He opened the door, and it was pitch dark inside. Still, he didn't turn on the lights but merely entered his room and closed the door as two slender arms suddenly wrapped him from the back, "Viktor…you are back…"
Viktor closed his eyes as he sighed, "Taya…why…why did you keep me waiting all this time…"
In the darkness, Taya only tightly pressed her supple body against his back as she continued to hug him, not daring to meet his gaze, "I-I am…sorry…I really am…I never wanted to…You must have known that, right?"
Viktor's eyes became complicated as he said, "What's the point? All this time…all these years…you do know that time is not a luxury for you, right? We could have spent a good life together, but you pushed me away, and I thought it was because you didn't want to experience sadness by being with me…knowing that I would be left behind one day. I wouldn't have forced you to do anything if you didn't want to, but it was picture perfect clear you wanted me….and love me. I had seen you since the time you were born, took care of you, and protected you. All those years of your childhood, I only saw myself as your guardian, just a gesture to return the favor your parents showed me by helping me adapt to the present era. Sigh, who would have known you and I would be more than just a guardian and young mistress when you grew up."
Taya bit her lips as tears began to overflow from her eyes, wetting the shirt on his back, and Viktor felt sad as well since he knew Taya did not push him away out of spite or anything but something else.
"Tell me…the true reason why you didn't want me near you…I got to know it now, or else I can't talk to you anymore if you plan to keep on hiding things from me. I am tired and have lost too much over the years. I just can't see you suffer as well," Viktor said in a serious tone since he couldn't think of another way to stop Taya from suffering alone. He could clearly see that something was bothering her and could even make a guess about it though he wanted to hear it from herself.
Taya's fingers trembled in anxiety and nervousness since she knew this day would come where she would have to tell him the true reason why she didn't want to be near him.
"B-Because I…I wanted to dedicate myself to developing a drug…to extend my life…to be with you…That is the main reason I was even interested in learning medicine from my high school days…Or the reason I was so passionate about it…" Taya said in a fragile voice, though she felt as if her heart had gotten lighter after telling him this, something she had been hiding for many years since she knew Viktor would never like her doing such things.
Viktor kind of expected this since it wasn't the first time his woman wanted to extend her life, and in fact, it was quite natural for them to want to. But he still asked, "And how did you plan to develop it?"
Taya held her breath as she said in a low voice, "By using a blood sample…a special one…"
Viktor's eyes shook as he held her hands firmly and asked worriedly, "Don't tell me you used—"
"No! It was not yours…I would never…" Taya immediately denied knowing how Viktor was sensitive about it and for a good reason after knowing what happened to one of his wives in the past after he tried to turn her, "And even if I wanted to, I would have asked for your permission, but I knew you wouldn't want me taking your blood. So I never did."
Viktor let out a loud sigh of relief but still asked, "Then whose?"
"I can't tell you that…that is the one thing I can't tell you even if I want to…It's really out of my control…It's the same as how I can't tell you whose Tia's parents truly are…" Taya said in an anxious tone, wondering if Viktor would even believe her since, from someone else's perspective, what she said could only be seen as a load of nonsense.
Viktor could sense that she was not lying, and in fact, he knew Taya wouldn't lie to him in a situation like this. But this only made him more puzzled by wondering what she meant by the words that it was out of her control and who Tiana's parents were and why did they entrust Taya to look after her and raise her? What was going on?
He shook his head and sighed, "Haa…fine. I believe you. But what I care about more is, did you inject anything into yourself? Some prototype drug you developed using this blood? You didn't, right?"
This was what Viktor wanted to know the most since he knew scientists and researchers could get quite crazy experimenting and developing stuff, willing to take the life-threatening risks to get success and achieve their dreams.
Taya said in a soft voice, "I was tempted to…a lot of times…but I didn't since it wasn't safe, nor was I completely sure about it. I knew you wouldn't want me doing these dangerous experiments, and that is why I didn't want you around me since you would definitely find out what I was up to one day. And I just didn't want to lie to your face as well. I know it was stupid of me, but since I had started it decades ago…it was too hard for me to stop it all…thinking that I was very close to the answer after each failed experiment. But the day you came back, I realized how cold and sad my life was without you in it. And how foolishly I wasted a good amount of my years in doing things that were futile. I am really sorry for that, Viktor…Can you forgive me, please....hicc…" Taya finally broke down, unable to contain the emotions she was bottling up in her heart all these years as she clutched the back of his shirt tightly, just like she used to in her younger days.
