Return of The Alpha Heiress-Chapter 48: Clarissa – Healed Eyes

I didn’t know why Richard asked me out.

Whatever the reason, I just wanted to get out of this house for a while. I felt like I couldn’t breathe here. Everything felt too tight, too suffocating.

I didn’t care if he teased me about my watery eyes from crying.

After a brief silence, Richard replied, "Alright. I’m coming now. Wait for me on your balcony."

"Balcony?" I voiced my confusion, but the call had already ended.

About five minutes later, I heard a knock on my balcony door. Behind the glass, I saw a black wolf with red eyes waiting outside.

He really came to pick me up through the balcony. Honestly, it was a good idea. Going through the front would only cause unnecessary trouble.

I opened the balcony door.

"You’ve been crying?" As expected, he immediately commented on my eyes.

"That’s none of your business," I replied coldly.

He didn’t tease me or say anything annoying like usual. Instead, he told me to climb onto his shoulders.

"You’re taking me out on your shoulders? But it’s already night."

Without realizing it, I brought up his eye problem. The eyes that couldn’t see in the dark.

Green Pack’s roads were well lit, but since he picked me up from the balcony, we would pass behind the mansion, where there were no streetlights.

"I can see in the dark now," he said, his voice filled with relief.

"Really?"

Without realizing it, I felt relieved and happy for him too. As someone with my own flaws, it felt comforting to know that at least one of us had healed.

"How did you recover?" I asked, curious.

"Get on first," he ordered.

Since today was clearly a good day for him, I climbed on without hesitation. His happiness eased my sadness a little.

This was my first time riding on a wolf.

From afar, his black fur looked rough, but up close, it was soft and warm. I felt like I could fall asleep right here.

"Can you stop moving your legs?" Richard suddenly said.

At first, I was confused. Then I realized I had unconsciously been rubbing my legs against his side.

I let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry. Your fur is too soft."

He didn’t respond, but his tail swayed gently. I had learned before that a softly swaying tail meant happiness.

’Is he happy just because I said his fur is soft? Why does that sound funny?’

My attention was completely pulled back when he told me to hold on tightly.

I hesitated. Gripping his fur too hard would hurt him, wouldn’t it?

Suddenly, he jumped down. From the second floor to the ground.

I let out a small scream and instinctively hugged his neck. My heart almost jumped out of my chest.

My eyes were tightly shut, but my body felt the cold night wind. Winter was approaching, and I was only wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt. I hugged his warm fur even tighter.

Neither of us spoke.

Only the sound of the wind brushed past my ears like a lullaby. I almost fell asleep when Richard suddenly spoke.

"Clarissa, you asked earlier how I recovered, right?"

I finally dared to open my eyes. Darkness.

The moonlight above wasn’t enough to light up the dense forest, yet Richard moved smoothly between the trees without hitting anything. He really could see in the dark now.

"Yes. Why?" I replied.

"It’s because of you," he said.

"What does that have to do with me?"

Richard then told me about the moment my tears accidentally fell into his eyes in the workshop.

Since then, his vision had become clearer, and at night, he could see in the dark.

Honestly, I was amazed.

"Are you sure it’s because of that? Not something else?" I asked, needing confirmation. How could my tears heal a defect he was born with?

"I’m very sure it was your tears," he said. "You know Luna Eileen’s purple eyes aren’t ordinary. As her daughter who inherited those eyes, you must have a special power too."

I remembered the time I was almost attacked by a wild boar. Back then, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I thought my inner wolf might awaken soon, but until now, nothing had happened.

I never experienced that slow vision again. That was why I never told anyone about it. I was afraid they would expect too much from me when I couldn’t do anything.

But if what Richard said was true, then maybe my inner wolf would awaken soon. What happened before might have been a sign.

After everything I had gone through with the Green family, I realized that I didn’t truly belong there.

Knowing my inner wolf might awaken soon gave me a sense of support. A way to live on my own and leave the Green family house.

Instead of being given honey after swallowing bitter medicine, I chose not to swallow the bitter medicine at all. I would find my own path.

The happiness of having a way to survive freely in this cruel world swelled in my chest.

Without realizing it, I hugged Richard’s neck tighter.

Poof. Suddenly, Richard shifted back.

My arms were still hanging around his neck. His arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from slipping.

Even in the darkness, I could see the flash of his red eyes. He was looking at me too. Intensely.

It felt like deja vu.

And just as expected, Richard leaned in until our lips met. I couldn’t refuse at all.

My body and mind worked together, pushing me toward him.

One of Richard’s hands moved to the back of my head, deepening the kiss. His quickened breaths filled my ears.

My face and ears burned red with embarrassment, but my arms around his neck only tightened.

For a moment, all my problems vanished from my mind. The disappointment and anger that once filled my heart dissolved into the air.

My body heated up, and my heart raced wildly. My thoughts became hazy.

This felt similar to heat.

I felt like I was being pulled deeper into something I didn’t understand.

But just as my body wanted more, Richard pulled away.

His handsome face was flushed, his lips shiny and slightly pink, but his eyes were filled with concern.

"Your body is heating up, Clarissa. Are you okay?"

I shook my head. I didn’t know. My body felt weak, and my mind couldn’t think clearly anymore.

"I’ll take you home," he said.

’No!’ I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t form a single clear word. Only an unclear murmur escaped my lips.

Richard shifted back into his wolf form and lifted me onto his back. Since I didn’t have the strength to hold onto his fur or neck, he didn’t run like before. He walked slowly instead.

"I’m sorry for taking you out when you might be in your heat period," he said quietly.

I wanted to shake my head, to say this wasn’t my heat, but again, I didn’t have the strength.

"But Clarissa," he continued, "that kiss just now was different from the previous ones. This time..."

He paused.

"...it was intentional."

...