"Sometimes it just feels impossible to handle all these thoughts and memories."
"Hey Arvard, why don't we go for a swim together? We're near the ocean... I think it might help you calm down," Cordelia suggested, sitting beside him on the couch in his room.
"Not a bad idea… but what if someone sees us? Everything I've tried to hide until now would be exposed. You can go ahead if you want," Arvard replied.
Cordelia stood up and stepped behind him, her soft hands beginning to gently massage his forehead.
"How does it feel when the things you predict in your mind mostly turn out to be true?" she asked.
Enjoying the soothing touch, Arvard closed his eyes. "Nothing surprises me anymore. It exhausts me to hell. It's helpful sometimes… but it often feels like a curse."
"How about we go after hours?" she asked.
"What?"
"Our lovely swim," Cordelia said with a smirk, moving her hands down to wrap them around his neck and hug him from behind.
"We'll see," Arvard murmured. "What do you think?"
"About what?"
"What Saina said—about me changing," he asked softly.
Cordelia chuckled and hugged him tighter. "Oh please, Arvard… I know you're acting like this for a reason. The old Arvard is still inside you. All it will take is your will to bring him back. Am I wrong?"
Arvard laughed quietly. "You're one of my weaknesses… You know everything about me. Why can't I fall in love with you? Wouldn't you be perfect for me?"
The mood shifted in an instant. Cordelia's voice turned quiet. "You can't. That's part of the curse that binds us."
Arvard fell silent, slipping into a distant memory. He still remembered every word of that cruel blessing-curse:
"You, who achieved the impossible, must be rewarded. But what you did was also a sin, and so you shall be punished. As for you—the mermaid who broke her oath—you shall be punished alone. From this moment, you are bound to serve this vampire as his eternal slave, even after his death. You will love him as no one ever has, and that shall be his reward. He may use you or your powers as he pleases. But his punishment is this: he will never love you back. Nor will he be able to part from you—even if he desires to. If ever he manages to break this curse, I, the Goddess of the Ocean, shall grant him anything he desires."
After uttering those words, she had vanished—into thin air.
"Arvard?" Cordelia said gently.
He blinked back into the present, seeing Cordelia's deep sea-blue eyes gazing into his own. He smiled faintly and leaned forward to kiss her. She responded, lips warm and soft against his.
"Why, Arvard?" Cordelia whispered as she slowly pulled away.
"What?"
"You don't want me. I know this is just pity... You don't have to force yourself. I've already told you—I understand."
"If you know everything," Arvard said, his voice lower, "then stop asking these stupid questions. Do you hate it when I touch you? Kiss you? Have fun with you sometimes?"
"I love it… I love you," she replied quietly. "I just don't want you to force yourself to pretend."
"Then there's nothing to worry about," Arvard said. "Because I don't waste time pretending to be nice. You know me—I don't care about being good. Talking to you, doing these things with you… they make me feel better. I'm happy."
Cordelia's eyes glistened as she hugged him tightly. "That made me feel so happy… Thank you, Arvard. Even if you were lying—I don't know—just thank you. I love you."
"You don't have to worry," Arvard whispered, petting her hair. "That wasn't one of my lies. Let's go to the sea later tonight."
Then, with a sigh, he leaned back onto the couch and closed his eyes.
"But first… let me erase the memories of Edward. He was a kind man. A hopeless one. He wasted his life."
And with that, silence fell.