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"That is not the brother I knew."

Aries lowered her eyes and clutched Dexter\'s back tightly. On the other hand, the latter hesitated to touch her or return her embrace. All he could do was stand rooted on that spot, his hand just a palm length from her back.

"Dani," he called under his breath, but her almost muffled voice immediately caressed his ears.

"Don\'t," she said. "I don\'t think I am ready to hear what you are about to say. You should\'ve answered immediately because my resolve already waned."

His brows creased as the lines on his forehead deepened. His heart was beating so fast he was catching up to his breathing. He tried to control his racing heart, afraid she would feel or hear it, but to no avail. The thought of Aries knowing everything... tore him apart.

One thing Dexter could agree with Abel was to keep her in the dark about them. It wasn\'t to protect her but to protect their relationship with her. No matter what kind they classify themselves as, they were and would always be monsters clad in human skin.

Her reaction terrified him — them. Not that they didn\'t trust her, but just as Abel claimed, she was a human.

Anger, doubt, and fear swelled in his chest.

Humans... they had met countless of them in their time and they knew very well how they respond to things they did not know.

But Aries... this woman was different, and they wanted to believe she was until the end. However, once she knew and looked at them the same way that only they knew... it was a risk they didn\'t want to take. At least, for Dexter... and maybe Abel too, since he kept going back and forth in revealing his secret to her.

"What should I do?" he breathed out after the prolonged silence.

"Nothing." She shook her head, taking a step back to look him in the eyes. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she reached for his cheekbone. Her fingertips reached for the side of his eyes, staring at them with mixed emotions.

"Say nothing anymore, nor should you look at me that way," she continued soothingly. "I don\'t like the man my eyes are mirroring, brother."

Her lips quivered as she swallowed down the frustrating tension in her throat. "The brother I knew will never have that disgust in his eyes that are meant for him... and not for the Duke." She forced a smile as her eyes softened.

"In the end, it all boils down to how you treat me." She cupped his cheek, raising her brows briefly. "My brother... definitely did his best to look out for me and turned his back on his other obligations as the marquess. That alone is enough for me."

"So, don\'t look at me that way again," she continued and exhaled sharply. "The blood running through our veins may not be the same, but you\'re always a brother to me... a brother I wished to have and wished to have met sooner. You and Davien will surely get along well."

Dexter stared at those pair of eyes looking back at him. The more he looked at those forgiving eyes, he couldn\'t help but reach to touch her face.

"You\'re not disgusted?" he blurted out, and it was too late for him to take those words back even when he bit his tongue.

Aries chuckled and shook her head with her lips closed. "Is there something that should disgust me?" she asked. "If being yourself is disgusting, then that makes us two. I don\'t think I will ever get disgusted as much as how I am disgusted at myself."

"Dani."

"That\'s a fact and I wish I can change that... but I can\'t." She shrugged and smiled. "That\'s how I am and that\'s how I think. I can\'t just miraculously change that when I had already believed I was disgusting."

Aries gazed down and held his hands before looking up at him once again. "I\'m about to break, brother," she confessed, resting the back of his hands which she was holding against her cheek.

"I\'m reaching my breaking point... I\'m almost — almost there. But I can\'t." Bitterness filled her voice. "I hadn\'t reached the peak of my purpose... I hadn\'t seen it come to use. Do you know what is it?"

She reopened her eyes, holding his gaze. "One of them is that my brother still needs a shoulder to lean on. You can say it is solely because of you, but to be honest, it is partly because of me. It\'s one thing I wished I could offer to my dearest brother. I\'m simply fulfilling that wish."

"You... gave me another chance to become someone\'s sibling, and I pledged to give my all," she confessed, recalling all those months she stayed in the marquess\' estate. They had a good time together and those cherished moments she treasured were bigger than the dark secrets he kept from her.

Still... Aries wasn\'t ready for the confirmation just yet. Not now. It was too soon and too much to handle in a single day. It might not make a difference when his eyes already gave all the answers she denied, but it does. By this, she could delude herself to move forward, dragging her feet to the inevitable end to where the truth awaits her arrival like a groom at the altar.

"We had a good time, brother, and I wished to stay it just the way it was." Aries nodded reassuringly, squeezing his cold hands gently. "Give some time to collect my thoughts, but I reassure you... I adore my brother the same way I admired him from the beginning. Don\'t change for anyone, especially for me."

Dexter breathed out heavily once more, studying her eyes. All he could see in those eyes was clarity, which reflected him clearer than the mirror.

"I\'ll be on my way now." Aries kept her weak yet reassuring smile, squeezing his hand once more before letting him go. "I\'ll see you first thing in the morning. I have a real demon to slay."

,m With that being said, Aries turned on her heel and walked away, keeping her composure. She closed her eyes and breathed out, treading carefully towards the entrance. But before she could cross the threshold, she stopped upon hearing his remarks.

"You saved yourself from some good brotherly scolding."

Although his voice was incredibly low and solemn, the nervousness dominating her face was replaced with a smile. That was the Dexter he knew.

"It\'ll be harder for you to scold me from now on." She looked back at him and humored. "Step up on your game and I might take you seriously."

"You..."

"See you tomorrow." Aries waved and stopped after two steps to look back at him. "By the way, if he is watching, he probably knows about my meeting with my father-in-law."

The side of her lips curled up. "He kept me in the dark, so I\'ll let him have a taste of his own medicine. Please help me."

"You\'re evil."

"Equally evil." He shook his head at her response while chuckling weakly, watching her shrug.

Dexter stayed in his spot, watching her wave slightly as she left the room. Even when he couldn\'t see her shadow or hear her footsteps, he didn\'t move a muscle.

"Thank you..." his eyes softened as the side of his lips curled up in relief. Soon, his eyes sparkled in the dark as liquid formed in the corner of his eyes. "... for looking at me the same way. You have no idea how it means to me... as a big brother from his sister."