She gets up, walks to the desk and grabs the money pouch. Taking a few coins from it, she leaves most of the money inside.
“Can you give this to my family? I don’t want to go back there and face them but?—”
“You still want to give them money?” I interrupt her, shocked she’d even consider such a thing.
“They don’t have any money. This would at least help the restaurant stay afloat for a while.”
I don’t object again. Instead, I stare at her in awe. Her parents sold her to that male to endure who knows what depravities, and yet she doesn’t even hesitate to help them. I’d known she was soft and kind before, but this type of magnanimity… I’ve never heard of such a thing before.
“All right. I will do as you say.”
“And may I trouble you to get some of my clothes. My room is the one with the red door,” she continues describing the layout of her house and the location of her personal items.
“I will be off then. Wait for me.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs. Before she can add anything else, I grab the money and activate my speed.
In a matter of seconds, I’m at the restaurant. I enter the house, drop the money on the main table and gather all her personal items from her room.
Though I don’t want to linger more than I need to, I can’t help but note the difference in her room—small, bare—and that of her brother. Even her prized possessions that she asked me to retrieve are few in number. That only reinforces the idea that compared to her brother, her parents had no regard for her.
It’s not easy to leave her house without causing any harm. My mind is filled with all types of scenarios in which I make them pay. But I promised I would not.
By the time I’m back at my house, it’s been less than five minutes.
Moe’s eyes widen when she sees me enter with a bag full of her items.
She practically flies toward me, and I prepare for a hug as I place the bag on the floor. But just as she reaches my side she stops, her cheeks tinged with red. “Thank you so much, Nykander. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to repay you, but I promise you I’ll find a way.”
She musters a smile. “I’ll find a job and save up.” Then, a frown appears on her forehead as she bites her lip. “I need to find a place to sleep first,” she mutters under her breath.
She lets out a weary sigh as she grabs the bag I’d packed for her.
Then it dawns on me. She asked me to grab her clothes. She doesn’t plan to return home—which, to be honest, I wasn’t about to let her anyway. But I can’t not take advantage of this opportunity. If she stays with me, then the proximity might make her look at me in a different light—to see me as I see her.
“Why don’t you stay here?” I quickly say.
She blinks. “What?”
“I live alone and I have a spare room. You can live here.”
“That…” she stammers. “I appreciate the offer. Truly. You’ve been so good to me. But that wouldn’t be appropriate…”
“I don’t care about such things. Do you?”
“Well, yes.” She looks away. “That is to say, I’m not worried about my reputation since I don’t plan to wed. But it would look bad on you. Especially if people found out that you…” she gulps. “That you live with a mortal.”
“Miss Moe.” I take her hands in mine. Her bag falls to the ground in surprise. “I don’t care about such things. I don’t care about being judged, and frankly, there’s no one to judge me. As you know, I’m all alone in the world.”
“But still… To live with you…” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t just live here for free and…” Her cheeks redden as she pulls her hands away. “I may not plan to wed but I…” Her face becomes increasingly red. “I?—”
“I would never ask anything of the sort of you,” I immediately say. The way her face flushed, it’s not that hard to guess what she has in mind and I would never take advantage of her inthatway. If she ever comes to me, I want it to be of her own accord. I want the opportunity to get to know each other better—though even saying that would be too much. So I settle for something more palatable.
“If it would make you more comfortable, you could cook for me. You’re a great cook,” I say with a smile. Maybe she’s not the best at baking but her food is amazing.
She blinks at me. Biting her lips, she appears to be deep in thought. I grab her hands again. “We are friends, are we not, Miss Moe?”
“Y-Yes, we are.”
