Chapter 301: The Sane Talk

Sophia scowled at him even though her lips twitched. "Are you trying to say that I’m also not sane?"

"I only asked if I looked sane to you," Orion told her, making her laugh.

"You know what?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"How about we start turning everything you remembered your mother saying to you—all the insults, all the things she used to hurt you—how about we turn them into jokes? Remember what you did for me regarding the festival? How about we do something similar?"

Sophia frowned. "I’m confused."

"Okay," Orion said, taking a deep breath. "Your mother said hurtful things to you, right? She called you a slut? She abused you and hit you when you fell sick, right?"

"Yes?"

"One thing I do know, Sophia, is that abuse like that isn’t easily forgotten. You’re trying so hard to be back to your usual self, but you can’t tell me you’ve forgotten everything all of a sudden, right? You can’t say that her words don’t still ring in your ears sometimes, right? Because I know they do."

"I’m still trying to get where you’re going with this," she told him with a frown.

"I’m saying that we turn those words that were meant to hurt you—everything she said to bring you down—and we twist them into something better. She called you a slut? Then yes, you’re a slut, but you’re my slut and only mine. And I’m your slut too. Even your six-year-old self knew you were going to be a slut for just me, which was why you didn’t argue with her."

Sophia gave him a watery smile. She understood him now. He was giving new meaning to old wounds—turning something ugly into something harmless. It was small, but it was precious.

She and Orion hadn’t even been together for that long, but he understood her. Truly understood her. Her mother’s words had been replaying in her mind since she woke up, and she wondered what else she had blocked out. What else she had hidden from even herself.

She had been determined to deal with it alone. She thought she hid it well. But for all his teasing, Orion saw right through her.

"And she hit you when you were sick, right?" he asked. "We’ll create a doll and pretend we’re doing the same to her until we get the chance to see the real person. I know it’s childish but—"

"It’s not childish. It’s a way to heal," she told him softly. "It’s a way to help me cope better."

Orion nodded.

"And she called me useless... but then why should I be useful when I have you?"

"Let’s not add the fact that I skip work every chance I get," he said with a small smile. "But you see? There’s no need to be useful when you have me."

"She said it was my fault I was in the rain, but have you seen the rain? Even I play in it sometimes. It’s no one’s fault the rain is tempting to play under," Orion added.

Sophia had no idea how long they went on like that—twisting every remembered insult into something else. Something softer. Something harmless. She only knew she enjoyed it, and Orion stayed with her the entire time.

"You know I appreciate you, right?" Sophia asked after a while.

"And I appreciate you. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have spoken with my family, especially on their death anniversary," he told her.

"But that’s the only thing I’ve done for you," she said.

"That’s the only thing you think you’ve done for me, but there’s more. You made me stronger, shorty. You made me a fighter. You made it so I don’t wallow in self-pity for something that was out of my hands to control. Yes, I’m obsessed with you and everything about you, but that’s not just it. I’m ready to face anyone who talks trash about us because you showed me what it means to not back down, even when the fight is tough."

He touched her cheek.

"You don’t have to do something for me physically, shorty. What you’ve done already far surpasses anything I’ve done for you. You just think you have to repay me the same way when you shouldn’t. I don’t know where you got that idea from—although I suspect it has something to do with your mother."

Sophia listened quietly even though she struggled to fully understand.

"You were the one who taught me to fight so—"

"I don’t mean fighting physically," he cut in gently. "I mean fighting in a different sense. Fighting for what you believe in and not letting people make you feel otherwise."

"I still don’t know how I did that," she argued. "If anything, you’re the one I learned it from."

Orion smiled at her. She didn’t see it, but he saw it clearly—her resilience rubbing off on him. Her determination. Her perseverance. Everything about her taught him something.

"How about we agree that we both learned it from each other?" he asked softly.

"I still don’t believe I did anything... but okay."

Orion smiled, then slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Sophia responded instantly, sliding her hands around his neck and pulling him closer.

"Goddess’s tits!" someone yelled as something clattered to the floor.

Orion and Sophia jerked apart and turned toward the doorway to see Joren, Dren, Micah, Cat, Laia, and Nia standing there.

Joren had his hands over his eyes, but there was a generous gap between his fingers. He wasn’t fooling anyone.

Nia and the others were smiling—everyone except Dren and Micah.

Micah’s expression was unreadable.

Dren looked like he wanted to vomit. "I’m not sure I want to see that again. That was like watching my sister make out with someone. I need to wash my eyes."

Dren walked away while Joren stared between Sophia and Orion, his hands still over his eyes.

"Can I say I didn’t see anything?" He asked them innocently.