Chapter 202 To Hell with Honor

Chapter 202 To Hell with Honor


Oh, to hell with it.

She had found her grandfather.

Her father.

Her killer.

There was only one goal left.

A little courage, for heaven's sake!

"I had a crush on you, Professor, from the very first time I saw you," she finally confessed.

The words slipped past her lips with surprising ease, as though they had been waiting for years behind her teeth.

Kiyan, meanwhile, remained perfectly still.

Blanche felt her cheeks grow hot.

"When I became friends with Eva, at first, it was only so I could see you more often."

She gave him an embarrassed little smile.

"I know. It's probably the worst reason for becoming friends with someone imaginable."

Her hand slowly lowered toward Kiyan's.

She hesitated for a second before sliding her fingers between his.

He didn't pull away.

On the contrary, he let her, wearing an almost incredulous expression, as though he needed to feel the contact to be certain he hadn't misunderstood.

"I kept thinking Mom would invite you over more often, with some convenient excuse."

Blanche lowered her eyes to their joined hands.

"Dinner. Coffee. Anything."

A nervous laugh escaped her.

"I was willing to take whatever I could get."

Kiyan stared at her, unable to look away.

"Then I ended up loving Eva."

She raised her eyes to his.

"And her father."

Silence.

"When I realized I truly loved you, I was scared."

Her voice softened.

"I was afraid there might be more than friendship between you and Mom. You were close. You still are. And back then, I didn't know how to distinguish between what I felt for you and what I imagined you might feel for her."

She shrugged slightly.

"But it never happened."

Kiyan remained silent.

Blanche finally looked up at him, red as a tomato.

She almost expected a joke.

An arrogant remark.

Something.

But nothing came.

He looked genuinely shaken.

"How..."

His voice caught.

He swallowed.

"How could I have missed it?"

Blanche smiled shyly.

"Because sometimes you're incredibly intelligent, and sometimes you're unbelievably blind."

He let out an amused breath, but his expression remained troubled.

Then another question seemed to occur to him.

"And Sebastian?"

His gaze became more serious.

"Is that why you love him? Is that why you entrusted our son to him?"

Blanche stared at him.

Then almost burst out laughing.

"Oh, come on."

Kiyan frowned.

She then had to explain.

Everything.

Why she trusted Sebastian. Why she had accepted certain things. Why Argy found himself at the center of decisions that sometimes went beyond both of them.

And, above all, she reminded him of one obvious fact that Kiyan seemed to regularly forget: technically, Argy was Aaron's son.

Not his.

Or, at least, not his alone.

Kiyan had this strange tendency to acknowledge that reality only when it suited him.

Blanche pointed it out.

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then his aura trembled.

Literally.

The colors surrounding him seemed to suddenly awaken beneath his skin. The ochre and dusty pink grew more intense, while thin red filaments appeared around him, subtle at first, then increasingly numerous.

The anger was gone.

In its place, something much brighter had emerged.

A raw emotion.

Almost impossible to conceal.

The red filaments danced around his shoulders and hands, mingling with the other colors of his aura like embers in a twilight sky.

Blanche was fascinated.

She had already thought his aura was beautiful.

But this...

This was breathtaking.

She smiled softly.

Kiyan noticed her expression.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She tightened her fingers slightly around his.

"You're just very handsome when you're happy."

He immediately looked away, as though that simple remark was infinitely more destabilizing than everything she had just confessed.

Blanche smiled even more.

For once, she had managed to leave him speechless.

"I love you, Professor."

He opened his mouth... but his phone rang.

He hesitated, then glanced at the screen.

"Eva has terrible timing," he murmured, squeezing her hand.

"What's happening?"

"It's time. She's turning into a djinn. I have to bring her home," he sighed.

Blanche sighed too.

Ten minutes.

Only ten minutes together...

As usual.

"Going home?" Kiyan suggested with a smile.

"I'm going to Wiwi's tonight. You go ahead."

Relieved by her return to the informal you, he nevertheless looked at her worriedly.

"We'll see each other tonight and tomorrow," she reassured him.

He smiled.

A rare smile, softer than provocative, which immediately melted the last traces of tension in Blanche's gaze.

He leaned toward her and placed a slow, affectionate kiss on her forehead, like a silent promise.

Then he remained close to her.

His face gradually lowered, his breath brushing her skin while his eyes never left hers. He stopped a few inches from her lips, close enough for Blanche to feel her heart race.

With a gentle gesture, he tilted her chin upward.

His eyes darkened.

His thumb brushed over her lower lip before slipping gently between her lips, an intimate yet insolent gesture.

Blanche shivered.

He murmured a few words, so quietly that only she could hear them.

Then he slowly withdrew his hand, gave her one last smile, and turned away.

He left without looking back.

Blanche remained motionless for a few seconds, her eyes fixed on his retreating figure, still shaken by the simplicity of his gesture.

And by those few words he had left her with, like a secret.

Five minutes later, Phénix entered.

"He left with Eva and Sean. You can come out."

When he saw that she didn't move, he approached her. Blanche's eyes were shining.

"What did he say?" he asked.

"He said that if it weren't a matter of honor, since he loves me too, he would have made love to me here, without restraint. And even if everyone had heard us, he wouldn't have regretted it."

She blurted it out far too quickly, as though she still couldn't quite believe it herself.

"Honor? To hell with honor!" Phénix joked. "If you want, I'm right here."

Knowing he was joking, it reminded her that her familiar would soon be a father with an archangel—and that another one was waiting for her.

She burst out laughing and left the restroom.

What a life!

And for once, she thought it wasn't so bad after all.