Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V
After leaving the room, Demian started to ponder on what steps he should follow next as his mind unconsciously noted the several bedrooms and bathrooms sprinkled here and there in the long corridor he was currently standing in. With a wry smile painting his face, he mumbled. “I wonder how many of my previous life’s apartment I could fit just on this floor. And there’s still the first floor downstairs...”
Chuckling briefly, he thought. ‘I gotta say, for all the terrible stuff that happened to me and my family in my current life, the fact that we’ve got so much money is... very nice, to say the least.’ Pausing for a brief moment, he then added. ‘What was the quote again? It’s better to cry in a Ferrari than on a bicycle...? Something like that.’
Shaking his head, he shoved that thought to the side and began walking toward the staircase leading to the first floor. From time to time, some small creaking sounds coming from the lacquered hardwood floor resounded in the empty hallway, distracting the young man from his thoughts. After arriving at the top of the stairs, his gaze fell on the young woman lounging on the couch downstairs.
The petite redhead had a book on her lap and seemed focused on it as her hand was roaming around one page after the other. Staring at her, he fell into a slight daze while his mind suddenly brought up old memories. Among them, one stood at the forefront. ‘Three years ago, we all lost so much...’ He thought gloomily for a moment before being interrupted by Seraphine’s melodious voice.
“What are you doing staying up there, Mom? Did Demian wake up?” Her voice was filled with concern for his well-being, bringing unconsciously a joyful smile to his face. Walking down the stairs as quickly as possible without falling, the brown-haired teenager exclaimed playfully. “It’s not Aunty, Sis! I did wake up, by the way. Are you happy or are you happy?”
Completely opposite to the simple teasing reply he expected, the woman froze for a brief moment as his words reached her ears. She then threw the book from her lap which, thankfully, avoided any fragile objects on its way to the floor. As soon as the item was out of the way, Seraphine moved her slender but toned body in his approximate direction, while her arms instantly opened wide in a seemingly desperate bid to embrace him.
Now, if it was him from his previous life, it would just end up with him embracing her back and that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, he could easily tell that his current body would not be able to take the collision, despite the redhead not trying to hurt him in any way. And, as expected, as soon as she made contact with his torso, he toppled over backward with her falling alongside on the thick and fluffy white carpet.
‘Thank God for the carpet!’ He thought as his breath was cut off for a few seconds from the shock before he could finally exclaim, half-joking, half-serious. “Sis, you could have gone easier on me, you know?” However, his words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as some muffled sobbing noises started coming from her trembling body.
Her crying grew louder when his arms encircled her slim waist while his right hand started stroking her hair gently. Letting out a sigh, he then whispered some comforting words, trying his best to alleviate her sorrow. “I’m okay, Sera. You don’t have to worry anymore. From now on, everything’s gonna be okay.” His voice, coupled with his gentle gestures, seemed to have an effect as the volume of her sobbing and the degree of her trembling slowly decreased, allowing the woman to regain her calm.
“Dem... I-I thou... thought that you... that you...” She could not finish her sentence, however, her words greatly stoked his curiosity. ‘I only got knocked out, so why was she so upset?’ He thought, puzzled, before asking out loud. “Why wouldn’t I wake up? Didn’t I only get a concussion?” His confusion did not last long, as the young woman in his arms replied in a somewhat calmer voice while shaking her head.
“No! Mom said... She said that your face was seriously hurt and... And that the concussion was severe. We thought you’d sleep for a long time, but it’s only been one night...” Her voice betrayed her confusion at that last fact, however, the young man could easily guess that his physical perk had already started its work as soon as he regained his previous life’s memories.
What puzzled him still was the fact that he woke up in his own bed. After all, if his injuries were that severe, he should have been in the hospital... ‘Oh!’ He inwardly exclaimed as the image of a man appeared in his mind. Narrowing his eyes, he nonetheless kept his voice even as a question left his lips. “I didn’t wake up in the hospital because...?”
With her tumultuous emotions relatively settled, she could calmly answer his question without any tears running down her cheeks, or more precisely falling on his shirt. The latter was already soaked, so, it did not matter that much anyway. “The man who assaulted us is the Damovotsk General Hospital’s head, so going there was too risky. Instead, Mom took you to her Doctor’s office and kept you there for the whole night. Both Bryn and I slept there and it was only this morning that Mom told us that you were out of danger. So, we brought you home and she’s been looking after you ever since.”
