A slow recovery

We both stayed seated on the bed for a few minutes, until Lia closed her eyes and breathed slowly, holding her forehead with her hand.

"She's back." She said. "Well, time for me to relinquish my body again..."

Once she was done saying that, her whole demeanor changed, and I saw her start to shiver. She was looking away, not facing me.

"Dahl? Is that you?"

She nodded sheepishly, hugging her knees and sniffling. "You... You know, don't you...?"

I approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder and speaking in a soft tone. "Yes, I know about Lia, but it's fine. My love for you isn't going to change because of her."

"What... What did she do? I'm... afraid of looking..." She asked quietly, still unable to look at me.

"She explained the situation to me, went to deliver the bouquet in your stead, and... told me about your past."

"I... I see..."

I went to hug her. "I'm truly sorry you had to go through all of that and felt so lonely, but it's over now. I will never leave your side, I promise. I'll always be with you, no matter what."

She started to cry. "I abandoned them because I'm a coward, Yun... I keep running away... That's all I know... I ran back then, and I ran again today..."

"Dahl, you're not a coward. If anything, you coming back here proves how courageous you are. I am certain it was tearing you apart, and yet you still came. I'm proud of you." I replied, caressing her head gently. "Take deep breaths, everything is fine. I am here, and I love you."

"What if... I end up running away from you too...?"

"Then I'll move heaven and earth to find you and drag you back to me, Claire, and Laura. To stay with your new family." I said, pressing my forehead against hers and making her look me in the eyes. "You made me the woman I am today and you made me fall in love with you, and I won't let you run away from your responsibilities. Like it or not, you're now stuck with me until **** do us part~"

She closed her eyes, but I saw a faint smile form on her face. "You're crazy..."

"Crazy in love with you, yes. And crazy hot, too~" I said with a teasing grin, making her giggle weakly.

She didn't say anything for a moment, she just leaned on me. Her crying was slowly stopping.

"Thank you, Yun..." She murmured. "Thank you... for accepting me..."

I gave her a loving kiss on her forehead. "There's no need to thank me, Dahl. I'll never reject you and Lia, I can promise you that."

"She's... lecturing me... telling me how dumb I was to be so afraid..." Dahl replied with a timid smile. "But she's right... I should have trusted you."

"Hey, no need to keep blaming yourself for that. I understand why you had a hard time telling me, and I'm not angry."

I kissed her on the lips softly, and, after a brief instant, she returned the kiss, hugging me. We both laid on the bed, kissing, hugging, and caressing each other gently. She was still shaken up, but seemed to be slowly getting better.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, Yun..." Dahl said, her head resting on my chest.

"You've been a very good girl, that's all." I replied, smiling, before yawning. "Tomorrow, there's something I want to do. Will you accompany me?"

"Sure." She replied, yawning as well. "I'm... completely drained..."

"I can imagine, today has been rough for you."

Dahl closed her eyes and sighed. "I swore that I wouldn't falter when I decided to follow you here, but... I broke down in the end... Seeing them again, it was too much for me... I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

I snuggled her closer and hugged her. "It's alright, Dahl. You tried, it's what matters."

She didn't say anything for a moment, lost in thought. "I still wish I could have been there to witness Marion growing up..." She finally said. "When Cecile and I got her, I wanted to be a caring parent, I wanted to do my best to give my daughter a good life... But well, I can't go back in time, so I just need to move on... and hope that Marion and Cecile are living a fulfilling life."

"They seemed to be doing well, from what I've seen." I replied.

"Anyway, what do you have planned tomorrow?" Dahl asked curiously, trying to change the subject.

I kissed her and gave her a teasing smile. "That's a surprise~ But we should try to sleep now, it's getting late, and we're both exhausted."

"Alright, keep your secrets. Goodnight, Yun~"

"Goodnight, Dahl~"

We kissed one more time and went under the sheets. Dahl was close to me, as if she was afraid of me leaving during the night. I held her hand to reassure her. I was so relieved that she was feeling better, at least, even if her scars would probably take time to properly heal. Due to the fatigue from the day, it didn't take long for me to drift off.