Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System-Chapter 253: He Knew Me Before I Did

Xu Kai exhaled, long and unsteady.

Relief flooded through him—hot, overwhelming, almost unbearable. His shoulders dropped, and his head bowed slightly as if a burden too long carried was finally beginning to lift.

For a moment, the silence stretched between them, thick and fragile, like the quiet before a storm. His breath was still warm against her skin. His hand remained gentle on her waist, unmoving. But his eyes—his eyes held everything. They searched hers with a kind of quiet ache, as though her question had cracked open something deep inside him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Then he slowly pulled back, just enough to see her face more clearly. He cupped her cheek with both hands now, holding her as if she were something he was afraid might disappear.

"Liora..." he whispered her name like it was a prayer.

She flinched slightly, unsure of what she was about to hear. The words she’d just spoken echoed in her mind like a cruel test. A challenge. Something she hadn’t meant to ask, but had to—because she was scared. Scared of being two people. Scared of being neither.

"I know why you asked me that," Xu Kai said softly, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. "And I don’t blame you."

Her throat tightened. Her eyes stung, and she almost wished he would be angry. That he would pull away. It would be easier to bear than the tenderness in his gaze.

"But listen to me," he said, his voice lower now, almost a whisper. "Even if you had never told me... even if you walked into my life as someone else entirely... I’d still find you. My heart would still choose you."

Her lips parted, breath caught, but she couldn’t say anything.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead, slowly and gently. "When I met Liora, I didn’t see Aeris. I didn’t remember Aeris. But I fell for her anyway. I didn’t know why, at first. I just knew I was drawn to you."

His hands moved down to hold hers between them, warm and steady. "You smiled like her. You got angry like her. You challenged me like her. And the more I got to know you, the more I... started to feel like I was remembering something I hadn’t even realized I’d lost."

Liora stared at him, unable to stop the tears that slipped down her cheeks. He was being too kind. Too gentle. And it was tearing her open.

"You want to know who I love?" Xu Kai’s voice was calm, but steady like a promise. "I love you."

He didn’t waver.

"I loved Aeris. I love Liora. And if tomorrow, you woke up as someone else, with a different name, different face—I would still love you. Because it’s you. It’s always been you."

She was shaking now, her heart too full, her chest aching.

"You don’t have to doubt that," he murmured, pulling her into his arms. "I don’t need to choose between names. I don’t care about what the people says, or what your memories say, or what anyone else expects you to be. To me, you’re not a title or a mystery to solve. You’re the person who stood by me. Who protected others. Who smiled when she was hurting. Who kissed me like I was the only person left in her world."

"I didn’t fall in love with a name," he said, holding her tighter. "I fell in love with your soul."

That broke her.

She buried her face in his shoulder as the tears came freely now, not from sadness but from the overwhelming weight of his words. He didn’t even hesitate. He didn’t flinch. He had answered with so much certainty, with so much truth, it made her feel like the worst person for ever doubting him.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, voice muffled. "I shouldn’t have asked. I just... I got scared."

Xu Kai pulled back just enough to meet her eyes again, gently brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Of course you were scared," he said gently. "You’ve been carrying so much, Liora. And you don’t have to pretend you’re not shaken. You just found out you were someone else, too. Anyone would question what was real."

She stared at him in awe.

How could he still be so calm?

So sure?

So sweet?

"But next time, instead of asking me who I love..." he said with a soft smile, leaning his forehead against hers again, "just ask me how much."

A tiny, broken laugh escaped her lips. "How much?"

"All of it," he murmured. "Everything. Every day. Every version of you."

He pulled her hand up and placed it over his heart, pressing it there. "You’ve already taken this. You don’t even know when it happened, do you?"

She shook her head, eyes shimmering.

"It was quiet," he said. "Like a star blinking into existence. I didn’t even realize how deep I had fallen until I started needing to see you in the morning. Until your voice was the only thing that calmed me down during missions. Until I couldn’t sleep unless I knew you were okay."

He laughed quietly, eyes glowing now with warmth. "I even got jealous when you talked to the AI assistant more than me. That’s how far gone I was."

Her brows lifted slightly at that, but her lips curled into a soft smile. "My assistant?"

"Yes," he admitted with a mock scowl, making her giggle through her tears.

"Xu Kai..." Her voice trembled again, but this time with something new. Something fragile and tender. "You’re... you’re too sweet. I didn’t deserve that answer."

He looked at her seriously. "Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that."

She looked away, ashamed. "I doubted you..."

"And you’re human," he said simply. "You’re allowed to be unsure. You’re allowed to ask hard questions. But know this, Liora—if I had only one truth to hold onto in this world, it would be you."

She blinked hard, the warmth in her chest now spreading like sunlight in the cracks of a long winter. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head into his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

She had been so afraid that the truth would change everything.

That he would see her differently.

But instead, he saw her more clearly than she saw herself.

And that was the sweetest thing of all.

"I love you too," she whispered into his shirt.

His arms tightened around her, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she let herself believe it was okay to be loved like this.

Even if the world changed tomorrow...

She knew Xu Kai would find her all over again.