LOVER MONSTER!
91. A promise?

"What do you think is pensively alone here? Are you thinking about me?" Demian makes a joke that leads to Jessica punching her arm.

"What are you doing here?" cetus Jessica is back. "Are you stalking me?"

"I was worried about you, so I caught up with you." Demian was honest there. Demian can't let Jessica pitch alone in Vegas, not now. Not when a demon named Erthian Bellamy settled in this town.

"So, how was your conversation with Jake?" Demian spoke again. "He didn't do anything bad, did he? I mean.., if he touches you, I don't hesitate to cut his tongue out!"

"Ohooo, you're becoming more and more honest with your brutality. Is this what you're doing in Italy, Mr. Bellamy?"

"I've never done anything bad in Italy" Demian said, responding to Jessica's remarks as she grabbed the girl's wrist which felt cold in her fingers. Jessica may be cold as the weather is now transitioning towards autumn.

"But that doesn't mean I can't afford to do anything bad here." Demian continued her words while looking at Jessica. "After all, you are precious to me. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"You're being very poetic..." Jessica chuckles. His hand that was in Demian's grasp he used to pinch the man's cheek. "I'd be moved by what you said if I wasn't hungry right now."

"Hungry? I thought you met Jake at a cafe near here?"

"I can't eat anything if the atmosphere doesn't fit."

"Then will you eat with me?"

Jessica nodded.

In the end, the view of the Bellagio fountain was left behind them. The two walked hand-laced, waltzing on the sidewalk to find the restaurant Demian recommended as the 'most delicious' place'.

After walking a few meters until sunset, Jessica and Demian finally arrived at a restaurant selling Japanese food.

"Do you like Sushi?" Demian asked as she pulled a bench for Jessica, her gentlemanlike actions made Jessica put on a smile while holding back a laugh.

"I like it" Jessica replied. "I also want Shoyu ramen, Mont Blanc and Ichigo Daifuku as his dessert."

"You know quite a lot," Demian was a bit amazed. To be honest, Demian often stopped by this restaurant just to order sushi. Demian doesn't really know the other menu.

"Well, it's because I like to eat."

Jessica loved food, and it wasn't just general food. Jessica is even interested in food from different parts of the world. Japan is one of the countries whose food menu is very interesting to Jessica.

"If you are interested, yakisoba is also very delicious. I tasted it a few years ago and I'm deeply moved by its two-fold enjoyment." Jessica is like a food blogger.

Demian raised his forehead instantly. Jessica was more dramatic when it came to food, apparently.

"Why don't you order it now?"

"I also want to eat Shoyu ramen, so.., I'll just taste your food later."

"That's a sneaky thought." Demian commented while chuckling faintly. Demian had never eaten outside with Jessica, so this was the first time Demian had noticed the girl's naughty side. "Do you want anything else?"

"I want takoyaki.., but I'm afraid I can't afford to spend it."

Jessica spoke with both corners of her lips curled downwards. Demian watched the girl's expression with anxiety. He wants to pinch Jessica's cheek now.

How could he be so adorable just by discussing food?

Because Jessica was afraid of wasting food by ordering excessively, in the end Jessica only ordered food that she could eat. Demian is the same. Although Demian wants to buy Jessica the food she likes, Demian can't break Jessica's words that prohibit her from over-buying.

What a dream wife. Errata, the ideal wife!

"So..."

After some time passed, Demian again invited Jessica to talk after Jessica returned from the bathroom. "How were you and Jake talking today?"

"Nothing special.., our conversation went pretty smoothly." Jessica spoke in general. He doesn't want to explain the details of his conversation with Jake to Demian. Because it was embarrassing, it was tantamount to exposing himself who had defended Demian earlier.

The man could get bigger.

"So..., you mean..., are you, umm, separated?" Demian was looking forward to this, actually. He desperately wants to kick Jake out of Jessica's life.

"Jake and I decided that our relationship couldn't work out, so, unfortunately, we were forced to separate." Jessica gave a confession that made Demian frown unhappily.

"You don't sound very willing to part with him."

"Of course." - Jessica, intentionally. "Jake is a man who understands me very well. You know, he even claims to love me better, aaah.., it feels so sad when I have to leave a man as good as him."

"What does it mean I'm not good, is that it?"

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Jessica finally laughed. "It doesn't mean you're not good, but he's just better. At least..., in communicating, Jake is better than you who would rather cheat on me."

Jem!

Jessica's words stabbed Demian like a sword. Demian recalled the fact that even now, Jessica had not given him forgiveness. The girl was still angry with him. He's the one who's been infusing Jessica's wounds.

As a result of Jessica's words, the atmosphere at the table became gloomy instantly. Demian smiled wryly while enduring the pain. He is not in a safe position now. Jessica could have made a decision that ended up leaving her in solitude. The girl might have preferred to dump him just as much as she dumped Jake.

"Demians?" Jessica's call made Demian raise her head automatically. He was quite amazed at his reaction reflexes at the time, Jessica actually affected his sensory nerves.

"What are you thinking?" jessica asked quietly.

"You.." said Demian. "I'm thinking of you."

"I'm right here in front of you. What were you thinking until you left me in a daydream?"

Demian slicked his shoulders. "I don't know, I'm worried about your decision, maybe?-

You're pretty good at communicating, I'm afraid that if you're honest with me about your heart, and that's not the honesty I'm hoping for, I could just go your way."

If Jessica asks Demian to disappear with a logical speech and explanation, Demian could be cornered and obey her will. After all, not only was the girl good at convincing him, Demian also put Jessica first now. What Jessica wanted, Demian always wanted to grant her wish.

