Sofony"s first encounter with the system was when she was in the darkest period of her life. She became orphaned. Even if her father was still alive, she had been abandoned so it was not any better than being an orphan. A huge debt was suddenly thrown at her shoulders and it was an amount that she would never be able to pay if she had continued being a normal student. If she had never been bound to the system and met Gio, then undoubtedly her debt collector would be hunting her by now. The worst case she had conjured in mind when she was crying at the deserted park was being sold to some perverts or lowlives in order to pay off the debt. She would either end up as a hostess selling pleasure or a disabled beggar being leeched off by the syndicate. That"s how she imagined her life would be when she found out the one million credits debt her father left.
When thought out like this, Sofony had probably more than ten reasons to thank the system"s existence.
However, as she also remembered the recent happenstances revolving around it and her life, she honestly still couldn"t shake off the feeling that she lost so much more than she gained. Sofony felt like there were more than ten thousand reasons to hate it. As everything that took place within the two and a half months played in her mind, she realized that she was not only sinking deeper into the darkness.
Not only was she losing sight of herself.
Alarmingly, even those she cared for was quickly disappearing from her life!
Right now, only Gio remained. And she certainly doesn"t want him to vanish away too.
"It"s already late. It will be awkward to go to school so I"ll just visit the laboratory," she said, forcing a smile at Gio.
It was after she woke up. He just walked out of the built-in closet, wearing his usual business suit which his toned and ideally proportioned body brought life to. His hair was still glistening, seemingly telling her that he had just taken a shower. As Sofony watched him take huge strides towards her, her eyes repeatedly blinked. She was actually etching every detail of this man in her mind, a certain thought that sparked numerous and dangerous others emerging within.
"He...is the only one remaining."
The man noticed her weird state and though pleased by her dazed expression as she looked at him, he still noticed that her mind had long flown somewhere.
This time though, he was only partially correct. Her mind was indeed wandering. But not to somewhere, but to someone. Him.
It was unknown whether it was due to having just awakened, but her mind dizzily asked her heart, her eyes still hazily glued to this mature and dependable man"s face.
"He... is the only one... I can claim mine... right?" it said, ignoring the unwanted voice inserting nonsensical things into her brain.
She remembered that her best friend was already dead. Her sister too. The Silvers, though nice to her, was still just a recently gained family whose motive was mainly to latch onto the Albarez through her. This was why her heart couldn"t confidently say that they were now her family. She has some friends. But if she doesn"t want them to die one by one to some mysterious forces or circ.u.mstances, she could only distance herself from them.
As for her father... he abandoned her.
Honestly, she was still just a daughter yearning to complete or bring back what little remained of her real family so she tried inquiring the system about him once. Sadly, the system couldn"t locate him. It was a very puzzling matter. However, before she could take any more actions to find him or at least know how he was doing, her conflict with Clarissa escalated.
Now, after everything that happened which were more like consequences of clas.h.i.+ng with another host, she could no longer find the energy to think about a person who ruthlessly left her.
If there was something she wanted to do, it was of course to secure the only one who stayed with her.
"Gio," she deliriously called out his name the same way she muttered it whenever they were in the middle of a sinful union.
When he took her hand that she unconsciously reached out to him, her heart grew calmer. The warmth and security it brought her allowed her to temporarily forget the sorrows drowning her heart.
At the same time though, it worsened her already unstable mentality. It was because after he did this very simple but meaningful gesture to her, she could no longer erase that particular idea in her head.
While feeling so many bubbling and conflicting emotions in her heart, she couldn"t even help but mumble, "...Thankfully, he"s mine."
"I still have something I can call mine..."
"If... if even he disappears..."
How grateful she was to hear his voice which seemingly wanted to remind her that he wouldn"t. "Sofy."
She nodded, her eyes feverishly looking at him. "Here."
"I have a meeting at 3 pm. We don"t have much time. Baby, get up from the bed now. Take a shower and dress up. It"s already past 12 so let"s just eat outside."
Unfortunately, Sofony"s mind already went to a slightly grey area so she didn"t reply.
Since he was the only one who stayed for her, her thoughts were all about how to not let him go. Her eyes went down to his broad and slightly callused hand, this hand that grasped hers when she was in the two darkest periods of her life. Ignoring the confusion on his face, she held it tightly using her two small hands. All she was thinking of was to never let go of it...so he would also not be able to leave her.
A second later, a particular scene in the past played in her memories, reminding her of how he said he was hers. Then she realized, he wouldn"t actually be going away by himself. He had already promised this before. She has faith in his words.
"Does it mean the only threats are those who want to take him away from me?"
Her heart grew cold, not liking the idea that someone or something could possibly steal him away from her. She realized she couldn"t let that happen. The heavens had already been unfair to her when it almost left her with nothing but Gio.
She doesn"t want to lose anyone anymore! Especially him!
If it weren"t for her stupidity, soft-heartedness, and indecisiveness, things wouldn"t become like this. Even though she hated to admit it, but the system was right. She was too goody-two-shoes for her own good!
"No more!" her brain yelled, angry at what her weaknesses caused her and her loved ones to experience.
She couldn"t allow this to happen again! If it was her soft character that led things to this, then she"d be more than willing to change or kill it! Bury this troublesome personality now!
Eliminate those threats as well!
So that he wouldn"t be taken away!
Her face darkened due to the name that immediately crossed her mind, a name that belonged to someone who was one of the current threats. Speaking of a threat, that loathful witch was more than that. That Clarissa had already crossed every line she could cross, making Sofony hate someone to death and hope for that person"s lifetime agony for the very first time!
However, that woman"s name also reminded her of what she was. This was what made her stiffen, the hands holding his slightly trembling.
She then shouted within, "No, she is still a menace! She"s still a host! And I can"t always be sure that Leo Jones is really watching her all the time! What if she escapes? Who can say for sure that she won"t try to kill Gio? No, no. I can"t let her have any chance!"
"What"s the matter?"
The question instantly made Sofony look up to the one who asked this. His worried features woke her up of her dazed state. Her distorted face had probably alarmed him. The realization made her quite pale so she hurriedly flashed a smile and shook her head.
"Nothing. I was just daydreaming."
Instead of repeating to her what he said before, he only asked, "Are you really okay now?"
Sofony was reminded of what kind of face she showed to him just recently. She became quite anxious. Due to remembering how stupid and fragile she was last night, her body became tense, afraid that the weakness she showed had turned him off. The grim expression earlier due to remembering Clarissa also contributed to this. Fortunately, her head was still quite rational so it immediately told her to calm down or at least, force a smile.
"I"m okay now. Sorry. I, I won"t do it again."
She saw Gio"s forehead creasing again. Somehow, she didn"t like it because it was giving her the illusion that he was dissatisfied with her or her actions. She forced herself not to tremble and instead told herself to do something to ease the situation.
Then she recalled the matter which was still troubling her. She thought of using it as a diversion thus she quickly spoke up and changed the topic, "It"s already late. It will be awkward going to school so I"ll just visit the laboratory."
Sofony naturally did not mention what she would most likely do there.
Still, Gio frowned, "Lauren"s laboratory?"