Forgive, but with conditions

I reach with one hand for Amelia’s lap and hold one of her hands. Then I calmly say, “Amelia, I don’t blame you for wanting to become better at spellcasting. If I were a healer and my magic is unable to save you, I would be pretty freaked out as well. I also don’t blame you for giving Kase a kiss when he asked you. Like you said, you thought it was just a simple kiss. Him forcing a more intimate kiss on you was his fault, not yours.”

“Ok.” Amelia nods.

“But that should have been a red flag for you, Amelia.” I say sternly. “That single moment should have tipped you off that Kase was no good.”

“But Darx, I …” Amelia tried to say, but I interrupt her.

“But you did say you were ****, and people have a tendency to do stupid things when they are ****.” I say, thinking back of my time in the harpy village and what lengths harpies go for to keep their population going. “So, I can blame your desperation for convincing you to go back to get more knowledge. But it also makes me feel hurt that you gave in to that desperation. I thought highly of you, that you were moral and decent enough to hold on to your innocence. Hence why your behavior felt so mysterious to me. The way you were acting did not match with how I expected you to act. Now it least I know you were just trying to hide your shame.

Amelia turns her head away from me. Not able to look at me now that I called her out on being ashamed of her actions.

“As for what you did with Kase in the mine. I get that you were heartbroken. But to offer yourself in such a way just so you can pretend being with me? If you really wanted me, you should have told me what Kase made you do.”

“You would have hated me.” Amelia responds.

“I would have been upset on how you let Kase go so far with you.” I admit. “But I would have understood you were being taken advantage of. I would have stood by you, not hated you. And maybe my mom could have helped us find a way to take care of Kase without anybody finding out.”

Amelia lowers her gaze and says, “You still would have been with Mia.”

“I did care for Mia quite a lot. I won’t deny that. So, I would have stayed with Mia.” I reply. “But would having sex with Kase pretending he was me really be better than being friend zoned? The best thing for you to have done back then was to let go of me and move on to some other guy.”

“I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I messed up.” Amelia says, keeping her gaze down.

“But I get that you understand you made the wrong decisions. That you feel guilty about what you’ve done … and that recalling all of this was quite painful to you.”

My words make Amelia look up and I notice a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“So, I am willing to forgive you.” I continue. “Except, you must make me a promise.”

Instantly, Amelia’s face lights up and she answers, “Yes.”

I am surprised at her immediate response and say, “I haven’t even told you what to do yet.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Amelia says desperately. “As long as I can have your forgiveness, I am willing to do anything. Anything you want. Just say it.”

My expression softens into a warm smile and I say, “I want you to learn from these mistakes you made. So the next time someone is trying to coerce you into sex, you recognize it and say no. So next time you feel the need to prostitute yourself for anything, you choose not to go ahead with it. And the next time you are afraid of trusting me, you choose not to listen to that fear and tell me about it. Can you promise those things to me?”

Amelia happily says “Yes. Yes to everything. I promise.” After which she needs to wipe away another few tears. Except this time, they are tears of happiness.

I take a deep breath and then sigh. I feel like a huge load is off my shoulders now.

“Then … we can finally go back to how we were before Kase ever showed up.” I finally say.

My words make Amelia take a deep breath like I just did. I’m guessing a huge load just fell off her back as well. Then she lunges forward and gives me a big hug.

“Thank you. Thank you, Darx. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise I’ll not be naïve any more. I promise I’ll never do sexy things as a service again. I promise I will trust you completely. With anything and everything. Thank you.”

I wrap my arms around Amelia and return her hug. It really feels like I finally have my friend back. Not the innocent Amelia whom I thought could never do wrong. Not the deceitful Amelia who made me feel like she was fooling me. But a remorseful Amelia. An Amelia who is like a more mature version of the innocent one. This feels good.

When Amelia breaks the hug, she immediately places her hands on both sides of my head. While holding my head in place, she then presses her lips on mine and kisses me. I am quite surprised she does this all of a sudden. Amelia has never been bold and straightforward like this. Is she trying to wipe the memory of Kase’s kiss away with a kiss from me?

As Amelia is kissing me, I feel her adjust her position so she sits on my lap, facing me. She also starts breathing heavily. My memories take me back to right before the bandit attack on our village, when Amelia and I were having a swim in the river. She looked so beautiful then and she even kissed me. She could want to pick up from there. Yet while she so aggressively kisses me, an urge is starting to develop. It’s telling me that if Amelia wants me so badly, I should accept. That I should let her have me. My childhood friend has romantic and sexual feelings for me and I should engage in them with her … But I have Kiara now.