"Demian," Jessica began. "I'd really like to talk to you about that right now."

"Speaking..., get rid of me?"

Jessica laughed again. "Not that," he denied. "I want to talk about us."

"We?"

"I..," Jessica stared at the pair of dark netra, and before she spoke, a waiter anchored a bowl of shoyu ramen before her, accompanied by a plate of sushi, yakisoba and two cups of matcha tea.

"Waaaaaah, it smells really good, doesn't it?" Jessica deliberately changed the topic there. He wanted to test Demian's patience longer. "Come, eat. It'd be better to talk after the food's up, right?"

"Seriously, Jesse?"

Jessica nodded with a carefree smile. "I'm serious."

Goddamnit!

Demian would not want to obey Jessica's will now.

While Demian ate the food Jessica recommended, she did not expect that Jessica would drop an information bomb in front of her.

"Do you know, Demian?" Jessica started talking while sipping ramen sauce in her bowl. "I spent my teenage years in juvenile prison."

And just like that, the yakisoba that was in Demian's mouth was like a loss of taste. "What?" Demian asked after, in disbelief.

"I..at the age of 13 maybe, or 14?" Jessica is not so sure. "I-at such an age-at prison for hitting my mother until she died."

"..."

"Did you still like me after you learned that fact?"

Demian. Is Jessica telling the truth or not?

Demian could not tell the difference at all.

Jessica looked so relaxed, too relaxed for someone who was admitting his mistake right now. But, even if he was joking, the joke was too out of the ordinary.

"Are you.. Joking?"

"I'm serious" Jessica responded. "You can check my history, if you want. You're mafia, aren't you? I believe you're capable of conducting your own investigation."

"Wait..., uh, are you serious?"

"I'm serious." Jessica repeated her answer.

"But..., why?" If Jessica did kill her mother, she would have had a reason.

"I'm hungry..," Jessica answered too succinctly. "That's it."

"Huh?"

"So, back to my question..., with my history like that, do you still want to be with me?"

"I like you in front of me right now, Jesse. Not you in the last few years, or you in the next few years. I like you now." Demian's answer was steady from the heart.

Although Jessica has an astonishing life history, Demian believes Jessica will not do it all for no apparent reason.

Jessica is a girl with high empathy, she is too easy to sympathize. He is a kind-hearted figure.

"Waaaah, your answer really moved me..." Jessica laughed faintly. "You're definitely not afraid of me because you're a mobster, you have an acquaintance crazier than a murderer, anyway."

"Jessica..., I asked once again? I mean..., you..., what happened?"

Seriously, Demian regretted not looking for Jessica's background all this time. If Demian knew the girl was a walking pandora's box, Demian would have looked through every detail of the girl's past. He wouldn't need to appear like a caveman who had only seen fire for the first time.

Jessica took the time to answer Demian because she was swallowing a roll of noodles in her throat right now. When he finished, he gave Demian an answer.

"As I said," said Jessica. "I was so hungry, so.., because I couldn't stand it anymore, I hit my mother's nape with a piece of brick. After that, I ran away from home and scooped up whatever food I could find."

"..."

"When I got home, the police filled my porch, and just like that, I faced my punishment." Jessica was slightly nostalgic, a bitter smile etched on her face. "I didn't expect my hand swing to be enough to finish him off."

"Is your relationship and your mother not good enough, Jesse?"

Jessica chuckles. "Mother loves me so much, actually. It was a problem that almost left me dead. She was afraid I was okay, so she locked me in the closet for days. He was so afraid that my father would come back and hit me, so he tried so hard to protect me..."

"..."

"His protection would have meant so much to me if my father had come so often and created disasters, but my father had died a long time ago, overdosing on the side of the highway. He never came home, but the terror he left my mother was so deep."

In the end, the fear grew and created an invisible ghost in his mind. Jessica as a child, ended up being a victim of the fear that tormented her mother.

"I tried to escape a few times, but because I was so stupid? I always go back to that house. Even though he starved me for days and almost died."

"..."

"I wanted to protect her, and resuscitate her.., but in the end, I got rid of her."

Demian felt like a heavy stone fell on his shoulders, pressing down on him. The double riba on Jessica makes Demian feel his childhood wounds in Italy to be nothing. The girl was already facing a hell that was heavier than her, and she was able to grow stunning and dazzling.

"What happened after that?" Demian was trying to understand Jessica even better, he wanted to know the bitter sweet memories stored behind the shady emerald.

"I met a psychiatrist in charge of dealing with troubled teens. He listened to my grievances morning and night, years and years, until I finally found freedom. I was so dependent on her and saw her as a second mother. Mother's ideal in my imagination."

"..."

"He introduced me to Ethan, Elli and Dania. We lived together for some time before he suddenly disappeared and bequeathed Elixir in my name."

"Disappeared?" Disappear, not die?

"Because I love her so much, I guess.since losing her, I've depended on alcohol as an escape from reality."

Jessica sipped matcha tea on the table while smiling faintly there. "I'm like this, Demian." Jessica then continued. "When I fell in love, I gave up my whole heart and my life for that person. You too, if I love you, I'll give up everything."

"..." - ".Demian listened to Jessica carefully, not wanting to miss a word.

"I'm like this" Jessica said again. "I'm too weak on affections, if I fall in love, dependencies are created. The problem is, can you do it when I love you like that?"

"..."

"Are you willing, promising and swearing you'll never leave me?"

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