Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world-Chapter 436: The Aftermath
"I-I am still me," she whispered. "Just... less of me than before."
Upon hearing this, Brandon’s gaze quivered in surprise "What...?"
Charlotte’s gaze dropped before returning to his face.
"Because of our three personalities, we have three cores in our body. When Azyrth... when she tore my heart out, the main core was destroyed," she said quietly.
"The ’first’ personality, the one you grew up with... it shattered."
Brandon stared at her, searching her face like he might find the old green hiding somewhere behind the yellow.
"But... you’re still you," he muttered. "You’re still Charlotte, right?"
A small smile appeared on her lips "I’m still me."
She lifted one hand and cupped his cheek "I can still feel everything. I still love you. I still remember every single moment we’ve had."
"Don’t worry, since the other two cores are intact, the main core will reform eventually."
With a wry smile, she spoke "It’s just for a while; you have to put up with ’me. and not ’her.’ "
Brandon let out a soft sigh "As long as it’s you, I don’t care which part of you is in front."
Upon hearing this, Charlotte’s gaze softened "I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect that part of me. I’m sorry you had to see-"
Brandon shook his head, cutting her off "Don’t apologize for surviving. Don’t apologize for coming back to me. As long as you are alive and stay as ’Charlotte’ it’s enough for me."
He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and burying his face against her neck again.
"I love every version of you," he whispered into her skin.
"I love you too."
As they gently pulled back from the hug, Brandon looked into her eyes and smiled wryly "Its quite strange to look at you with yellow eyes..."
Charlotte looked into his blue eyes and her gaze slowly dropped his lips "Can I... kiss you?"
Eh? Brandon blinked in surprise, and she moved her lips closer "I mean.. ’I’ have never kissed you before, so."
Smiling, he leaned forward and took her lips in a soft kiss.
Charlotte’s fingers slid into his hair, holding him close and her body moved further into his until they were chest-to-chest.
Her lips trailed lower, brushing against the corner of his mouth, then his cheek, then the line of his jaw.
When they reached his neck, she paused... inhaled... and then licked a slow, wet stripe up the side of his throat.
Brandon froze.
Eh?
His brain short-circuited for a full second.
Then her mouth closed over the point beneath his ear and sucked gently.
He was dumbfounded, but then he realized that her other personalities are actually obsessed with him.
"Charlotte..."
She inhaled deeply with her nose pressed to the hollow of his throat.
Then she gently pushed him.
They tumbled backward together, landing in a soft heap of snow.
Brandon hit the snow first and Charlotte followed immediately, straddling his hips, knees sinking into the powder on either side of him.
She didn’t give him time to process.
Her mouth found his lips again.
Lips moved from his mouth to his cheek, then back to his jaw and down his neck again.
She sucked harder this time, leaving a blooming red mark just below his collarbone.
"Char, wait-"
She didn’t wait.
She pushed his shoulders down, pinning him flat against the snow, and kissed his face everywhere. Forehead.
Temple. The bridge of his nose. The corners of his eyes. Cheekbones. The tip of his nose.
She buried her face against the side of his neck again, and Brandon’s hands slid up her back.
"Charlotte..."
She lifted her head just enough to look at him.
And he hugged her in his arms "Take it slow."
---
Sitting on the boulder, Brandon and Charlotte watched the whole bunker burning amidst the snow.
Orange flames flickered hungrily, devouring the last remnants of Maevrith’s hidden laboratory.
Thick black smoke rose in slow, coiling pillars, mixing with the falling snow.
The heat from the blaze reached them even at this distance like a faint, comforting warmth against the biting mountain air.
Brandon sat with his knees drawn up, elbows resting on them, and hands dangling loose between his legs.
Charlotte sat close beside him, and neither of them spoke for a long time.
They just watched.
The fire roared louder for a moment as something inside the bunker collapsed and a fresh plume of smoke billowed upward, glowing orange from below.
Stretching his arms, Brandon spoke "Now everything is over. Let’s leave."
---
Meanwhile, sitting on a chair beside the hospital bed, Elize looked at Marzella lying unconscious.
The private room was quiet except for the soft, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor and the faint hiss of the oxygen mask.
Pale winter light filtered through half-closed blinds, painting thin silver stripes across the white sheets and Marzella’s still face.
Marzella looked exactly as she had twenty-one years ago.
The IV line in her arm dripped steadily.
The monitors showed stable vitals with steady heart rate, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure.
Elize sat straight in the chair, watching her best friend’s chest rise and fall slowly.
Her gaze trembled, and a single tear escaped, sliding down her cheek before she caught it with the pad of her thumb.
With a deep sigh, she reached for the medical report lying on the bedside table.
She opened it and looked at the top sheet.
-
Patient: Marzella
Diagnosis: Unexplained prolonged coma
Cause: Unknown. No evidence of trauma, stroke, infection, toxin, or metabolic disorder.
EEG shows persistent low-amplitude activity consistent with a deep sleep state, but no response to external stimuli.
-
Elize’s fingers tightened on the paper "Who would have thought you would go into a coma..."
She closed the folder and set it down carefully.
Then she leaned forward and stared at Marzella’s face for a long time.
Gently, she reached out and brushed a stray strand of black hair from Marzella’s forehead.
"You fought so hard..."
Her voice trembled slightly "I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner."
"I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’m sorry I let you stay trapped for so long."
"I am... sorry."
