parentshiftbook Chapter 98: Pain & Taboo
Chapter 98: Pain & Taboo
Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Pain & TabooChapter 98: Those Who Love You, and the One Who Will Never Let Go
Meanwhile—
In the inn OpenYourPussy, in a quiet chamber, Zara and Neko sat together, engaged in light conversation.
But Neko wasn’t truly present.
Her body was there, but her mind drifted far away.
Zara noticed.
"What’s wrong?" she asked gently, voice soft like silk. "You’re barely listening to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?"
To Neko, Zara was the most caring person she knew.
Yes... even more than—
"I wish Noah treated me the way you do," Neko said wistfully.
Zara’s heart tightened at the words.
It hurt—because it was true.
Zara, a stranger by comparison, had shown Neko more comfort than her own master.
What a cruel truth.
Zara’s smile faltered. She wished, even if secretly, that she could be the one to receive the kind of love Neko held for Noah. But this moment wasn’t about her desires.
She moved closer.
Neko, in her human form, sat quietly, eyes distant. Zara gently took her hands.
"You can talk to me," she said, her voice full of patience. "You know that, right?"
Neko looked up, her violet eyes meeting Zara’s black ones.
She sighed.
"I just feel... distant from him. It wasn’t like this back at the Weaverheart estate. We were always together. We trained, we played. I was always by his side."
She smiled faintly, but it was a broken kind of smile.
"I remember the first time we touched... he looked so happy. I didn’t know why, but it filled me with so much joy."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"But ever since we came to the academy... he barely has time for me. He left me with you and just disappeared."
She swallowed hard.
"And now... there are other girls. The sword freak. The Saintess. That little green one. Sophie. Ester..."
Her eyes began to glisten.
"I... I’m scared."
Tears rolled down her cheeks, falling one after another.
Zara’s heart clenched. Without hesitation, she pulled Neko into an embrace, holding her tightly.
But Neko only cried harder, as if something inside her had finally broken loose after being held back for far too long.
"I’m afraid, Zara."
Hic. Hic.
"I’m afraid he doesn’t need me anymore. I’m afraid he doesn’t love me anymore. I’m afraid... that I’m useless to him. That he’ll abandon me."
Her sobs were desperate now.
"I couldn’t take that. I’ve known him my entire life. I was there when he was born. I’ve watched him grow. I love him. I really do. Deeply."
She cried again.
And again.
And again.
Her grief was so raw, so deep, that even Zara—who had mastery over emotions—found herself overwhelmed.
She felt something she had never truly experienced before:
Empathy.
A deep, aching empathy for Neko.
"I’ve
And just like that, something shattered within her.
A wall she had built.
A barrier she had fought so hard to maintain.
A line that should never be crossed.
But it had crumbled.
And now...
She couldn’t deny it anymore.
She loved her son—
Not just as a mother.
But as a woman.
"Are you sure, Selene?" a voice asked.
Luminara appeared in front of her, her purple eyes locked onto Selene’s.
Solemn. Knowing.
"If you accept this feeling, there’s no turning back."
"You’ll bear a taboo," she said. "The world will scorn you. Him too. What will they think of this...?"
Selene smiled.
A crazed, broken smile.
"If the world dares stop me... then let it be frozen for all eternity," she said, voice sharp with pain and defiance.
"I’m tired, Luminara. Tired of suppressing myself. It’s suffocating."
She looked to her guardian beast.
The one who had always known.
The one who had been with her since childhood.
Tears welled in Selene’s eyes as she whispered:
"Do I not deserve happiness? Do I not deserve to love and be loved in return?"
"All I want is him. I don’t care about anything else."
Luminara looked back at her. She sighed.
Then, she transformed—taking her human form.
A breathtaking woman with white hair, purple eyes, feline ears, and a long, elegant tail.
She walked over and embraced Selene tightly.
"You deserve it, Selene," she whispered.
"You deserve to be loved. And you deserve to be happy."
They looked at each other.
Eyes the same shade of violet.
They smiled—
A mad, obsessive smile.
"If the world objects..."
"Then let it freeze forever."
At that moment—
[Selene’s feelings for you have increased to 100%.]
—End of Chapter 98—