Villain With The Absolute Evil Sytem
Chapter 58 - 56 : Beside you

Chapter 58: Chapter 56 : Beside you

The bathroom was silent except for the sound of water running.

Shirley stood frozen under the stream, droplets sliding down her skin.

Lumian’s presence lingered at the doorway, his gaze unreadable.

"I said, you can either leave and wait," he repeated, tilting his head slightly, "or you can stay."

The words sent an involuntary shiver down Shirley’s spine.

Her hands twitched at her sides.

Something about the way he said it—so casual, so indifferent—made her chest tighten.

She wasn’t sure why.

But it did.

She exhaled slowly.

"Fine."

She turned her back to him and continued her shower.

There was a brief pause before she heard the rustling of fabric.

Her pulse quickened.

Then—

The sound of Lumian stepping into the shower behind her.

Shirley didn’t move.

She could feel him.

Not touching her.

Not speaking.

But there.

His presence alone was overwhelming.

She clenched her fists, focusing on the water against her skin.

Her mind raced with a million thoughts, but she refused to voice any of them.

Water streamed down her back, but she barely noticed it.

Her mind was running wild, drowning in thoughts she didn’t want to face.

She stood still under the cascading warmth, her fingers clenched into tight fists.

Behind her, Lumian moved as if nothing was out of place.

Casually washing himself.

Completely indifferent.

Completely unaffected.

The silence between them was suffocating.

She bit her lip.

Then , "So you’re leaving?"

Her voice cut through the sound of rushing water.

Lumian barely hesitated.

"Yes."

"And what about it?"

His response was as nonchalant as ever.

Shirley’s breath hitched.

"Oh."

That was all she could say.

Her chest felt tight.

The words echoed in her mind like an endless loop

’He’s leaving’

She exhaled shakily.

Her back was still turned to him, but she could feel him.

His towering frame.

His overwhelming presence.

Warm, consuming, yet strangely... soothing.

She hated that.

She hated how comforting his presence was when he was the reason she felt this way.

Her nails dug into her palm.

Then, without thinking, she turned to face him, her face twisted in frustration.

"What about me?!"

Lumian blinked at her, tilting his head slightly, his expression unreadable.

Shirley’s voice trembled with anger, desperation, something else she refused to acknowledge .

"I have nowhere to go," she snapped. "I can’t go back to my house, not after everything. I don’t have some happy little extended family waiting for me. I don’t have anything left on this goddamned island!"

She took a shaky breath.

"The only reason that could have kept me on this damned rock, Melanie "

She clenched her jaw.

Her throat burned and her fists trembled.

"She’s gone," she whispered.

Shirley looked at him, her eyes dark with a pain she could barely contain.

"You’re the only one I can turn to," she admitted. "And now you’re telling me you’re leaving?"

Her voice broke slightly, but she pushed forward.

"Take me with you, Lumian."

She stared at him, her breathing uneven.

Water continued to pour down between them, but neither of them moved.

For the longest moment, Lumian said nothing.

He just watched her.

Blank expression. Unreadable eyes.

It made her stomach twist.

Finally, he spoke.

"You saw me give Boulder and Stone roles to play in my absence."

His voice was even, unaffected.

"But I didn’t give you one."

Shirley blinked.

Her heart pounded.

She opened her mouth, but Lumian continued before she could speak.

"Do you know why?"

She swallowed.

He didn’t wait for an answer.

"Because your role was already decided," he said simply.

His eyes locked onto hers.

"Your role is to be by my side."

Shirley’s breath hitched.

Her body felt strangely light, yet heavy at the same time.

She couldn’t breathe.

A wave of heat washed over her face.

She barely registered the warmth of the shower anymore.

She was special.

Again.

A dizzying rush of emotions flooded her chest, twisting, churning,

She wanted to hold onto this moment.

She needed to hold onto this moment.

But then Lumian kept speaking.

"I suppose I should’ve asked you directly," he mused.

His tone was calm.

Casual.

As if the next words weren’t going to shake her to the core.

"The world is much bigger than this island," he said. "And once we leave, you’ll be exposed to it and everything else that comes with it ."

Shirley frowned slightly, but she didn’t interrupt.

