Chapter 605: You Should Have Woken Me

Years staying in Nirvana had taught Ronan a few things. The beasts in Nirvana were different.

For some, being on the offensive would give you the best results. For some, being defensive would get you the best results, and for some beasts, it required both—but there was a rare case.

If the beast happened to be stronger or the situation one found themselves in wasn’t favorable, then one retreated.

But that situation was only effective when one recognized when to retreat. And this situation called for it.

Ronan couldn’t defend, nor offend, nor assist in this situation. His best course of action was to retreat and remove himself from the situation.

He looked between Orion and Sophia. Sophia had a stern look on her face. She wasn’t smiling. Orion looked like he was in trouble.

He looked again just to ascertain if he had been right, and yes, that was enough. He was right.

"...Um," he said slowly as he began moving, detaching himself from the situation. "I’ll just give you guys the chance to speak since my sister-in-law has things to get off her chest."

Orion’s eyes snapped to him immediately. He knew what Ronan was doing, and he also knew Sophia was annoyed at him. She wasn’t fully pissed, so he was lucky because he wasn’t certain he’d survive if she was.

But even at that, he could use the help of his friend.

He signaled at Ronan with his eyes, telling Ronan to help him.

Ronan shook his head just as quickly.

Absolutely not.

"Take all the time you need," Ronan said as a parting gift before escaping.

He had just experienced Sam slap Tobias, and though he wasn’t certain Sophia would do the same to Orion, he knew that Sophia was more scary than Sam.

Orion watched Ronan go, his face scrunched up in disgust at the person who was supposed to be his brother, who had just left him to face the consequences of Sophia’s wrath alone.

"...Unbelievable," he muttered.

Then he turned back.

Sophia locked eyes with him, her gaze still on him.

"Are you done stalling?" she asked him.

Orion nodded, then spoke up in a soft voice.

"...You sound like you’re mad at me?"

"Are you asking me? Because if you are, then that’s just disappointing because I thought you’d know from just the look on my face," she told him.

Orion swallowed. "You are mad at me," he said this time with certainty.

Sophia didn’t say anything to that.

"I was the one who saw you collapse, Orion," she said.

Her voice wasn’t loud.

But it wasn’t calm either.

"It happened right in front of me," she continued. "One moment you were fine and the next—"

She stopped.

Her fingers curled slightly.

"I couldn’t even breathe well when it happened," she said.

Orion’s expression shifted.

"I just stood there," she continued. "I didn’t move at first. I couldn’t think clearly. I just kept staring at you like..."

Her voice trailed off.

Then she shook her head.

"Like you would just open your eyes and look back at me," she finished.

Silence settled between them.

"But you didn’t," she added.

Orion didn’t interrupt.

"I had to run," she continued. "I didn’t even know who I was going to ask. I just ran, knowing I needed to get help. I needed someone to help me take you to the medical facility."

She exhaled softly.

"Luckily, I found Ronan. He was the one who helped me."

"And after all that..." she said, her tone sharpening, "you couldn’t even wake me up after you regained consciousness?"

Orion’s lips twitched.

But Sophia saw it.

"I didn’t say anything funny."

"I know," Orion said immediately, nodding. "I know."

He exhaled.

Orion rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn’t wake you up because you were asleep," he said. "And I didn’t want to disturb you since you looked like you needed it."

"That’s not your decision to make," Sophia replied.

Orion blinked.

"...Fair."

He paused, then added,

"I also needed some time alone."

Sophia’s brows furrowed.

"Why?"

Orion shrugged.

"I wanted to sort out my thoughts."

Sophia stared at him.

Like she was trying to pull the truth out of him.

"The healers have no idea what happened to you," she said.

Her voice dropped slightly.

"They said there was nothing wrong with you."

She took a step closer.

"No injury. No poison. Nothing."

Another step.

"And yet you collapsed."

Orion didn’t respond.

"They couldn’t even explain the fever," she continued. "They tried to treat it, but nothing they did even worked."

Her gaze didn’t leave his.

"Do you know why you collapsed?" she asked.

Orion met her eyes.

Then he shrugged.

"Probably because of the headache," he told her. "It came suddenly, and the pain was intense too."

Sophia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"And that made you collapse?"

Orion huffed a quiet breath.

"It wasn’t just a normal headache," he said. "It felt like my head was splitting open shortly."

Sophia nodded as her brows furrowed in thought. "But why would you get a headache all of a sudden? We were speaking and you looked fine, and then suddenly..."

Orion paused. Then he laughed softly.

"Maybe it was time?"

Sophia stared at him.

"...That’s your answer?"

"Yes, shorty," Orion said.

There was a beat of silence, and then he exhaled.

"I’m sorry," he said. "For not waking you up,"

Her gaze flickered.

Orion tilted his head slightly.

"It was wrong judgment on my part. I should have woken you up so you could at least get some peace of mind. Now please, shorty, take that frown off your face and smile."

Sophia pouted immediately.

"I’ll keep it."

Orion smiled.

Then he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

Sophia stiffened.

Just for a second.

Then she relaxed in his embrace.

"I’m really sorry. I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again," he told her.

Sophia hummed. Orion thought the questions were over, but then she spoke up again.

"Was it because of what I said?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked her.

"Did you need to sort out your thoughts because of what I said regarding who Victoria is?" she asked him.

Then Orion exhaled softly.

"...Something along those lines," he said.