A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 93: Does It Hurt?

Chapter 93: Does It Hurt?

Avelina smiled cynically at him.

"I-I heard. I found out what it all was. Everything they did to you was so horrible, it hurt. I don’t... I don’t know how to—"

"Oh..." Draven scratched the back of his head, finally grasping a bit of an understanding of the issue. "Ah... I see. So that’s it. It doesn’t really matter, though. You shouldn’t be crying for something as silly as that."

"SILLY?!" Avelina’s sudden outburst startled him. "Are you insane?!" She angrily grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him down so his face was just a few inches apart from hers.

Draven’s eyes widened in shock and bafflement. "Avelina..."

"Do you not get it? What is wrong with you? W-w-why are you like this? Why are you enduring it? You are hurt, aren’t you? You are, right?!" Avelina questioned. She was mad, she was sympathetic, and she could not comprehend the emotions she was feeling at that moment.

Draven was staring at her. His lips were quivering, but he could not find something to say.

"Draven, why are you acting like it’s all okay? So what if you are different? You did not deserve any of that, do you not understand?" Avelina asked, tightening her grip on the collar of his coat.

Draven let out a soft breath and grabbed hold of her hands. "It’s okay, Avelina. It’s been a long time now, and I am over it. It does not hurt anymore. I never felt hurt."

"T-that is because you are broken, Draven." Avelina went down on her knees while covering her teary face with her palms. "You are broken, and you do not realize it."

Draven went down on his knees with her and tilted his head to look at her face. "It’s okay... I am really fine."

He gently grabbed her hands and removed them from her face. Then, tenderly, he wiped off the tears in her eye with his thumb. "You should not be crying. You would only cause yourself pain."

He patted her head with a full smile on his face and ruffled her curly hair, hoping to cheer her up.

Avelina stared at him and slowly reached forth with her hands to cup his cheek. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you had to go...dammit!"

Draven could feel the warmth of her palms heating up his face, but he had yet to understand why she was sobbing.

"Avelina, why...are you crying for me? No one has ever cried for me except my mother. My heart feels strange. It skips a beat every now and then. And it is beating fast. My heart has never raced before."

His face held genuine perplexity.

Avelina slowly smiled at him.

"I don’t know why, either." She shook her head at him. "M-maybe... Maybe it’s because I care for you. Do you not understand? I have never met someone like you before." She caressed his cheek.

"Someone...like me?" Draven could not comprehend what she meant.

Avelina nodded at him. "You are different, but in a very good way, and those differences make you such a great person. You’re amazing, you know that, right?"

"I am not..." Draven shook his head. "I am not a good person, Avelina. A good person will not be despised."

"No, no, no." Avelina quickly disagreed.

"Listen, a good person is not someone who can cry or feel emotions—all that nonsense. It’s your heart, Draven. It’s your heart. That’s what makes you either good or bad."

Draven playfully flicked her forehead. "I don’t have a heart, Avelina. That is why I can’t feel what you feel. Sure, there is one in me, even though it doesn’t beat, but it is not a heart to me. It’s just like an empty shell."

"That is not true," Avelian said, not concurring with him. "It may not beat, but to me... it is still a heart, a very good one. I don’t care what others think or how you may behave towards others. But I only care about the kind of person you are to me. That is not selfish, right? Or is it?" She offered him a warm smile.

"We come from different worlds, I know that, but it doesn’t matter. You are special, you know. You are better than they are, and I am not trying to be nice. But this is the truth that I want you to know. It is something that I see. Something they are not trying to see in you, and it’s okay if they don’t."

Her gentle hazel eyes were fixed on his. She beamed at him and slowly pulled him into a tight hug. "I’m sorry you went through all that. But please...don’t be broken anymore, hm? I don’t want you to be. It is not your fault for existing, and it is also not your fault for being different. Your difference makes you...Draven."

Draven, who was in her embrace, squinted his eyes. There was something he was feeling, but he could not put it into words. He felt warmth. His body no longer felt cold and dead.

He gradually wrapped his arms around Avelina, and for the first time, he experienced what it was like to be hugged warmly.

He tightened his grip on her and buried his face in her neck. It felt so homely. It felt comforting, and his soul was suddenly at ease. He wished he could stay like that forever. This was like something he had never felt in his entire existence. The sudden feeling of being healed had washed over him.

"Avelina..." His tone was muffled. "My heart feels strange."

"Does it hurt?" Avelina asked while gently caressing his hair.

"No," Draven replied.

"My heart does not beat, it has never beaten before, Avelina. We don’t have a heartbeat. But it’s beating now and skipping every now and then too. I don’t know what is going on. It’s strange, and it makes me feel very weak," he explained.

Avelina pulled his head back to look at his face.

"I don’t know what is going on either, but it will stop. I promise, it will, and you will feel better." She smiled charmingly at him and slowly moved in to place a soft kiss on his forehead.

"My mother said that when someone is in pain, give them a kiss on the forehead, and they will feel better. Do you feel better, Draven?" Avelina inquired with her eyes fixated on his.