Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 260: Flaw-Filled World

"Can’t I be your one and only?"

Cecilia’s step faltered.

In all her life, she had never thought she would be loved this much. Never dreamed of being so loved that three wonderful men would fight over her, let alone being loved enough that they would compromise with each other, would stay together with her for the sake of her happiness.

It was absurd. Impossible. A fantasy that no orphan girl from a small-town clinic should ever entertain.

And yet here she was. Living it.

But at some point, she had also wondered what she would do if this particular question ever came up. If one of them ever asked. If the weight of sharing became too heavy, and someone wanted to be the only one.

She stopped walking and turned. Faced Arkai directly.

The corridor stretched behind her. Daylight created lines against the walls, casting gentle shadows across his face, illuminating the vulnerability in his eyes.

Arkai Dawnoro would be the last man to ask that question if he had all the memories of the real world.

It was certain.

This very man was her first other man. The first she had allowed to share her bed after, and with, her first real husband.

If Arkai Dawnoro didn’t exist, there would only ever be Oathran for her.

If Arkai Dawnoro didn’t exist, Eastiel would never be hers.

And thus, in any other circumstance, in any world where he remembered, Arkai Dawnoro would be the last person to ever ask that question. Because thanks to him, and especially him, there would never be a one and only for Cecilia.

"You asked this question... Arkai," Cecilia said gently, "because you don’t remember."

She held his gaze.

"But I will answer you anyway."

Arkai looked at her solemnly, trying desperately to make sense of this persistent sense of incompleteness that gnawed at the edges of his consciousness. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch, a word on the tip of his tongue, a memory just out of reach.

"But when you remember, this answer might hurt you." Cecilia’s voice was soft, almost regretful. "This will hurt you, because I know what kind of person you are."

Arkai frowned.

Remember? She kept telling him to remember. But what? What was he supposed to remember that he had somehow forgotten?

"Listen carefully." Cecilia stepped closer, her sea-glass eyes holding his with an intensity that made his breath catch. "I will answer your question. But promise me. Don’t blame yourself for asking it after you remember everything. Alright?"

Seeing her this serious, Arkai wondered if it had been a mistake to ask. If the answer would somehow make things worse, not better.

But he nodded anyway. Not understanding anything, but trusting her enough to make the promise she asked for.

Cecilia took a deep breath. Held it close, then released it.

"Can’t you be my one and only..." She met his eyes. "My answer is yes. Yes, Arkai. You can be my one and only."

Arkai’s eyes widened.

He... could?

"When I decided to have the three of you, I decided to take responsibility for your feelings." Cecilia’s voice was steady. "And because of that, if just one of you asked me to be my one and only, I would try my best to make it happen."

But—

"I would speak with the other two men. I would ask them to leave me." Each word was certain. "I would make it happen."

She paused.

"And if they said no, I would fight them."

Arkai didn’t understand. He should have felt happy hearing this. He should have felt vindicated, chosen, special. But instead, a horrible weight settled in the pit of his stomach.

"But then... you’ll hurt them." The words came out before he could stop them. "You’ll... you’ll hurt yourself."

Cecilia smiled, and it was warm. As warm as always.

"But I will do it. If just one of you wanted to be my one and only, I would hurt everyone’s feelings." She tilted her head slightly. "Because if one of us no longer wants to be together, the only right thing to do is fight for what we believe is right."

"But what if all of your boyfriends wanted to be your one and only?" Arkai pressed. "What then?"

"Then we would fight." Her answer was immediate. Absolute. "All of us."

"That’s the only right thing to do. We, the four of us, are adults. We know how to fight, and how to express our feelings. Even if we hurt each other... even if there’s no answer... we must fight for what we think is right."

Cecilia knew that in the real world, her husbands would never fight. They would compromise. They would sacrifice their own desires to avoid saddening or angering her. They would choose to share rather than risk losing her entirely.

But if one of them, if any of them, wanted something to change? She would fight.

Because she wouldn’t know the answer either.

Arkai sighed. A broken laugh escaped him.

"So if I told you I wanted to be your one and only man now... you’d choose me?"

Cecilia nodded. "I’d choose you. I would never not choose you, if you asked."

Even if it broke her heart into pieces.

"And if tomorrow, Eastiel Edengold came to you and begged you to choose him?" Arkai’s voice was quiet, testing.

"Then tomorrow... I might choose him." Cecilia’s eyes slowly turned glassy, a sheen of unshed tears gathering at the edges. "Perhaps after fighting it out with you both."

But then it would hurt her.

It would hurt them.

Arkai understood now.

Cecilia stepped closer. Her hands found his, her fingers interlacing with his fingers.

"Arkai, what’s on your mind?"

She studied his face, those eyes tracking every micro-expression.

"You already know I have this relationship with two other men. You, of all people, should already know why I’ll fight for them as much as I’ll fight for you." A pause. "This question... doesn’t feel like you."

Arkai didn’t know why.

He had thought that he was ready to abandon everything just to be hers. His family, his position, his name. All of it. So why was he still jealous? Was this even jealousy? Or just something he thought wasn’t perfect, something he was trying to fix?

He just felt something awful. Something missing. A void of something he couldn’t... understand.

Cecilia kept saying he would remember. Remember what? Why must he remember? Why couldn’t he just be without whatever she was talking about?

"I think..." His voice was slow, searching. "I think everything will go well."

He looked at her, desperate for understanding.

"But something... something is not here. Something... something..." He squeezed her hands. "Cecilia. Tell me. What am I missing?"

Something clicked in Cecilia’s mind.

This man might not want to remember.

But he knew. Knew that this supposedly perfect world, where all tragedies had been averted, where Sienna would be corrected, where his family would heal, was missing something.

"I think you’re missing Rinne."

Cecilia smiled.

"Our son." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Rinne.

Our son.

Arkai’s eyes widened.

The name slammed into him. A gate in his mind unlocked. Memories flooded through. A boy with a wagging tail. A small voice calling him Father. A weight in his arms, a warmth in his chest, a love so deep it transcended everything.

Rinne.

"I’m sorry." Cecilia said, thick with unshed tears. "I think I have no choice but to remind you of all the tragedies none of us could prevent in real life."

It pained her heart. She could feel it cracking, splintering, as she watched understanding dawn in his eyes.

She had to drag him back to reality, breaking his heart, awakening him from this beautiful dream...

"But right now, our son is waiting for us back home, Arkai."

She squeezed his hands.

"Let’s... go home."

DING!

[You’ve succeeded in the task: Make him remember the life outside of this scenario!]

[Reward Rank 7]

- [5 Stars Skill Orb: Scent Shifting]

Grant him the ability to consciously alter his personal scent signature, masking his identity, mimicking others, or becoming completely scentless to evade tracking.

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