"That's not—"
"Let me finish." She walked toward me. Stopped at the edge of the couch. Looking down at me with an intensity that made my drain stir against my will. "You have an SS-rank ability that requires intimate contact to function effectively. You have a supernatural directive that requires forming bonds with multiple women to survive. And yet somehow, despite all of that, you actually care about the people you're with. Not as resources. Not as objectives. As people."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"Last night you nearly killed yourself saving a stranger because you couldn't stand the idea of someone else suffering for what your father did. This morning you told Aurora the truth about everything and gave her the choice to walk away. You've built something real here, in this apartment, with these women. Something that matters."
She sat down on the couch. Right next to me. Close enough that her leg pressed against mine.
