Chapter 109 It Was Always You

Chapter 109 It Was Always You
Kristoff’s POV

THE RAIN continued to fall outside, soft enough to become background noise instead of a distraction.
Neither of us hurried to sleep.
The room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of raindrops striking the window.
Aleli sat cross-legged on one of the beds while I remained on the other. We were only a few feet apart, but somehow the conversation felt more intimate than if we had been standing close enough to touch.
She looked at me for a long moment before speaking. “Can I ask you something?”
I nodded. “You never have to ask permission.”
She smiled faintly before lowering her eyes to her hands. “How did you fall in love with me?”
The question caught me off guard. Because I had imagined this conversation a hundred different times, and somehow none of those versions felt enough anymore.
I let out a quiet breath before smiling to myself. “You're really asking me that?”
She nodded. “I've been wondering for a long time.”
I leaned back against the headboard and looked toward the rain-covered window. “It didn't happen all at once.”
“I noticed you on your first day.”
She looked surprised. “My first day?” 
I laughed softly. “You don't remember?”
She shook her head. “I was too busy trying not to embarrass myself.”
“I know.” I smiled at the memory. “You were carrying too many books. They slipped out of your arms right outside the administration building.”
Her eyes widened. “You saw that?”
“I was supposed to be heading to football practice.”
“You mean soccer.”
I laughed. “I'll always call it football.”
She rolled her eyes, making me laugh. “I was already running late, but then I saw you kneel on the ground trying to gather everything before anyone noticed.”
“You didn't help.”
“I almost did.”
“Almost?”
I nodded. “I wanted to. But everyone else was already looking at you.”
She frowned. “So?”
“I knew if I walked over, people would start talking,” I said with a sigh. “I was already the captain.” I shrugged lightly. “Everything I did became gossip.”
Aleli looked down. “So you just watched?”
“I watched because I thought someone else would help.” The smile disappeared from my face. “But then I saw you picked up every single notebook by yourself.”
Silence settled between us.
Finally, she asked quietly, “And that was enough?”
I slowly shook my head. “No.” I smiled again. “That was just the first time I noticed you.”
She listened quietly. “I started seeing you everywhere after that.”
“At school?” 
I chuckled. “You always sat in the same corner during lunch…with Malcolm.” I laughed under my breath. “You'd read while everyone else was talking.”
“You remember that?”
“I remember almost everything.”
She stared at me as though she wasn't sure whether to believe me. “I started looking for you before every football match.”
She tilted her head. “Why?”
“Because…” I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling strangely embarrassed. “I realized something.”
“What?”
“The games where you came to watch…” I smiled helplessly. “Were always the games we won.”
She burst into laughter, covering her face. “You're making that up. You seriously believed I was your lucky charm? You're unbelievable, Kristoff.”
“I still do. I'm serious, and so were the statistics,” I said, looking at her as she lowered her hands.
“I didn't even know you noticed me. You were always standing behind everyone, and you never came down to congratulate the team. I didn't think you'd know who I was.”
“How could I not? I knew exactly where you were. I looked for you after every match,” I confessed. “I'd pretend I was thanking people for coming. But really… I was hoping I'd see you.”
Her eyes slowly filled with emotion. “I never knew. Why?”
“You weren't supposed to, because I didn't have the courage.”
She laughed quietly through the tears gathering in her eyes. “You? The Kristoff Ricafort I met wasn't afraid of anything.”
“The Kristoff Ricafort everyone else saw. Not the real one,” I corrected gently.  “Everyone knew my surname, my family's money, my football, my grades—the image my parents wanted them to see. But nobody ever cared whether I was actually happy. Then you came.”
I let out a slow breath. “You never treated me like the richest student. You argued with me, you corrected my drawings…”
“They were wrong,” she laughed softly, a small smile appearing.
“They weren't. And every time I tried acting like everyone else expected me to, you looked straight through it. You're the only person who ever asked me what I wanted, and the only person who stayed when everyone else wanted something from me.”
She looked away, wiping her eyes. “I don't think I'm worth all of that.”
I immediately stood and crossed the space between our beds, gently kneeling in front of her until we were eye level. “No. You don't get to decide whether you're worth loving. I've already made that decision.”
I reached up and brushed a stray tear away with my thumb, letting my hand linger against the warm skin of her cheek. “I love you, Aleli. I loved you before you ever stepped into my house, before the investigation, before all the rumors. And if tomorrow every secret comes out… I'll still wake up choosing you.”
Aleli broke completely, leaning forward and wrapping both arms tightly around my neck as quiet sobs shook her shoulders. I pulled her into my lap, holding her close until the crying subsided into soft, ragged breaths against my collarbone.
I didn't hesitate. I cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head up as my mouth met hers.
The kiss started deep and fierce, a release of years of unspoken longing, before slowing into something heavy and intoxicating.
She gasped into my mouth, her fingers tangling tightly in my hair, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us.
Sliding my hands down to her waist, I lifted her effortlessly onto the mattress, shifting so I hovered over her. Her breath hitched as my lips left her mouth to trace a path down her jaw to the sensitive skin of her throat.
For one night, before the storm outside caught up to them, they were no longer a Ricafort heir and an orphan. They were just two people consuming each other in the dark.