To Gio:

Sorry for suddenly disappearing.

It's just that I can't find any reason and motivation to continue staying there. To be honest, I'm also afraid. It's not just me suddenly being sightless. There are just too many reasons.

I thank you for everything you've done for me. Even though you know I'm suspicious because I'm a girl who came out of nowhere, you still treated me well, and for this split second, I would like to a.s.sume that you care and love me. Thank you so much.

And because I'm grateful, I know I can't continue not being honest with you.

I'm not the kind of girl you're thinking I am. I approached you with a doubtful motive. I'm not sure if you have already forgiven me for that, but I'm surprised that you actually continued sheltering me and giving me everything I need. But let me say this. I'm no longer pure. I'm also being slowly died black. You won't believe what I've already done ever since we cohabited with each other.

Who knows if you'll still want to sleep with an impure and poisonous woman like me?

The reason that I'm afraid is this. And it's also why I hate myself.

To tell you the truth. The fear I'm feeling right now is making me want to disappear in this city.

Yet while I truly wish to go away, I just realized I committed a huge blunder when I didn't erase my tracks. But it's fine, I just thought I'm not being fair with you so let those tracks lead you to me. Though actually, it still depends on whether you want to meet me or not.

Just in case you'd get curious enough to trace me, I'll be very thankful. I have so much to tell so I'll be waiting.

-Your Baby

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Hours pa.s.sed after the young master of the Albarez family mobilized every personnel he could to track Sofony's whereabouts. He even almost called his uncle, the family head, to request the lockdown of every means of transportation going out of the city. Fortunately, before the call connected, one of his men informed him that they already found her.

She was actually nearby. Or at least, she didn't go that far.

With a dark expression in his face, Gio strode towards the girl hugging her knees on the park's stone bench. She was wearing a white s.h.i.+rt and blue denim. It was already dusk, so if other people had seen her wearing shades, they would find her an oddball.

Probably the girl sensed their presence so she raised her head and corrected her sitting posture. She didn't part with the bench though, and merely waited for them to come near her.

Then out of the sudden, she snapped her fingers in the air, her bare lips parting.

"Sir George, it's already late," she suddenly said. "Your boss wants you to take a break once in a while so just go home. It's fine, you can leave now. You're also thinking it's a matter between your boss and me so you have to give us all the time and s.p.a.ce we need."

"Go now. You are tired. You need rest. And your boss wants privacy."

Sofony's voice had always been nice to the ears, yet now, Gio could hear something different and unnatural from it. He couldn't help but turn to his a.s.sistant who he suddenly saw bowing down and retreating. When he saw George's strange walking posture as he walked away, Gio could feel his heart growing heavier.

With narrowed eyes, a question popped up in his mind, 'Hypnosis? Without proper conditioning and equipment?'

Gio was quite familiar with the term because, among his men, there were people specializing in hypnosis and brainwas.h.i.+ng.

'It's rare to see someone using gestures in hypnotizing to be this proficient.'

"Aren't you angry at what I did?" She abruptly asked with a small smile on her lips.

"Isn't this what you wanted to show me?" Gio replied back with a question while walking towards her. The distance between them lessened as the girl didn't move away.

She lowered her head though. Apparently, even with her eyes covered, she didn't have the guts to meet his eyes that were colder than usual.

"What do you want to tell me? Why don't you start explaining now why you suddenly disappear?"

For the past hours that she was hugging her knees in this park, the same one where she first heard the system's annoying voice, she had been pondering on what to say once he asked these questions. In her head, she had simulated many lines and scenarios, yet when faced with the real person, she suddenly became stumped for words. Maybe it was the effect of the subtle anger she detected from his voice.

Sofony was silent for a long time and Gio didn't press her for an answer immediately. However, when more than two minutes pa.s.sed yet she was still not speaking up, his patience seemingly ran out and he opened his mouth again.

"You're actually an excellent hypnotist. Is this what gives you the confidence that you can walk away freely after meeting me? Are you planning to run away after this? "

Sofony stared blankly at the high-spec man standing so close to her. Then when she regained focus, she replied, "You're supposed to ask me how that letter suddenly appeared there, or how that letter is written in the first place. I didn't expect you to question me that..."

"I don't know if that is witchcraft or what, but I'm curious on why you suddenly disappeared only to ask me to go here."

"I," she paused for a second then looked down to her shoes again. "I'm blind now."

"I know."

She took a deep breath before continuing, "If you remove my eyegla.s.ses, you'll find me looking like a complete freak. But I'm sure what you're gonna freak out about is how I can be so courageous to remove the bandages."

After a brief moment of silence, he started bombarding her with questions. "And your sister's case, her ident.i.ty, your sudden blindness, that letter, the reason you can walk out in a hospital and strut out in the streets confidently without letting people know that you're blind... And I suppose your wounds have already healed since you can wear shades like that."

She inwardly laughed and said to the system, 'You can't punish me for this. It's him who discovered by himself. It's you that messed up when you suddenly made me blind without considering that there may be cameras around.'

'Your condition is not to reveal anything to any unknowing party. At least he already knows that I'm like this. There should be no problem revealing more mysteries to him, right? All I have to avoid is call you immoral system and myself your host in front of him, right?'

The devil didn't answer but she knew it was a yes. After all, there was really no clause in its warning stating it's forbidden to tell anyone about their abilities and items. She reckoned the reason people like her were usually not revealing stuff like this to others was to prevent them from doing detrimental things to immoral hosts.

