Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ) Chapter 28 - I decided to live with no regret
🕑 Added 2023-12-12 17:32:56 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
“Alright, but let me finish taking care of your injuries. I don't want to be distracted while listening to you.” Adeliya instructed while fiddling with his wounds' dressing. “Sure. But didn't you say I would tell you while you dealt with my injuries?” Shaking her head, she replied. “That was before I saw the current state of your body.”
Nodding his head at the logic behind her decision, he kept silent while she cleaned the parts that needed to be cleaned before putting on a new compress. Once she was done with the dressing, which took much less time than the previous day, she suggested moving the 'meeting' back to the living room where they were previously.
The four family members then walked to the dining room table where they all sat. Once everyone was ready, Adeliya gestured for Demian to speak. “So, what happened a month ago was...” He then went on with the story he already shared with Seraphine until he arrived at the Soul Perk part, where he hesitated slightly.
That was when he heard a giggle from the youngest redhead. “Dem, we've already used your perk, so it's useless to hide it. Plus, I don't want to keep those kinds of things from Big Sis and Mom.” Sitting beside him, she reached her hand toward his on the table, and noticing that she struggled to find it, he moved his to grab it. He felt her squeeze it lightly, giving him some strength for what he was about to share with the other two closest people in his life.
'Since I chose to go ahead with my relationship with Sera, I might as well own it, taboo or not.' He thought while taking a deep breath and starting his explanation. “Aunty and Big Sis. My Love Perk works by linking my soul to someone I share my love and trust with. It gives access for that person to my other two Perks permanently. But the degree depends on the close interaction I've had with that person. At least for now.”
At his words, Adeliya's gaze moved from his face to her daughter's and then to their intertwined hands, before she stated. “And I'm guessing that by close interaction you mean having sex?” Her words made him choke on his next words from embarrassment and judging by the red hue appearing on Sera's cheeks despite her earlier bravado, he was not the only one.
As for Bryn, she looked at her mother with her mouth open wide before twisting her head toward them and asking with disbelief. “Did you too have sex?!” Shaking his head vehemently, Demian denied it. “No! Of course not!” However, when he received the disappointed feelings from his lover through the bond, he added. “Yet.”
“But you guys are blood-related!” The tall woman yelled in anger, mixed with an emotion that he had trouble deciphering. “So what?!” Sera yelled back. “So what? You'll endanger any child you'll have together, that's what!” Shaking his head slightly, Demian responded to her accusation.
“Actually, the Perk allows me to control completely the chance of pregnancy, so as long as I or Sera don't want for her to get pregnant, she won't. Also, with my physiology perk, my DNA is getting optimized every second. That means that there'll probably be a point when we would be considered as non-blood relatives. So, there's no possibility of birth defects.”
The three women looked at him with surprise painting their faces. Not only that, but he noticed the joy from his lover at his words. She might have been worried about the subject as well, so his words certainly removed that concern entirely. Squeezing her hand softly, he focused on sending his love through the bond, which drew a happy smile on her face and a hand squeeze from her. Turning his gaze back in Bryn's direction, he spotted her fists tightening on the table and the frustrated look on her face, as she muttered. “But it's not right!”
Shaking his head gently, he responded to her while gazing at her face. “Why isn't it right? We're consensual adults and we're not hurting anybody.” “But..” She tried to protest, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand and his next words. “Big Sis! Do you want to know why I don't care if it's right or not?” His words seemed to calm her protest, as she relaxed her fists and started to listen to him.
Gazing at the three women he loved more than anything in this world, he started explaining. “The reason is simple. In my previous life, I've always done what was 'right'. I finished high school, went to university, and then found a regular desk job. During that time, I got into a few relationships, but they all inevitably failed in the end. The reason? How can you find someone who’s right for you if you don’t even try to be yourself?” His vision lost focus as he started reminiscing. “I had a great mother and two amazing siblings and I only rarely spent time with them. 'I've got some work to do', or 'I've got something else planned'. They were all excuses I told others and myself to justify the fact that I was afraid of having meaningful relationships, whether it was familial, friendly, or romantic relationships. They were all the same.”
Pausing for a few seconds to gather his thoughts, he then continued. “Everything was because I let my fears control me until... Until I met that woman with her daughter.” “Your neighbor?” Sera asked. He nodded and said. “Sofia, yes.” As if something came to his mind, he gazed at Adeliya and commented with a smile.
“Actually, she was very similar to you, Aunty. Not physically, of course. But she had that special Aura if you believe in that...” A coughing sound coming from his left side reminded him that he should watch his words more and he thus went back to his previous point.
“Anyway, when I met that woman, I felt like she was the right person. It's a feeling that's hard to describe. It's like with Sera here. Once I confirmed my feelings, I just knew. There may be highs and lows along the way, but as long as the two of us were to put time and energy into the relationship, there was a very high chance of it working out perfectly. In any case, I kept pushing back the decision to ask her out. And then what I told you earlier happened where I killed that guy to protect Sofia and her daughter and died right after. In the end, I missed my chance with her.”
