Chapter 67: Sorry... I couldn’t control myself,"

Two hours later.

​The annoying, steady beep... beep... of a heart monitor was the first thing that broke the silence.

Himanshu felt a strange warmth on his left hand, like someone had been holding it in their palms for a long time. It was a sharp contrast to the cold, uncomfortable feeling of an IV needle stuck in his other arm.

​His eyes were still heavy, and the pain from the knife wound that had pierced right through his hand started throbbing again. But this time, the pain was much less than before, a kind of dull ache he could handle now.

​Opening his eyes slowly, the first thing he saw was a blinding white ceiling. For a second, he didn’t even understand where he was. The bright fluorescent lights made him squint. But as soon as that familiar, stinging smell of hospital phenyl and medicines hit his nose, everything came rushing back. The crowded cafe... the loud music... those thugs... and that horrifying knife strike.

​His other hand was still wrapped in that warmth, and maybe a little sweat too.

​But as soon as Himanshu cleared his blurry vision and turned his eyes toward the room, that warm hand pulled away from him with a jerk. Himanshu had felt this exact same thing before. Whenever the demon had pulled her hand away from his shoulder back in his room... yeah, it was that exact same touch.

​The demon was sitting on a stool near his bed. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t moved an inch since they brought him here. Her usual straight, scary posture was completely gone.

​Just for a split second... Himanshu saw her face for a single moment, and it looked completely drained. A deep sadness was clearly visible in her eyes and veins. But the moment Himanshu’s eyes met hers, the demon instantly made her face completely expressionless again, just like before. She blinked, her face turning back to stone.

​And then she turned her face the other way, looking at the blank wall.

​Wait... what did I just see? A sad face? Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what I saw. I’m sure of it. Does that mean... does that mean she actually cares about me? Wow...

​Seeing this, Himanshu’s eyes got a little watery, and a faint smile appeared on his dry lips.

​For some reason, she didn’t look like a dangerous demon to him anymore, nor did she look like some human weapon straight out of hell. He just saw ’Valoria’... the girl who had been living with him as a companion for the past few days. A girl who was probably just as lost in this world as he was right now.

​The pain in his hand slowly drowned away in this weird feeling of happiness and peace.

​He still didn’t know why the demon hadn’t gotten angry at those thugs. He still didn’t know what she actually wanted or what she was thinking.

​But... Himanshu had finally figured out one thing for sure—she cared about him. And even more than that, she actually had feelings. Even if she didn’t want to show them in front of him right now, whatever the reason might be, it was the truth.

​And slowly, he started realizing what a massive idiot he had been. He had ignored the reality right in front of his eyes and trusted that stupid manga book instead. Even though the truth was always right in front of him.

​When the demon had bitten his neck, or whenever she came too close to him... she felt a certain thrill and emotional closeness just from his touch.

​Even during their first night together, her face had turned completely red! Obviously, she had beaten him up pretty badly that day too. Remembering this, Himanshu almost laughed out loud, but he somehow held it in, wincing slightly as his chest moved.

​And just now, the way she had been holding his hand for so long... what was that? Wasn’t that care? Why else would a heartless monster sit by a hospital bed?

​Even if that manga’s world had turned the demon into a robot or a weapon, after coming to this world, she had all these feelings inside her.

​The demon’s hand, the one she had pulled away with a jerk just a moment ago, was still resting on the mattress near his leg.

​For a second, Himanshu tensed his body, gathered his courage, and without saying a word, he gently slid his fingers over and took the demon’s hand in his own to show her how he felt. For a weapon forged in blood, her fingers felt surprisingly soft.

​The demon shivered instantly. It was like this was completely unexpected for her. She didn’t pull away, but her whole body went stiff.

​This time, Himanshu had broken the chains of his nervousness and that deep well of his overthinking through this closeness with the demon. He didn’t even give those useless thoughts a chance to enter his head. He just wanted her to know he was okay.

​The demon still kept her face turned the other way, like she didn’t want to show her expressions while feeling this.

​But maybe this time Himanshu guessed it right... she was happy about it.

​And right then... the sound of a fake cough echoed in the room.

"Ahem!"

​Himanshu hadn’t even looked at the other side of the room yet. Or even if he had, the demon’s face had completely blurred everything else out for him.

​Gaurav was standing right in front, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His shirt was slightly torn near the collar from the chaos earlier. Maya was sitting on a chair on the other side of the bed. Maya’s eyes were just staring at the heavy bandage on Himanshu’s hand over and over again. It was like she was trying to count every single drop of blood he had lost because of her.

​Seeing Himanshu awake brought a little relief to Gaurav’s face, but his eyes were also slightly lowered, like he was feeling guilty. But amidst all that, a clear sense of ’pride’ for Himanshu was also visible in his eyes. The weak kid had taken a knife for his senior.

​Seeing this, Himanshu immediately lowered his gaze, because he felt like he was the one responsible for all this mess. If he hadn’t stepped in, maybe things wouldn’t have gone this far.

​"Sorry... I couldn’t control myself," Himanshu said in a low, raspy voice.

​