Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Three Words, Eight Letters. Say Them, Klaus.

Chapter 447 – Three Words, Eight Letters. Say Them, Klaus.

It had been a long time since Love was supposed to wear her Maid Dress. Such a long time that Klaus, at some point, simply thought she was not going to do it, even though the dress had already been bought.

Strangely, that thought didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. He didn’t know why, but a part of him was relieved that Love kept delaying wearing it over and over.

Maybe it was because he just didn’t care enough about it. Or maybe because he was afraid of something only he could name, but would never name.

And the answer to that question became painfully obvious when Love stepped out of the bathroom, finally wearing the Maid Dress.

She stood there, her pink hair braided into two knots that fell on either side of her shoulders. The maid dress was black and white, sleeveless, with long white gloves covering her arms all the way to her elbows.

Her legs were wrapped in detached white stockings, while the skirt was so scandalously short that Love knew, with a rather mortifying certainty, that all she needed to do was bend forward ever so slightly for the entire world to see what was never meant for its eyes.

Klaus had never seen Love so embarrassed. And before he understood it himself, he realized that his eyes were trembling, darting all over the room as if trying to keep them away from the woman in front of him.

The room suddenly felt a lot smaller, and the clothes he was wearing suddenly felt as if they were made from the Frozen Pit.

Hot.

It was hot, and getting hotter. And worst of all, Klaus Silicin Handoff knew that the heat was not the natural temperature doing its work.

"Is this... your fetish?" Love whispered, as if afraid that someone might hear her, and by hearing her, see her. "Women in maid dresses?"

"Let me remind you that you started all of this."

"I didn’t tell you to choose this as the bet."

"Then shall I assume that having a slave is your little fetish?"

"You can assume that having you as my slave is my little fetish," Love replied, then tilted her head. "Shame that I failed. You were truly lucky."

"Lucky, my goddamned ass." Klaus scoffed, still not looking at her, lowering his head back to his phone instead. "I beat you fairly. Say one thing about Klaus, say he is a fair man. I don’t cheat. It’s beneath me."

"Is it beneath you to look at me?" Love replied, and took a step forward. "Why are you shy? I am the one wearing this damned dress. A dress that, I am pretty sure, if any of my fans saw me in, they would never believe their eyes. And now you are looking away?"

"I made you wear it to embarrass you. Not for my blessed eyes to feast upon."

"Is that so?"

"Believe it or leave it."

"How do I look, then?" Love asked, her voice taking on a more taunting, teasing tone.

Klaus paused at that question, his heart stopping for a brief instant. He opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly found himself at a loss for words. There was nothing he could say at that instant, nothing that came to mind.

He was the one who had told Love to wear the Maid Dress, and now he was the one unable to look at the result for even a minute.

He wondered why, but didn’t wonder too deeply.

There were questions Klaus never bothered to ask himself, because the answers would be things he was not ready to shoulder.

And everything related to Love, for some reason, was something he wasn’t ready for.

So he chose an uncharacteristic silence, and that was when Love knew that Klaus was affected.

The thought pleased her, pleased her in such a way that wearing the dress was no longer so embarrassing. However, she needed confirmation from this bastard. Not because she needed it, but because something inside her just yearned to hear him say one thing... just one good thing about her.

A compliment. For the first time.

Was that too much to ask?

So she braced herself and stepped closer to him, who was still sitting on the floor, phone in hand. Each of her steps visibly made him more anxious, until she finally reached him, standing before him.

Love didn’t want to squat down because of how short the skirt was. Klaus might see her panties, which was something she didn’t want. That would be too much.

So she grabbed his shoulders, felt him shudder under her hands, and pulled him up. She was expecting Klaus to fight back.

He did none of that.

Once he was standing in front of her, the Runic Princess’s lips pulled into a smirk, and she asked in a devious tone, "Tell me, Klaus, are you shy of me now?"

"I can never be shy of you. That’s a stupid question."

"Then look at me," she said, placing her finger beneath his chin and lifting his head. Klaus’s hair was not tied at that moment, letting some strands of his forest-green hair fall over his face, partly hiding his eyes.

Love’s heartbeat sped up. Her finger trembled but still moved from his chin to push a few strands of hair away from his face, and their eyes finally locked.

"Ah. Now you are looking at me," Love said, smiling. "And not with the usual look you give me, no less."

"Might be your own perception of things," Klaus said, moving to push Love’s hand away, but her other hand blocked him.

"I don’t think so. There is no anger, no scorn, no bitterness in your eyes. There is... hm, shyness. And maybe, I don’t know, tell me? What else?"

