"I... Think... I... Like... U..."

As Viora said that, I noticed a faint shade of pink appear on her cheeks.

My chest tightened so hard it almost hurt.

She liked me.

No, forget liked, she actually said it. Out loud.

She just confessed? I am not hearing things, right?

Deep down, my heart also wanted her to like me, but right now it was too sudden that I wasn’t able to think of anything else, not even the confession itself.

For some time I stayed frozen. I had one or two thoughts that she wanted me to confess or propose first when she pouted at my moon remark. But this? This wasn’t something I had expected.

"V-Viora...?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I stuttered her name and was going to ask about the sudden ’I like you’ thing. If it was true or she was just trying to be herself, you know, playful.

"Do you—"

Viora didn’t even let me finish my sentence. "Yus... I... Do..." With those words she covered her cheeks and turned to the opposite direction.

She gave that answer even without me asking. It was as if she already knew what I was gonna ask.

’Is she a mind reader?’

I shouldn’t leave that question out of the bucket since this is a world where such things aren’t impossible.

Well, now that she has told me about her feelings, it is only fair to tell her about mine.

"Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it a lot." A small smile appeared on my face as I stood up and walked to her bed.

"Viora," after sitting on the edge of the bed behind her I began speaking in a serious tone.

"Y...ye..."

"I’m happy you said that. Really happy. But there is one thing I want to say to you."

When I said that, I saw her stiffen up a little bit. "U... Dun’t... Hyv... To..."

Her voice was really low that I couldn’t really get what she said. I only heard her say ’Don’t’. So I leaned in and spoke again, "No, it won’t be fair if you only tell yours. You have the right to know about mine."

But again she wasn’t ready to listen to what I wanted to say. The hands that were covering her face moved and covered her ears.

"Nu... I dyn’t... Wynt..."

She was trying her best to not hear my answer to her confession. I couldn’t understand why she was doing it but I have to tell her even if she don’t want to hear anything.

"Why are you covering your ears? It’s not like you can stop my voice from entering your ears like this. And why don’t you want to hear me?"

"Bk..aze... I... Now... U... Wyl... Rujuct... My..."

"What?!" My brows furrowed and I tilted my head slightly to the side. Why did she think that I was gonna reject her? It is kinda confusing.

Well, it also answers one of my questions that she isn’t a mind reader. That is a good thing. But now I feel like she said she likes me because of the pressure that I may leave the hospital tomorrow, that... wouldn’t be fair to either of us.

This isn’t what I want. I need her to be under no pressure, and think about it with a clear mind without thinking that I would leave her.

Just like how I couldn’t differentiate care from pity, she also needs time to be sure of her feelings.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked her and she answered, "If... nat... Rujuct... Then... Wy... Come... To... Mi... Byd... Spake... In... Serious... Mannar...?"

"Wait, no—that’s not what I meant. I came here because... because I wanted to say something else."

She uncovered her face and instinctively turned toward me. "Wh...at...? You...?"

I sighed and stood up from the bed, "I know why you said you liked me. You don’t want me to leave and be left alone again, right?"

"Ye... Yu... Leve... I... Will... Sad..."

I thought so. Now, I just need to assure her so that she won’t feel afraid.

"Look, I am not gonna leave you. I mean not until you get a little better. So you don’t have to come up with different ideas to keep me here. Discharging doesn’t mean they won’t let me enter the hospital ever again."

I walked to my bed and after making myself comfortable, I continued, "I will still come to check on you. And maybe I will just stay with you all day to keep you company? So, you should take your time and think about what you actually feel about me."

The moment she heard me, she tried to bite her lower lip and her fingers tightened on the sheet.

Oh god, why does she act cute every time we speak? It is just... too much for me to bear.

But, I have said it. Now, if she really likes me I will know about it. If not then it is fate.

That is that. I had just willingly thrown away my easiest chance at survival.

And strangely... I didn’t regret it.