For example, a powerful politician kidnapping a weaker host to make him cough up items like the face-changing device or memory eraser. So far, she hadn't heard from the system that only hosts could use the items from its shop that's why she was confident that normal humans could also see and use them.

Actually, if she would think about it carefully, she would realize a low-level host like her was still very vulnerable in front of people like Gio.

So what if she could buy so many high-end items from the shop? Wasn't Floyd like that as well?

While the system was rumbling in her head, she sighed and said, "Let me begin from the start. To where I just learned my father's debt being thrown to me."

He coldly cut her off, "Do I have to know that? Can't you just go straight to answering my questions? All I actually want to know is if you are planning to leave after this."

She was somehow stunned by his last sentence because he said it in a way different from the earlier questions. At that moment, she had this illusion that his tone was that of a sad person.

Would Gio be sad once she leaves?

"I.." After subconsciously opening her mouth to answer, she looked down and started suppressing the tears again. "I'm simply scared." She said with a trembling voice.

"I'm indeed planning to go away because I don't want to reach the point where you'll personally throw me out. Like what I said in the letter, it's just not me being sightless, but also due to being in a dangerous unknown situation. You see, what if I tell you I'm nowhere near the word 'good' now? You witness a part of what I can do. Maybe I have already used my ability to make someone commit suicide? Will you be at ease having someone like that near you?"

'In fact, I already did something similar. Do you know, I'm even planning to use this ability to you so that after this, I can walk away safely? Of course, I don't dare put you in any harm. But if things go south, I'll probably even wipe out your memories of me.'

She didn't say the last part because she was just not courageous enough to bear the kind of gaze she would receive from him once he heard this.

"You can bear to leave me?" He asked, his mind still on her confirmation of her desire to escape from him.

"I..." This time, Sofony's eyes started watering up and she couldn't stop them. To be honest, with her eyeb.a.l.l.s gone, she was annoyed by how her tear ducts ended up fine, this day perfectly producing liters of tears. She didn't know if this was the system's arrangement. All she knew was that when Gio asked her this question, she couldn't bear to say yes. Her current indecisiveness was unlike when the system threw her the same question.

To this protest that came out of nowhere, Sofony annoyingly replied, 'Oh? That's light compared to losing my sight. b.a.s.t.a.r.d system.'

She then told it to shut up.

Precisely after that, Gio spoke again.

"Let me tell you truthfully," he began. He was still standing tall before her. "At first I'm seeing you as a toy in bed, a s.e.xmate I bought for one million. A few weeks after that, when you asked me if you've become my mistress, I denied it, but in reality, I'm treating like a kept girl. After all, like what you said, you just appeared out of nowhere. Our encounters are also always in bed."

"But now, I'm not seeing myself separating from you any time soon." His voice was now much calmer than before. "Do you get what I mean?"

There was still no mention of anything like love like it was the farthest thing from them. But the thought alone that he wanted to stay with her already brought her too much joy. Sofony wanted to believe in the sincerity she somehow traced from his statements. Still, she cautiously asked, "Even if I'm blind?"

"Yes." His reply came almost instantaneously.

"Even if I've already killed someone?"

With the system temporarily providing her vision, she saw some bewilderment briefly crossing his eyes, however, in the end, he still answered, "Yes."

"Even if I grew to the point I can destroy the world?"

To this seemingly senseless and stupid question, a laugh was the reply she received from him.

"Stop thinking about it, you're too immature that's why you're like this."

She secretly thought. 'Gio, you don't know what kind of being I've become.'

Even so, she was already happy to hear his first few answers. Sofony was also happy that she ended up doing fine in one of the things she had always been awkward with - confiding her thoughts and insecurities to someone else.

This was why, "Gio," she called out while her hands were tightly gripping on her backpack's shoulder straps. To this, he answered with a short hum.

Sofony bit her lower lip lightly for a few seconds before finally declaring, "Gio, I-I'll do my best to become more useful and courageous. I won't be just a home decor. I'll make my heart and myself stronger. I will also not always a.s.sume things and will talk properly with you whenever something's up. Also, once you feel like discarding me, I'll wait for you to say it. Only after that will I disappear."

The man's forehead greatly creased because he somehow disliked the last part. Nonetheless, Sofony acted like she didn't 'see' it and continued speaking, her face and voice showing how desperate and anxious she was.

"I-I swear, I will never harm you. That's why,... that's why, will you accept me again?"

Gio knew, if this girl only had her eyes with her, they would be already reddish at this point. However, she was already crying, and it's honestly making him very distressed.

With a heavy escaping from his lips, even though he strongly felt like listing to the girl all the troubles he went through for her since yesterday, he didn't do so and only hugged her. In the gentlest voice he could muster, he said, "Baby, you already made me so work up just to locate you, are you still expecting me to say no?"

'...I guess, that really didn't make sense.' She thought, then she started sobbing on his chest while simultaneously making a mess of his expensive suit.

Now, the mission was thrown to the back of her head, and she was also not giving a d.a.m.n if the system was getting angry again. She was finally realizing how stupid her thoughts and plans were, even if it could be said that she was just too disoriented from all the things she experienced and saw yesterday.

Fortunately, this demonic man had enough patience stored for her. Also, she was lucky that this usually cold man had let her occupied a small part of his heart. Weren't it for these, she would have lost him already.

At this realization, she finally looked up to him and said. "Hey. I now know I'm in the wrong."

By this time, her vision was already back to total darkness. Sofony didn't receive any response and so she didn't see the amused smile that Gio gave her. This was the reason why she continued in a soft and repenting voice,

"I'm sorry for trying to run away."