Chapter 562: I Can Never Be Complete Again Chapter 562: I Can Never Be Complete Again Suspicion crawled up her spine. Why was he making it this easy? Still, Arthur didn't move, didn't stop her.
She took her first step forward.
And then "But remember this, Nnenna," his voice cut through the air like steel. "If you go ahead with this plan, you're not just risking death. You'll be cutting yourself off from everything and everyone you've ever had." Nnenna froze.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtArthur's gaze hardened. "Everything Somto worked so hard for you to have, you would throw it all away. Did you think he was just saimless fool wandering around? For the past five months, we've been notified, piece by piece, about what he's been doing since he was a teenager. His second in command made sure we knew." Her heart pounded. "What do you mean?" Arthur didn't look away. His words were heavy, deliberate. "Somto has been working for you. Every choice, every fight, every sacrifice. More than ten years of his life, spent building something for you. And now... you want to throw it all away." The words hit her harder than any physical blow could have.
"Just keep in mind," Arthur said quietly, his voice carrying more weight than a shout ever could, "you're most likely not coming back." Nnenna's hand tightened into a fist.
"You'll never see my mom and dad again," Arthur continued. "You know they've already taken you in as their own daughter. You know that. I don't need to convince you." Her throat tightened. She remembered his mother's warm smile, his father's quiet nods of approval, both things she hadn't realized she craved until they gave them to her.
"And you'll never see Ava again. She's beca better person because of you, don't deny it. You inspired her, motivated her. Without you, she might have stayed lost." Nnenna blinked, vision blurring. Ava's smile, her stubbornness, her anger earlier, it all struck her harder now. Arthur's voice didn't falter. "You won't see Emily either. The first friend you made when you crossed to this continent. That has to count for something... right?" Emily. Her laughter. Her gentle encouragement. Nnenna felt a pang of guilt deep in her chest, how easily she had forgotten those moments.
"You won't ever see Carl again," Arthur pressed, his tone sharper now. "From the day he met you, without you even trying, he decided to take you as one of his own. You and I both know what that means." Her knees felt weak. Carl's protective presence, his quiet support, it all flashed in her head. She had hurt him, yet he never turned his back on her.
"Your education? Over." Arthur's gaze hardened. "A dead person can't finish school." She swallowed hard. The academy halls, her goals, her dreams, they seemed to crumble in her mind like sand. "You'll never see where you grew up. It's not what it used to be, but it still exists. Somto has been keeping it up since. Remarkably well, I must say." At his name, her heart twisted violently. Her home. Her mind had buried those memories deep, but Arthur's words ripped it open. She could almost smell the air of her childhood, hear echoes of her parents' laughter.
"Your parents may be gone," Arthur added, his voice softening slightly, "but you won't even get to see anything related to them. Because once you leave, you'll never return to your kingdom." Her chest ached. She had carried their memory like a burden, but now the thought of losing even that last connection made her want to scream.
"And there's Little Sweetie," Arthur continued mercilessly. "She's had your back since you were a child. How old was she then? And yet she protected you. She gave up her entire career just to keep you safe." Nnenna's breath hitched. Sweetie's kind eyes, her loyalty, her sacrifices, all the things she never said thank you for, stabbed at her heart.
"Oh, and forget about seeing Ebere and Abuchi too," Arthur finished, his tone cutting deep. "All the friendships you made back in Lionara. That's gone the second you walk out." By now, Nnenna's shoulders were trembling. Each name, each memory, weighed on her like chains. Arthur wasn't shouting, wasn't begging, he was laying out the truth in a way that stripped her bare.
Her lips parted, but no words cout. Only the sound of her uneven breathing filled the silence.
Then Arthur paused. For a moment, Nnenna thought he had run out of words. His expression flickered with something strange, hesitation, almost fear.
"If you go through with this plan..." his voice was quieter now, "...you'll never seeagain."
Nnenna froze. She hadn't expected that. Arthur was always the composed one, the untouchable sensei who rarely revealed what he truly felt. Hearing those words from him pierced through her armor in a way nothing else had.
"I'm not the most jovial person in the world," he admitted, his toneawkward, as if the words tasted foreign on his tongue. "And ever since I lost you when you were six years old... I... lost my joy as well." Her eyes widened. Six years old. She remembered. He had indeed carried that loss with him all this time.
"But I started to find it back. Step by step. With all the people in my life, thanks to them. And then... finding you, Anastasia..." His eyes softened in a way that made her chest ache. "...it completed me."
Nnenna's breath hitched. Her heart thundered painfully against her ribs. Arthur never spoke like this. Never. The fact that he was saying it now, because of her choice, made her feel as if the ground beneath her was slipping away. "I do care about you. More than you know," he continued, voice low, awkward but raw. "You, Nnenna... you are like a little sister to me. And if you leave this world, then I... I can never be complete again." The words crushed her. Her throat tightened, and she felt her eyes sting.