Finding the probable reason they weren''t on the same page, Christian said,

    "Well, here''s where you''re wrong."

    "There are other worlds, well, at least one, with its people already here, in our country."

    "And this academy will be run by a group of them, with no one allowed to interfere. So, do you understand?"

    "Your situation isn''t as hopeless as you think it is."

    Eva was a little surprised by the revelation made by Christian, but after a moment, she gathered herself, calmed down, and, with a smile, said,

    "I knew that, though? In the first place, when I said ''bad,'' it was never about my life being threatened, as I also knew it would take some time for my situation to become truly hopeless."

    "But does my current situation, essentially a prison, a cage, feel fine to you?"

    "To me, it''s not... it''s suffocating!"

    Pausing and chuckling, Eva added.

    "Well, it''s already too late for me, anyway."

    "My recent behavior won''t be forgiven, no matter what."

    Stealing a glance to gauge his reaction to what she said, Eva still had other thoughts.

    ''Even with what you said, it doesn''t change the fact that I''d still be a prisoner... a hostage against my daughter, if she turned out like you said, in the best-case scenario.''

    ''And I''m confident in you, a lot more than all this kind of information... and even my daughter.''

    While Christian stayed silent, staring at her, Eva couldn''t help but continue to have many thoughts.

    "Maybe you''re misunderstanding something, but it was your desire for me to know everything about you."

    "For me, I just wanted to know if you had a husband or some man in your life."

    "I just wanted to make sure that MY woman had no one in her life, and that no one was touching you... Nothing more."

    "Like, really, I was prepared to respect your privacy, but you''re the one making me question you now. I also don''t think hiding something between each other is a bad thing, if the person in question didn''t want to talk about it... so long as there''s enough trust between both parties."

    While she felt unsure of what to say, because what he said was absolutely right, Eva still felt genuinely embarrassed this time by his comment about her being his woman. She was also surprisingly pleased, as if she were a teen girl.

    Luckily for the troubled her, Christian continued,

    "But even then, if there''s really something important, I''m prepared to tell you."

    "So, is there something you want to ask about?" Your next read awaits at empire

    Eva looked at him, specifically at his neck, something that had been bothering her a lot since yesterday, and finally said,

    "What is this hickey on your neck? Who made it? Because I know it''s not me."

    Despite asking, Eva already knew the answer to her question. But even so, she asked... not to test him, but because she truly didn''t know how to bring up the subject of the woman in question.

    Christian immediately put his hand on his neck, feeling a bit awkward. He stayed silent for a moment before sighing helplessly and saying, "It''s my sister."

    He already knew he would eventually need to discuss this subject with Eva, and was more surprised it had taken her this long to comment on it.

    "Then, do you think this is normal?"

    Eva, whose sparkling eyes had taken on a darker tone, seemingly expressing her emotions on the matter, still tried to choose her words carefully. Even though inside, she was naturally seething that someone other than her had touched him, and she knew all the rights were with her on this particular subject, with Christian, sitting next to her, likely sharing the same opinion.

    "It''s not normal, but in this world, where fantasy becomes reality, does it really matter if we siblings are also not normal?"

    Not liking his answer, since her question was more about the nature of the act itself and her discovering it on her own, Eva took a moment to gather her thoughts while also trying to control her emotions. Then, she said.