He Was Too Soft to Hurt Anyone Until They Took Me Away Chapter 14

He Was Too Soft to Hurt Anyone Until They Took Me Away Chapter 14

Julian locked me in.

The system was freaking out.

[When did he discover your true identity??]

[This is bad. This is really bad. He’s going to make you pay for everything, isn’t he?!]

[Host, I swear I’ll protect you no matter what! Even if it kills me!]

None of that happened.

Julian was obsessive about it, sure. Obsessively glued to my side. Obsessively burying his face in my neck. Obsessively holding me while I slept.

Or he’d bring in a basin of warm water, kneel at my feet, and demand with zero room for argument:

“Let me wash them.”

If I shifted in bed, if I tried to pull even an inch away from him…

His eyes would snap open.

“Are you scared of me? Do you hate me? Is that why you’re pulling away?! I’m not who I was seven years ago, Chloe. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

If I so much as said I didn’t want him to do it that day…

He’d completely unravel. Start spiraling out loud, circling the same questions over and over.

In the end.

I snapped.

I tried to hold it in. I really did.

I slapped him across the face.

Dead silence.

Panic hit about two seconds later. I was terrified his Corruption level would spike again.

What I’d just done was no different from the five years I’d spent tormenting him.

Even the system groaned.

[Host, why?! He’s at 999! If it goes any higher, we’re literally off the scale!]

But Julian just stood there, hand pressed to his cheek.

Then the system choked.

[Wait… wait. Did his Corruption level just go DOWN?!]

Before I could react, Julian pressed his lips together.

He turned his head and offered me the other cheek.

“Feel better? Or do you want to hit the other side too?”

I raised my hand, hesitated, and gave him a tentative slap.

[Ding. Corruption level decreased by 1%.]