He Was Too Soft to Hurt Anyone Until They Took Me Away Chapter 17

He Was Too Soft to Hurt Anyone Until They Took Me Away Chapter 17

After that, Julian’s Corruption level started falling. Steadily this time.

His Hatred level came down too.

That

part I still didn’t get. How could you love someone that much and hate them at the same time?

The system answered.

[I thought it was a bug at first. Flagged it with the Admin a few days ago.]

“And? What did the Admin say?”

[The Admin said, and I quote, “It’s not a bug. The hatred is real. But it’s not the same kind.“]/

“What does that mean?”

The system sighed and answered.

[When he hates other people, he wants them dead.]

[But his hatred toward you? Every single point of it was just him being angry that you left.]

The days after that felt different. Julian softened.

He stopped going after Ethan and Maya’s company.

They could finally build their company the way the story had meant them to.

If anything, surviving Julian’s years of relentless attacks had only brought them closer.

The protagonists got their happy ending.

Julian’s Corruption level was down to ten.

But those last ten points wouldn’t budge.

No matter what I tried, they stayed locked in place.

One night, I pulled him into bed again. He indulged me like he always did.

Afterward, the number hadn’t moved.

I was staring at the ceiling, puzzled, when Julian pulled me close.

He nuzzled against my cheek.

Then, out of nowhere:

“Chloe… do you even love me?”

I was taken aback.

He pressed his face into my neck, and each word came out like it cost him something/

“Do you even love me?”

I didn’t answer right away. My mind went back. Years and years back.

The truth was, it had started early.

I’d started falling for him long before I admitted it.

I loved how he never pushed back, no matter what I threw at him. I loved that he’d stop traffic just to

rescue a stray dog.

But I hated how he let people walk all over him. Hated that he could forgive anyone, even the ones

who’d broken him.

Things got too complicated.

I still chose to give up the mission.

Now, a lifetime later, I was back.

I looked at Julian. Really looked at him.

“I love you, Julian. I always have.”

He kissed me. Slow. Like he was trying to memorize it.

“I love you too.”

“Just… don’t forget me. Okay?”

Before I could process what he meant….

[Ding. The villain’s Corruption level has reached zero.]

[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission!]

[Extracting the host back to the real world.]