"There is nothing—!"

"When will you finally stop fooling yourself?" Love cut him off, her tone a bit sharper than necessary.

Klaus stared at her, then shrugged. "When I know that facing the truth will not hurt as much as I think it would."

"Then you will never stop."

"So be it."

"Is that why you refuse to tell me the one thing the Forbidden Rune asked of you?" Love continued. "Is that why you refuse to tell me, even now, that I am... beautiful? Why? Are you afraid of what I might think of you? If so, don’t be. You are a fucking coward filled with ego and arrogance. My image of you can’t get any lower than that."

Klaus shook his head. "You are talking as if I am the only one hiding things here."

"I don’t mind telling you, if you are willing to tell me."

He fell silent.

"You are really annoying, Klaus," Love hissed, her anger rising sharply. "I thought... fuck. As you wish. Don’t say anything, coward. Don’t you fucking do it!"

She tried to push him away, but Klaus grabbed her hands and, by pure reflex, pulled her to him, making Love land on his chest.

The action was so fast that both of them froze, neither of them expecting it.

He could feel then her breath on his neck, and her heart beating so loud, so strong, that for a moment, Klaus almost had the impression her heart was inside him.

Love immediately tried to pull away from him, but Klaus kept surprising himself as he held her against him, not letting her go.

That made Love pause, giving Klaus’s mind time to suddenly drift back to all the things they had gone through together.

He smiled wryly, gathered himself quickly, and asked, "Do you love someone, Love?"

Love didn’t reply immediately, still trying to keep her damn heart from escaping our her throat. Her nose twitched at Klaus’s scent before she answered in a low, bitter tone. "I... think I do," she said, her face growing crimson. "And I hate it. I hate it with all my heart. You?"

"I am afraid that I do," Klaus whispered. "And I hate it just as much. Is there a way to stop loving someone?"

"If I knew of one, you can be sure you would already be six feet under."

"Ah." He managed a laugh. "None, then?"

"None."

"Quite frightening," he said. "Loving someone you didn’t want to love. Caring for her in a way that makes you question why you are doing it, and still continuing to do it. Holding her in your arms like you have never done before, yet somehow, still being afraid to say the words aloud."

Love’s heartbeat might as well have been a war drum at that point, so loud and resounding it was. Her mouth trembled as she forced herself to speak.

"Say the words, and you will be surprised by how she reacts."

"Saying it aloud would make it real. But if I keep it to myself, if I let it remain buried somewhere inside me, then perhaps I can still cling to the hope that... it will pass, just as all things eventually do." Klaus shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Have I told you already? I’m afraid, Love."

She bit her lip. "Of what exactly? Because at this point, you know you are not alone in those feelings. So what stops you?"

"Of endings," Klaus replied, his voice heavy with pain, and Love’s eyes widened. "I know Cassius is still my friend, and I know getting married doesn’t change that, yet somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that something between us has shifted. There’s a barrier between him and me now, something that wasn’t there before, and all those things I wanted us to do together suddenly seem like things that will never happen. And what if tomorrow Kei, that crybaby, finds someone she wants to spend her life with? What if Natalia, that little fool, does the same? We might still be friends, we might still laugh together and talk as though nothing has changed, but deep down, we will all know that things will never be quite the same again. An ending, Love. An ending to everything I’ve ever known. And that frightens me."

He smiled wryly, though there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes. "And you know what’s worse? Everything ends. So no, Love, I’ve realized that I don’t want to become part of something else that’s already destined to end."

Love pressed her lips together. "What tells you it would end too? You can live with her, grow strong, become immortal, and stay together."

"Tell me, then," he said. "Are you ready to do the Official Wedding with that person you love?"

Love immediately fell silent, her face twisting into a difficult expression. But that silence was everything Klaus needed.

He smiled, shrugging. "See? That tells me everything. So now you know why I am afraid."

"You are hurting yourself, and hurting her at the same time with your decision. Because now she is afraid of saying those three words and eight letters."

"I am sorry."

"Not the three words and eight letters she would love to hear."

Klaus smiled and, gathering the last of his strength, said, "It suits her."

"Hm?" Love exclaimed.

"The dress," Klaus said. "The dress suits her. She is, to my great pain and discomfort, beautiful in it."

And at those words, as though everything else had momentarily ceased to matter, Love’s smile bloomed like a sunflower finally basking in sunlight, and happiness surged through her as she replied in a soft, shy voice,

"Took you long enough, bastard."

—End of Chapter 447—