Chapter 33: Feeling betrayed

Flora was the most confused one. 'Who is that person? What is that book? Why did it come out of Ray's body? What is going on?' all of these questions bugged her mind. After Marilas disappeared, her legs gave out and she fell down.

She was breathing heavily and she felt the world spin around her. It was a reaction that the human body naturally did when it overworked it's brain under a very stressful situation.

Even when Ray touched her and asked if she was okay, she did not reply and just kept looking dazedly at no particular place.

"Flora! Oyyy Flora!! Answer me!" Ray shouted repeatedly while shaking her gently. Finally, after a few seconds, she showed some reaction.

She looked at Ray and asked quietly " What is that book?" She asked while pointing at Sanguis who was still floating beside Ray.

Sanguis didn't have eyes but Flora could feel it looking at her coldly. 'Of all times. Sigh, I guess I will have to tell her now.'

The only reason Ray hid that fact from Flora and previously Galdof was because he didn't know if grimoires of the seven hearts generally and Sanguis specifically were some kind of forbidden magic. Because he knew that blood was not an element nor a sub-element of any kind, so taking the risk of telling them was not desirable, at least in his situation.

"That's Sanguis. The grimoire of blood. It's a magic book." Ray explained briefly. He had to stop multiple times throughout his speech to check Flora's reaction.

Flora was having internal chaos. She was happy because they didn't die at the hands of Marilas but she was also angry because Ray didn't tell her about his magic book.

"How long have you had this book for?" She asked after a long silence. Her cheerful attitude and happy smiles that she always showed to Ray were nowhere to be found. Instead, she had a frown that didn't suit her beautiful face.

"Since...The day I came to your house...Two years ago." Ray responded with difficulty. He could've lied but lies will only make it worse and honestly, he didn't want to lie to her....anymore.

"Why you never told me about it? Did you tell grandpa? Is it dangerous? are you hiding anything else?" A series of questions fell on Ray one after the other. But he didn't answer, he only sat there looking down without meeting Flora's eyes. Maybe it was guilt, shame or even sadness but the only thing Ray was sure of is that he wronged Flora and he needed to apologise. "Ray...Answer me...please." She begged him with a pitiful face.

When he shifted his eyes to look at Flora, he found her crying. She didn't know that tears were falling down and only kept looking at Ray waiting for him to speak, to tell her everything.

His guilt increased and he was barely able to speak "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide it from you...I was scared....scared that maybe when you find out you won't accept me anymore...You two were the only people who I cherish left in my life. That was enough for me to hide this." He conveyed his emotions in the clearest way possible but even then, his shame didn't diminish.

*Slap*

A loud sound echoed in the deserted forest. Ray couldn't believe what happened, Flora slapped him on his face with an angry look and then she shouted "Did you think we will hate you just because of this! Just because of this?! Didn't you say we're a family?!" Her tears didn't stop. She held Ray from his clothes and started crying quietly.

The slap didn't hurt him, nor did he feel any kind of anger. But all of her words were enough to make him drop his head to the ground. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I think that they will betray me just because of Sanguis? I thought I could still trust other people. Did I lose hope in every person?....or...did I lose hope in myself?' He thought while gripping his chest. The pain in his heart was unbearable, even more, painful than any injury that a weapon could inflict on him.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself just a little bit. Ray looked at Flora who was wiping her tears but failing every time. Without hesitating he pulled her in his embrace and hugged her tightly. Their bodies were connected and they could feel each other's hearts beating. He took a deep breath and then he whispered in her ear.

"You know...When I was betrayed the first time. I couldn't bear with it. Those ungrateful bastards toyed with me and threw me away like trash. I thought all humans were pieces of garbage who will get disposed of you the moment you become useless. Then...I met you. I thought you were also like them...But, you allowed me to live with you...you shared your food with me and gave me a place I could call home. I thought my heart was finally gonna heal and open up and I could trust again. But, deep down I was still scared of betrayal....scared of losing the people I love....again." At some point, Flora stopped crying and she listened to Ray while still hugging him.

"Even when I told you that we will take revenge and then continue to live happily. Even then, I didn't want to tell you about my secret....you know why? Because I'm just a frightened coward who doesn't accept change. Just someone who doesn't see the bigger picture and try to find his flaws and fix them. I want to say sorry. To say that I'm feeling deep guilt...but I know this won't fix everything. Consider this as me making another promise....a real promise. That I will never hide anything from you...ever. Even if death was a consequence for that." He held Flora from her shoulders and then he pulled her for a kiss. Their lips connected and Ray could feel her soft breathing coming to a halt. Her eyes were widened with surprise but soon enough, she also closed her eyes and enjoyed the new sensation she was feeling.

The two young couple sat there, sharing their deep kiss not bothering with anything else, just living the moment in their small world.