
Did I still want to hold on to this grudge?
No. I didn’t.
I wanted to forgive her. I really did.
But... there was sothing inside that wouldn’t let go so easily.
"Irene," she said one last ti, her tone calm but bold. "Why don’t we—and I an Master, you, and I—have a threeso?"
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