Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 46: Don’t Leave Me Again [Alisha’s Backstory]

After seeing Karina off, Aiden turned towards his apartment, only to find James standing there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, B-Boss! Nothing much, j-just waiting for Lily," James stammered. "Since I’m planning to work till late in the workshop, I thought it’d be best to take her too."

"She had fun there last time, huh?" Aiden smiled.

"Oh, she did! I have a feeling she is more talented than I am. The future is in good hands, haha!"

Aiden smiled along, but he couldn’t help but wonder about James’s screwed perception. He could guess his daughter had talent, but couldn’t notice when someone else was enjoying his wife.

[It is a great mystery indeed.]

Forget about him. Did you do what I asked for?

[Yes, host. It will be released following your next class upgrade.]

Good. Good. Now to get him away—

Before Aiden could even complete his thoughts, the door shot open. Lily was carrying a small backpack with the snacks Aiden had collected for her from the ration packs.

"Hey, there, little one—"

Aiden reached out, wanting to pull Lily’s soft cheek. Just then, another hand shot out from behind the door and pulled him in before shutting the door with equal ferocity.

"Dada, why is mommy so angry?" Lily asked, holding James’s hand.

"Eh..." James hummed, scratching his cheek. "Big brother Aiden did something... indecent last night. Your mom is his aunt, so she’ll scold him for it."

Lily tilted her head, not understanding anything James said. He didn’t bother explaining it either.

Everyone in the apartment had heard Karina’s screams and seen her behavior towards Aiden since the morning. Alisha probably still felt responsible for him, so she was probably going to give him an adult talk.

"Even I think he went a bit too fast," James sighed, shaking his head. "You have to take things slow, get to know a woman’s heart before making them your queen. Alisha has been happy with me for that reason!"

He continued, "This young generation is indeed reckless. I don’t think they even had protection to use, but with Aiden’s shop, he must have had something."

With that, they turned, walking towards the workshop. Suddenly, James walked back to the door.

"Don’t be too hard on him, sweetie! Every guy makes that mistake once!"

After saying his piece, James let out a deep breath. He did his job as his step-aunt’s husband. Surely Alisha would heed his words and go easy on the lecture.

***

Meanwhile, inside the apartment unit.

"We need to talk," Alisha huffed, dragging Aiden to the sofa.

He had just landed on it when she jumped on him and cupped his face. It wasn’t until then that Aiden noticed her red eyes and the dark circles under them.

She clearly had been crying and didn’t sleep much last night. Aiden couldn’t think of why. Sure, he slept with Karina, but based on Alisha’s index, it shouldn’t have hit her that badly. After all, she was still stuck in the desire state.

"You just went ahead and did it, huh!?" she yelled, her lips quivering. "Wasn’t I enough for you? Even after everything I did for you—!"

She was still crying her heart out when Aiden’s hand wrapped around her nape and pulled her in for a kiss. She seemed surprised at first, refusing to part her lips, but Aiden’s tongue didn’t take no for an answer.

A second later, not only did her lips open, but Alisha grabbed the back of his head and began kissing him more fervently, as if trying to erase Karina’s imprint on him.

Through her sweet lips, Aiden could also taste her tears. His night of passion had hurt her tremendously. More than he had expected it to.

She isn’t as simple as I thought.

Be as it may, Aiden couldn’t allow her to throw a tantrum every time he was with someone else. There would be plenty of others in the future.

Karina seemed to understand it, and he hoped Alisha would too. If she didn’t, then... things might get ugly.

Breaking their kiss, Alisha took his hand and guided it to his chest. Aiden could sense her frantic heartbeat, but her eyes had finally calmed down a bit.

"I... know what’s going on in your mind," she mumbled. "A man like you would have plenty of lovers in this ruined world. All women desire a dependable man who can take care of them, and you’re that man for many."

"But this place... It hurts..." she continued, pressing his hands deeper into her chest. "It hurts to think the young man I helped raise... is giving his love to someone else."

"Wait, what do you mean, helped raise?"

Aiden was taken aback. Was the innocent cougar not so innocent and groomed the previous owner?

"So you truly have forgotten everything..." she whispered, and got off him to sit on the couch. "Fine. I’ll tell you everything."

What followed was a flashback of how scummy the body’s biological father was. In simple words, he was a serial cheater.

Aiden’s stepmom, Sera, adopted him, trying to shield him from his father’s toxic traits. Unfortunately, she couldn’t handle her husband’s constant cheating and got hooked on substances, which led to her death.

The death snapped his father out of his sex-crazed brain, and he, for once, tried to be a good father. But apart from throwing money, he didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t provide emotional support to Aiden.

"That’s where I stepped up," she whispered, wiping away her tears. "I never tried to be your mother, because that wasn’t my place. Besides, our ten-year age difference didn’t do me any favors."

She continued, "Everything was going fine until your 18th birthday when your father took you and disappeared. I can’t blame him... perhaps he noticed my feelings towards you before I recognized them myself."

"I knew your father had an apartment in this building. That’s why I forced James to get one on the same floor, hoping to reunite with you, but you didn’t remember me, so I did what I had to, only to find out you had lost your memories."

She smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.

"For a moment, I thought it was perfect. We can have all the time to ourselves. We could rewrite our story... then last night I heard her scream your name, and that dream shattered into pieces."

Saying so, Alisha turned all serious and grabbed his hands as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes.

"Aiden... I’m sorry, but I love you. I have loved for a long, long time. I already lost you once, I can’t bear the thought of losing you again. You can have as many women as you want... just please... don’t leave me again... please..."