Letting out a sigh, he continued. “I've kept living my life, regretting so many decisions I’ve made in the past... But now I have reincarnated in this world with three incredible women as family members that I love very much. I also got superpowers and one of the three women in my life loves me back as a man and can accept me as I am with all my flaws.” Staring firmly in Bryn's eyes, he resumed. “So, tell me, Big Sis. Why should I care about what other people think of my relationships? I've died once, so I've decided to live my life without any regret this time while only caring for my loved ones. In this case, the three of you.”
She looked shaken at his declaration and thus lowered her head silently. On Bryn's side was her mother who after pondering for a second, looked like she just made a decision, which was proven by her following words. “You're right, sweety. I wasn't sure earlier, but you convinced me.” She paused for a brief moment to let out a sigh before continuing. “We only have each other in this world and if the two of you wish to become lovers, then so be it. As you said earlier, the two of you are adults and can make your own decisions. I'll love the two of you whatever you decide about it, even if other people judge it weird.”
Feeling both relieved at her declaration and amused at how she phrased it, Demian smiled at her, a smile mirrored by her and Sera, the latter being obviously as reassured as him. “Thank you, Aunty. I was a bit worried you'd be against our relationship, but now I feel much better.” After those words, Bryn stood up suddenly and exclaimed. “I need to get some fresh air.” Before she moved to the balcony, leaving the three of them flabbergasted.
Tilting his head slightly, Demian muttered. “Why is she so against it? Even Aunty's okay with it...” “If I'm not wrong, that's because she likes you too and feels disappointed at the fact that Sera was the one you chose instead of her.” Adeliya said in a helpless tone.
“She what?” He asked, feeling like she was just messing with him. However, Sera confirmed her words. “I don’t think she‘s aware of her own feelings.” He could feel the guilt she experienced from the bond and realized that the two were serious. He thus questioned. “Since when? I never noticed anything.”
Shaking her head, Sera scored a critical hit with her following playful words. “You also never noticed my feelings, so I'd say you're not exactly a specialist at figuring out who likes you, are you?” Feeling defeated by her statement, he replied. “Fair enough. I am a bit dense when it comes to feelings, I guess.”
His joking remark made the two women giggle before Sera responded. “It's normal that you didn't notice.” “Why is that?” He asked. “It's because it's only since you started to change a month ago that she began to notice you as someone who could be by her side and not someone she'd need to protect all his life.”
Scratching his chin in confusion, he exclaimed. “The more I talk with you Love and the more I feel like I'm the blind one.” Shaking her head while snickering, she responded. “It's only because I'm not distracted by what I see. Instead, I focus on what I hear and that tells a lot about a person.”
With a loving smile and a tone of voice revealing his feelings for her, he stated. “You're really amazing, Love, I hope you're aware of that.” With a similar smile and tone, she flirted back. “You're not so bad yourself, you know?” Rolling her eyes at the two displays of affection, Adeliya cut them off by declaring.
“I'm still here, you know? Keep that kind of PDA when there's no one around.” They both felt embarrassed at her words and they were about to apologize but they were prevented by the mature woman's next words. “We've got completely sidetracked by you two, so why don't we resume the previous conversation?”
Realizing she was right, he nodded and said. “You're right, Aunty. Sorry about that.” Waving his apology away, she retorted. “Don't worry about it. We had to get that conversation out of the way sooner or later anyway. So, might as well be now.” She paused for a second before continuing.
“You told us about your previous memories and superpowers, but I've still got one question.” “Shoot.” He claimed, curious. Tapping her chin in thought, she responded after a few moments. “Since you were reincarnated with your three powers, how come they didn't get activated before? I mean... You've been alive for 18 years and nothing happened before a month ago? What's different about it?”
“Could it be because he lost consciousness?” Sera proposed before her idea was shut down by her mother. “Not likely. I remember he got knocked out by Bryn when he was younger and nothing happened then.” Tilting her head, the young woman asked. “When was that?” “It was when he started middle school and got bullied by a few kids in school. He asked Bryn to teach him how to fight and during the first training session, she failed to control her strength and knocked him out for a few minutes.”
Chuckling at his Aunt's description, he remarked. “I was really weak by then. If I remember correctly, I gave up on training afterward, right?” Nodding her head with a beautiful smile on her face, his Aunt responded. “That's right.” Shaking his head, he added. “That still doesn't tell us why I awakened my memories and powers...”
The three then racked their brains to find the answer until Sera's mutters made them jolt out of their pensive state. “Something different from around a month ago... The only thing I remembered was that old ring we bought from that street vendor...”
“That ring!!!” The other two exclaimed, turning their gazes toward the young man's right hand wearing a plain old ring. Only now did all of them become aware of its existence, including the one sporting the said silver band.
