Chapter 50 You don't know him
Nelson was starting to get worried. Irene just stood, staring at his face... If it had been a stare of admiration he wouldn't have been so worried. But it wasn't.
It just seemed as though she was frozen in place, thinking about something.
"Irene, is everything alright?" He shook her slightly, forcing her back to her senses. "Do you need to seat down?"
"No." Irene replied absentmindley murmured. Then she repeated it, her voice a lot louder. "No! I'm fine. I'm fine." She pushed herself from Nelson, forcing him to release this old on her, and took several steps back, creating a huge space between them. "I was just carried away for a moment there. I'm fine."
Something was wrong with her... Irene was certain. Because that was the only reason that could explain why she had froze like that, a sudden feeling of deja Vu overwhelming her.
But then again... This was a similar universe to hers. It was only right that their were a few same happenings... Right?
Nelson frowned. "Are you feeling dizzy?" He asked, still not convinced that she was fully fine. "Hungry? Is your glucose level low again?" He asked at once.
Irene blinked her eyes, the last question replaying over in her head.
"I don't know how you expect me to determine the last one..." She began with a joke, so as to diffuse the tension in the room before shaking hr head. But no. I just tripped." She said and tried.
She couldn't blame Nelson for asking of her glucose level... Ever since she was a child, she gad a frail health.
The only person who doesn't care was Enel... Her Nelson back at her universe.
But then surprisingly, her health never acted up when she was around him... Only a handful of times.
Maybe it was because she was too angry and the sudden boast in adrenaline whenever she sees him sends her body to work overdrive.
Irene sighed softly, turning away from Nelson to look at the path in front of them.
The top of the mountain was still very far away...
She was tired of walking. Irene wanted to fall to a bed and sleep.
And maybe...
She turned back to Nelson, a small smile appearing on her lips. "If you feel sorry for me, we can head back down now." She said, trying to guilt trip him into ending the hike.
Nelson didn't answer immediately with a no like she had expected. That was good enough for her.
She clasped her hand together, and blinked, her eyes hazel eyes looking cute as she stared at him.
"You can just answer all the questions I have on the way." She said protruding her lips slightly.
Nelson stayed at her, his heart conflicted. He did feel guilty... So he agreed.
"Can you walk?" He asked, and Irene immediately nodded, bobbing her head up and down in mountain... Or rather skipping down.
Nelson shook his head at her childishness. He had brought her up here so they could talk. So he could better understand what was wrong with him.
He wasn't too confused anymore... This was real.
All that was needed now was to get a MRI done... A brain scan to check for any damages to it.
Because Irene behavior had no inconsistencies...
All the questions he asked her, she answered them all correctly. She knew as much as she should when she was eighteen, and the rest was a mystery to her.
"When did you and Irene get together..." He heard Irene suddenly ask as they walked down the mountain path.
The woods were awfully quiet, with only the sound of Irene's voice filling the air.
"I mean, the universe from this place... When did you both come together, and how?" She asked.
"Em... It was a few days before college." Nelson answered, after thinking for a few seconds. "Since we would be going to the same college and she already how I felt about her, she decided to give me a chance... To give us a chance. And we got married right after college."
Irene blinked.
That happened?
It felt too unbelievable to her... But it actually happened.
But then again, this Nelson was probably not as terrible as the Nelson in her universe.
"How you felt about her?" She repeated... the surprise evident in her tone. "You confessed your feeling for her? No... You have the feelings first?"
So far, since she had met Nelson... He gave off this cold yet charming personality. One that most billionaires had.
Irene who was a fan of fantasy novels knew that.
But what she didn't know was that, he could be the one gain feelings first... And then confess them. She was actually shocked.
"Why does that seem hard to believe?" Nelson asked with a small smirk on his face.
Irene shook her head again, letting out a sigh. "The more I get to know you, the more I'm sure that this isn't my universe...."
Nelson turned to look at her and slowly answered, his voice low... Almost as though he had initially intended on muttering the words to himself. "Or maybe you just didn't know the Nelson back in your universe."
Wait... What?
Irene looked up at him. His gaze was still on her... And her heart did a flip.
His words were... Strange.
She knew Enel... He was a terrible person, a bully. Nothing compared to the saint of a Nelson who stood in front of her now... Staring at her as though she was all that mattered.
Before their gaze could get too heated, Nelson looked away and continued walking. "I confessed to her first, she was stunned. But yeah."
"When?" Irene asked almost immediately.
"Prom. High school prom."
High school prom...
Those three words immediately made her remember that she was yet to experience that.
Prom.
Irene hadn't even thought of whether she would be going to that thing or not. Back in her time, it was just a few months away. But she was too focused on her studies and she knew no one would ask her...
Plus... It would also be a good opportunity for Enel to play a trick on her. A prank... One more before she wouldn't see him again.
"The Nelson back in my universe would probably plan with his friends to dip me in paint that day." She voiced out to Nelson, her tone sounding distant.
She didn't notice the change in Nelson's expression at her words because he was ahead of her. His face hardened, and his eyes darkened.
Then Irene shook her head, returning to the present. A smile crossed her lips. "Thankfully then, I'd be going to a college far far away."
She walked... Practically jogging just to catch up with him, while being careful not to fall again.
When she got close enough, Nelson heard Irene ask. "Did Irene ever wish to get away from you? Back in highschool or college, before two years ago when everything changed."
Nelson paused to think of his answer. He looked up at her and nodded slightly. "Yes." He said, and Irene looked a bit taken aback. Before she could say anything, Nelson continued... his ehes piercing into hers. "But I kept her close... I pulled a few strings and... Well, we were in the same college."
He didn't have to say it all. He didn't have to fully explain his words for Irene to understand.
"That's dark." She mumbled, feeling a shiver run down her spine.
It meant, Irene... This Irene, from this universe, had maybe tried to get away from him, but it was him who made her to go the same college as him.
That was dark...
Irene's mind flashed to her own Nelson... Was there a probability that he could do something so cold to her?
Short answer... Yes.
Long answer...
Before Irene could think of that, Nelson turned and continued walking.
Seeing him moving further away, she dismised the topic from her head and ran to meet him.
"Last question..." She said, almost breathless.
Nelson's had really long legs.
They were already at the bottom of the mountain. Irene could see more people now roaming around the area.
"Did you do anything to Irene, anything at all to make her suddenly change two years ago?" She asked, still breathing heavily. "I'm thinking that maybe the universe brought me here to figure that out. To fix her life before I could get back to mine." She said, telling him her thoughts.
"That's if she hasn't ruined it." She added, thinking of all the possible things the other Irene could have ruined in her life.
For one... Her interaction with her parents.
They were wonderful people... That Irene already ruined the one with her parents in this universe... It wouldn't be that much of a surprise if she did the same thing there.
But Nelson didn't share the same theory with her, and retorted almost immediately. "That's if she's there."