109 Family (2/2)

Seeing her like this he was stunned. Usually, she had her hair up in a ponytail and wore clothes that while comfortable, didn't show any skin. But now she was wearing a pajama that while conservative, still showed a bit of cleavage. Together with her straight ink black hair which went down to just below her shoulders, she had a completely different look. She looked much softer than usual.

Seeing him staring at her Lara blushed lightly, once again stunning him.

”Can I come in?”, she then asked in a soft voice.

These words broke him out of his reverie and he hurriedly stepped back from the door, so she could enter the room. She slowly entered the room and closed the door, before she sat down on the couch.

Ivan didn't say anything but too sat down. He then patiently waited for her to say something because surely she wouldn't come to his room if she didn't have anything to say.

”Ivan, what do you think about our marriage?”, Lara opened the conversation with a question, that had been on her mind for a while now. Just like her, he too had been forced into this marriage, so she really wanted to know his thoughts on it.

Ivan didn't instantly answer but first thought about it.

”I'm glad to have it.”, he then answered, surprising her. She wasn't sure what her expectation was, but she thought that he wouldn't be satisfied with it.

”Why?”, her voice had become slightly horse as she asked this question.

”Because it gave me a family.”, he answered, before continuing, ”After coming to, in that room, I knew nobody and nothing. There was only this quest, telling me to go to school and nothing else.”, he then started telling the story of what happened after waking up. He hadn't really told this to anyone else, but now he somehow felt a desire to tell her this.

”I had nothing at this time. No family, no friends. If not for your uncle recruiting me, I wouldn't even know what to do for food and lodging. Of course, there were Greg and Serge, but at that time they were still strangers.

After that although I didn't have to fret about daily necessities and Greg and Serge had become my friends, I technically was still alone. This was something I felt especially when I heard others talking about their family.”, he paused with a faraway look in his eyes. And the corners of his mouth curved upwards.

”All of this changed when Jane came running towards me while calling me daddy. Although I was shocked, there was so much happiness. Finally, I too had a family. Although I still didn't have parents, I had a wife and a child.”

”But I was so cold towards you.”

”Yes, you were.”, when he said that she once again blushed, ”But that didn't matter to me at all. Sure this marriage was only on paper and not even real, but it still meant that I had a family.”

Hearing this, Lara couldn't help but smile. It seemed like the meeting between all of them, not only gave Jane a father who loved her, something she had always desired but also helped the two of them. For her, it was slowly getting rid of her trauma and for him, it was getting rid of his loneliness.