"So our headmistress is your mom?" Mei asked after Seraphina had narrated her story. Octavia stood up and walked upstairs, leaving them in the lounge. Seraphina stood up and followed him. She walked into his bedroom but didn't find him. She was about to leave when she heard someone sob in the closet. She walked there and opened the closet, looking down to see Octavia sobbing, hugging his knees with his head buried in between. "Octopus, are you crying?" Seraphina asked, raising her eyebrow and squatting before him. "It's not fair," Octavia cried. "What's not fair?" she asked.
"You had to go through all that, and I wasn't there for you," Octavia said. Seraphina chuckled lightly and pulled him closer to her. "You are such a baby," she said, wiping his tears. "I think I hate Ms. Green too," he announced, pouting. "Oh, we all do, don't we?" she said, pulling his cheeks.
"Promise me one thing," Octavia said, looking up at Seraphina as he laid on her chest. "What?" she inquired, looking at him curiously, their faces so close.
"You said I will always see the right thing in your eyes forever, but I need your eyes to be open and alive. No matter what, don't ever leave me or give up. Don't let the light in your eyes die," he said with a serious tone. Seraphina chuckled and looked away, but Octavia pulled her face so that she looked at him. "Phinny, promise me, promise me that it will always be PhinPus," he said, his eyes adamant.
"I promise," she said, but her heart said something else.
"How did you lose your child?" Octavia suddenly asked.
"Drug overdose," Seraphina said with a heavy tone.
"Did you want the child?" he asked.
"I don't know. I was afraid I would end up being like Nicole. Life is cynical, so I thought they would end up like me... but I didn't want them to die," she said, holding back tears.
"You are nothing like her. You are fierce, bold, blunt, and definitely rebellious," he said, emphasizing the last word.
"You know, I love your eyes," Octavia said, smiling.
"Will you like them when I am doing cowgirl on you?" Seraphina asked, smiling naughtily. Octavia's cheeks turned red, and his heart rate increased. He buried his face in her neck, causing Seraphina to laugh. "You and your naughty mind," he said, giggling and slapping her leg lightly in rebuke. "Mmmh, feisty, kinky, rough... I like, I like," she said, smiling.
Octavia moved away from her chest and stood up. He tried to walk away, but Seraphina grabbed him and pulled him to her, and he fell on her, mistakenly kneeing her stomach. "Ouch!"
"Oh my word, I am so sorry, Phinny," he said as he sat up, holding where he hurt her. "So much for being romantic," she said, rolling her eyes.
"What did you expect? This isn't a Chinese drama or Filipino drama. You thought I would fall on top of you, and we look into each other's eyes until we kiss," Octavia asked, now laughing at her. "No, I thought you would fall on me, and we would play mission," Seraphina said, which caused Octavia to stop laughing once he processed what she meant. Seraphina started laughing at him. "Mood spoiler," he said grumpily as he stood up and walked out. He leaned against the wall next to his bedroom door and held his chest to feel his racing heartbeat. He could hear every beat. He tried removing the blush on his cheeks as a thought raced through his mind.
Was he falling in love?