Chapter 40 #3
After dance class—and another magical training session where I'd once again managed to rank somewhere beneath rock bottom—I pushed open the door to the room Gianna and I shared.
For once, I was genuinely glad to have the place to myself.
Gianna had discovered a lake somewhere on Istmond's grounds and gone there instead.
According to her, water restored her strength far better than sleep ever could.
I wasn't about to argue with that.
I'd mostly come to terms with having a roommate.
Still...
I'd always loved being alone.
As I walked toward my bed, something immediately caught my eye.
A familiar shopping bag.
The green Asda logo was impossible to mistake.
I frowned.
How could a supermarket bag from Vuduarus have ended up here?
Especially when Airis's portal allowance had already been used for the week.
Then I noticed a small green sticky note attached to the handle.
Drawn across it was Cat Noir from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.
Without another thought, I picked up the bag and sat down on the bed.
Inside were several things I would have happily sold my soul for.
My favorite Korean facial serum.
A familiar box filled with colorful macarons.
A slice of Manchester Tart—the dessert Gwen and I had long ago nicknamed the taste of home.
And two envelopes.
I opened the first one.
Even before reading the signature, I knew it was from Gwen and Mike.
Gwen wrote about everything that had been happening back home.
Little moments from their lives.
The newest episodes of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir—a relationship she worried about even more than her own.
She even praised Airis.
That part caught me completely off guard.
Yet somehow...
It warmed something deep inside me.
She also mentioned that sending my favorite sweets had been Airis's idea.
He'd wanted to see whether they could survive magical transportation.
Tarven had carried everything over as a favor.
Before I realized it, a smile had spread across my face.
Thank goodness no one was there to witness it.
Because I probably looked exactly like what I was—
A hopeless girl hopelessly in love.
The realization stole the air from my lungs.
I froze.
Damn.
That was the first time I'd admitted it.
Even if only to myself.
I quickly shook my head, trying to scatter the thought before it could settle.
Then I reached for the second envelope.
Dwayne.
Dwayne had actually kept track of every brave thing he'd done for our Count to Five challenge.
He'd listed each one in detail.
Reading them filled me with a quiet sense of guilt.
Unlike him...
I'd let fear win far too often.
He also told me things with Lars were slowly getting better.
Apparently, Lars had even started asking him questions from time to time.
That alone felt like progress.
Dwayne also wrote that justice had finally begun catching up with Ethan.
The police were investigating the case now.
Then my eyes fell on the next paragraph.
I found myself reading every single word with painful care.
I've also realized there's something growing between you and Airis that's far more than friendship... or mentorship. At least, judging by the way he looks at you.
I wanted nothing more than to have Dwayne sitting beside me.
To hear everything he'd noticed.
Every tiny detail.
He'd always seen things other people missed.
Romantic to the core.
Unfortunately...
The letter offered me no such luxury.
And if the two of you truly feel the same way... then I'm happier for you than I can put into words, Ri.
I'm proud to call you my friend.
I know you don't see yourself this way...
The words blurred as tears filled my eyes.
But to me, you've always been someone worth looking up to.
You always fought for what mattered to you.
You never backed down, no matter how frightened you were.
The only thing that ever stopped you was the pain left behind by that idiot whose name isn't worth writing.
Another tear slipped down my cheek.
But he didn't break you.
He didn't steal who you are.
Because courage isn't something you borrowed from the world.
It's who you've always been.
Sometimes fear locks it away...
But it can never erase it.
I pressed my lips together.
You're capable of loving.
And you deserve to be loved just as deeply.
Every part of you matters.
Not only to us...
Your friends.
But to this world.
And to Airis... if you ever let him see the real you.
The letter ended with one final note.
I'm waiting for your replies.
Airis somehow convinced Tarven to become our personal courier.
So I'm looking forward to hearing about your own brave moments.
By the time I reached the last line, tears were streaming freely down my face.
I hurriedly wiped them away with the sleeve of Airis's hoodie—
The one I'd quietly claimed back when we'd divided up his quarters.
I still hadn't given it back.
Partly because I'd grown used to wearing it.
Mostly because it smelled like him.
And somehow...
That scent felt like home.
Dwayne's words settled somewhere deep inside me.
They'd loosened something that had been locked away for far too long.
They'd comforted me.
In exactly the way I'd needed.
Maybe...
It was finally time to believe him.
To trust what he saw in me.
And to stop being so afraid of what I felt for Airis.