Lumian continued, his voice eerily steady.

"And where I’ll be going, you will have to deal with people like Reinhardt all the time."

She swallowed hard.

She knew that, some of it

But hearing it, hearing him say it felt different.

He paused for a moment, then went on.

"But your role won’t be just to stand beside me like some sort of decoration," he said.

His gaze sharpened.

"You’ll have to carry out tasks for me."

A strange chill crawled up her spine.

"Tasks," Lumian repeated. "That will negatively affect people. Both innocent and guilty. Young and Old."

Shirley’s fingers twitched.

"You’ll have to bring down heroes and tear down civilizations"

Her breath caught.

"You’ll have to plant seeds of evil and chaos."

The air in the shower felt thicker.

"Knowing all this..."

Lumian took a step closer.

His eyes burned into hers.

"Would you still want to be by my side?"

Silence.

Shirley felt her heartbeat hammering in her ears.

But she didn’t hesitate.

She didn’t need to.

Her expression turned serious.

Her lips parted and the words left her mouth without a second thought.

"As long as I’m not alone..."

She held his gaze.

"As long as I’m beside you..."

Her fists clenched.

"I’d do anything."

Lumian didn’t blink.

Shirley’s voice dropped, but her conviction didn’t waver.

"When I needed saving," she said, "there were no heroes to be found."

Her voice shook slightly, but her eyes didn’t.

"When I was drowning in despair, when I had nothing left, "

She took a step forward.

"It was you who reached out to me."

The water between them swirled down the drain.

Shirley inhaled deeply.

Then she lifted her chin.

"I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

A step closer.

"To hell and back."

Her gaze burned into his.

"I’ll be beside you, Lumian."

Her voice was firm.

Unwavering. And finally Lumian smiled.

It was small. Barely there.

But unmistakable.

"Good," he murmured.

Then his smirk deepened.

"Whether you made the right choice or the wrong one today..."

His eyes darkened.

"Only time will tell."

The steam curled around them, clinging to their skin like a second layer, heavy with heat and something unspoken. Lumian continued washing himself as if their conversation hadn’t just happened, as if Shirley hadn’t just sworn herself to him, as if she wasn’t standing there, naked and staring.

But Shirley couldn’t ignore it.

Her pulse pounded against her skin, her breath came in shallow waves, and she felt uncomfortably warm in a way that had nothing to do with the water flowing down their bodies. She had seen men before, had been touched by them in ways that made her skin crawl. But this was different. Lumian was different.

She took in his frame, the tight muscles shifting under pale, unblemished skin, the way water trickled down his body, the sheer presence he exuded even when doing something as mundane as washing up.

He was composed, unmoved, unaffected by their closeness. But the evidence of his desire stood between his legs, erect, hard and undeniable. And yet, he made no move.

That restraint, that control he had, it sent a shiver down her spine.

Shirley swallowed, her throat dry despite the water surrounding her. Her body trembled, though she wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or anticipation. She felt like she was standing on the edge of something dangerous, something irreversible.

And she wanted to jump.

Before she could second-guess herself, she took a step forward, closing the already small gap between them. The heat of his body wrapped around her, and she tilted her head up, meeting his gaze.

His eyes as always were sharp and unreadable, flickered with something almost amused, like he knew exactly what was going through her mind.

That only made her want him more.

"Can I..." she hesitated, voice barely above a whisper. "Can I help you wash?"

A smirk ghosted across Lumian’s lips. He didn’t move, didn’t stop her, but he didn’t say yes either. He was waiting, watching, seeing what she would do next.

The silence stretched, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Shirley reached out, her fingers hesitant at first as they grazed his skin, tracing the curve of his collarbone, down his chest, over the defined ridges of his abdomen. Each touch was careful, almost reverent. She had been touched before, but she had never been the one to reach out, to take, to want.

And yet here she was.

Her palms pressed against his stomach, feeling the muscles tense beneath her fingers. Lumian remained still, allowing her to explore, but his gaze was piercing, like he was seeing straight through her.

Shirley let out a slow breath, her body thrumming with something new, something intoxicating.

She wanted more.

And for the first time in her life, she was unafraid to take it.