It was pretty fun to watch how Helen’s face went through the whole spectrum of expressions. Sorrow, anger, envy, jealousy, disappointment, and bewilderment changed each other in quick succession until, at last, her expression turned blank.

Meanwhile, I kept eating my breakfast in silence.

“So, had I passed the vibe check for being your best friend’s boyfriend?” I asked, finishing the last of my coffee.

“Huh? What?” She played dumb.

Or so I choose to believe, since the other alternatives required me to be more desperate or delusional. Yes, of course, the signs were hard not to pick up, but Helen Smith wasn’t a stranger to my habit of reading people. She was no stranger to putting on a show to mislead people, either.

It was also the safest bet to make.

“Wasn’t that your intention? To test the weird dude who came out of nowhere and started dating Claire, I mean.” I explained.

It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.

A light of understanding lit up in Helen’s eyes. Smart girl.

“And what if I said that you didn't? You know, I can tell her quite a few stories about your antics. To help the poor girl dodge the bullet, of course.” Ah, her current expression looked exactly like Grandpa Smith's when he tried to con me that one time. Bar the looks, of course.

“I would wish you luck in bringing some common sense into Counter Girl’s life,” I responded with an exaggerated shrug. “I’ve been telling her exactly that for two weeks straight, and she still trusts me far too much.”

“And if I said it wasn’t a test at all?” There was something in her eyes that told me it wasn’t a joke.

“Then I would tell you that you don’t make any sense.” So I responded with a completely straight face.

“I don’t care if I make any sense; I just want you back.” The intensity behind her gaze doubled, leaving me no choice but to take her words seriously.

Heavens almighty, since when have people stopped using logic to make their decisions?

I chuckled as the answer dawned on me. Since about two weeks ago. Well, since the world itself doesn’t make much sense, people just follow the trend.

I raised my hand and made a gesture, calling a waiter to come over. My cup was empty, and the talk promised to be lengthy, so I needed a refill.

“Helen. Now I am going to talk, and you will listen. I will answer your questions after I finish. Am I clear?” I said, slipping into the Professional mindset.

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She nodded, and we sat there in silence for a few minutes until the waiter brought the order.

Now, where should I even begin? How much should I tell her? What can I tell her? What do I want her to know?

“Well, you see...” I spoke after finally coming to a conclusion. “Two weeks ago, I went for a walk and met a girl.”

Fuck it. Since I decided to stick with the truth, I will just continue doing so.

***

“Imagine my surprise when I met you today.” I finished my story.

I told her the whole truth—Olivia, Bella, Arrangement, Claire, and some of my own thoughts about the situation.

The matter of my involvement in clan business was left out of my tale, since it wasn’t all that important for now. It would also be amusing to see Helen’s surprised face when she met with Long Tian or Kouzuki Shinji.

I took a sip of the coffee. The story actually took quite a bit of time to tell, so it was lukewarm already.

Helen sat there quietly, lost somewhere deep in her thoughts. Which was understandable; there was a lot to take in.

I played with the cup, wondering if there was something else to add.

“I have a few questions,” Helen broke the silence, startling me a bit.

“Sure, go ahead.” I nodded.

“First. If I so choose to partake in this ‘arrangement’ of yours, would I be required to have romantic feelings for someone except you?”

Her tone and choice of words reminded me of work-mode Bella, the younger version.

“Nope,” I replied. After a bit of consideration, I shook my head and decided to add, “Unless you want to.”

“Second. What will you do if I don’t accept those terms?” She continued her questioning without showing any reaction to my first answer.

“I don’t know. It’s complicated.” I tried to weasel my way out of answering.

Helen simply kept waiting for the explanation.

“Fine, since you want the truth, here you go,” I let out a deep sigh. “I have no fucking idea. On one hand, I wouldn’t want to complicate my relationships any more than they already are. On the other hand, I want you too much to refuse you outright. Then it depends on how difficult you decide to be.”

I put my elbows on the table and hid my face in my palms, hoping that the lightning would strike me right about now and end my suffering. No miracles happened, so I had to continue:

“If worse comes to worst, the most likely outcome will be me being completely fed up and stressed out by the situation. So I will peace out into the sunset in my usual fashion.”

And then I will drive my life into the most spectacular train wreck possible.

“Third. Does this arrangement make you happier?” Without so much as batting an eyelid, she asked another one.

Choosing not to let her destabilize my shaky sanity even more, I decided to focus on the question.

This one was a no-brainer.

The feeling of peace. Olivia’s lap pillow. Sleepy face of Claire as she clings to me in her dream. Slow morning with Bella. Those words.

“Yes.” I smiled. “For the first time in my life, I'm not alone.”

“And the last one.” Oh, good, more to come. “Where do I sign?”