After the last words left her lips, the two fell into a peaceful silence for a while before Demian remarked with a small grin. “In any case, I’m more or less okay now. I’ll only need a few days of rest and I’ll be all healed up.” Rubbing her face slightly on his shirt, she responded with a question. “What does more or less mean?” As his hand was about to scratch his chin in thought, he suddenly realized what he was about to do and slowly put it back on the girl’s back before answering.
“Well, my face hurts a lot, and I’ve got a killer migraine. But besides that, my body’s fine.” A doubtful grunt escaped her lips, after which she replied. “And you said you’d be fine after a few days? Don’t think I’m dumb! That kind of injury should take weeks to disappear. Maybe more! So talking about a few days is stupid.”
Chuckling at her annoyance lacing her voice, he replied playfully. “Wasn’t I supposed to be out for a long time? But it only took me a night to wake up, didn’t it? So, I can assure you that it won’t take me much time to get rid of those ugly bruises on my face.” Letting out an audible sigh, she could not help herself from teasing him. “It might improve your looks, who knows?”
Cocking his brow, he retorted while sporting an amused grin. “You broke my heart a second time today, Sis. Why do you have to hit where it hurts?” Giggling briefly, she responded. “It’s fine even if no other woman wants you. Mom, Big Sis, and I will take care of you, so you don’t have to worry about it.” The two then burst into laughter, lightening the previously heavy atmosphere by a lot.
As the two regained their calm, Demian patted her back and claimed. “Now, that we’ve had our fun, do you mind moving your not-at-all heavy body from my poor self? It’s not that I’m uncomfortable but chatting together while you’re lying on top of me may lead to misunderstandings.” His smooth reply made the petite woman blush slightly before she stood up quickly. After a fake cough, she retorted. “Right. Misunderstanding is bad...”
Her voice turned into a whisper at the end, however, the brown-eyed teenager did not register the change as his mind was instead thinking about what he planned to do. Changing the subject, the petite redhead asked. “So, what do you want to do today?” Pondering for a second, he finally made a decision. “I was just thinking about that. I think I’ll work out. I won’t do anything too intense since I don’t want to worsen my injuries. But some light exercises should be fine.”
The slight doubts on her face reminded him of his useless previous attempts at building up his body’s muscles. “I know what you’re thinking, but for some reason, I feel that this time it’ll work.” She did not seem too convinced, though. “If you say so. Just be careful, alright?” Nodding his head, he was about to leave when she added. “Could you bring me my book, please?”
“Uh?” Was his amused response. The redhead responded with both a light blush and an embarrassed explanation. “I don’t... I don’t remember where I put it. Could you get it for me? Pretty please?” Snickering at her question, his gaze was briefly attracted to the scar running from the left side of her face to the right and marking her closed eyelids before he retorted with more warmth than playfulness lacing his voice. “Sure. Anything for my beautiful sister!”
His gaze did not linger on the joyful smile that his words elicited, but instead moved in the book’s direction. the latter was lying half-opened on the floor a bit further than where they were currently standing. As his hand grabbed the object, something suddenly came to his mind. “By the way, do you know where’s Big Sis?”
“Yep! She left for her gym after we brought you home and Mom claimed that you’d be fine. Since she looked as worried as Mom and I, she probably went there to let out some steam. Knowing her, she should be beating some people in the ring right now. And she’s got her international match next month, so she might need the training. Probably?”
Handing her the book, he replied. “That sounds exactly like her. At least the part about beating people up...” He chuckled before asking hesitantly. “I should send her a text now that I’m awake, shouldn’t I?” Noticing the look on his cousin’s face, a helpless sigh escaped him before he took the phone from his pocket and sent a quick text to inform the tall woman that he was awake.
“Done! I’ll go now.” His defeated tone of voice made the redhead giggle as she remarked. “She’s not as terrible as you make her sound. She’s just a bit harsh when she wants you to improve. Plus, if you can really improve as much as you say, she’d probably be delighted.” Shaking his head, he retorted, half-jokingly, half-seriously before walking toward the penthouse’s personal gym. “That would mean more beating. God, why am I already tired?”
He however froze briefly as Seraphine’s next words reached his ears. “I’m glad you seem better, Dem.” He immediately understood that she was not talking about his physical state. After a second of silence, he responded firmly. “I told you already. From now on, everything’s gonna be okay. It’s a promise.” Without turning back, he then resumed moving to the gym.
‘No turning back! If I want to hold that promise, I need to grow stronger as quickly as possible!’ He thought as a surge of motivation ignited in his heart.