Chapter 314: Charlotte [4]
Brandon shifted slightly on the couch, turning toward Charlotte and his gaze stayed on her profile for a moment before he spoke "Sister."
Huh? She looked up at him and Brandon glanced at her green eyes.
Without a word, Brandon raised his hand and gently cupped her face.
His palm was warm against her cool skin as he pulled her subtly closer, closing the distance between them.
"E-Eh?" A faint blush crept onto her cheeks as color bloomed delicately across her fair skin, breaking her usual composure.
Brandon gazed into her green eyes, noticing the calmness in her gaze.
The best way to determine which personality is in control is to observe their eyes and reactions.
From what he sees now, the steady calmness and the faint warmth... this is the "normal" Charlotte.
Still cradling her cheek in his hand, Brandon asked softly, "Can you swap with your other personalities on your own accord?"
Charlotte’s gaze lowered and she spoke "I... don’t know, I have never tried switching back manually.. it just happens sometimes."
Hearing this, his eyes narrowed "Try it now."
Elize, who was sitting beside him was surprised "Kael?"
But Brandon didn’t break his eye contact with Charlotte and spoke "I want to meet ’them’."
Charlotte let out a soft sigh and muttered "I will try."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and Brandon was still cupping her face in his hands, looking at her movements carefully.
A few seconds later, her eyes fluttered open, and a sharp glint passed through her eyes.
Huh? Brandon was taken aback looking at the yellow hue in Charlotte’s usual green eyes ’So, her eye color changes with her personality?’
A big eerie smile curled upon Charlotte’s lips and she raised her hands, placing them on top of his hands.
"Hehe, you want a kiss from your sister, darling?"
Her eyes crescented with fondness, brimming with something dangerously close to obsession.
Brandon felt a chill ripple through him and his instincts prickled.
This wasn’t simple affection... it was possessiveness dressed as tenderness.
She leaned forward, slowly, and her lips parted just enough as she aimed for his mouth.
But Brandon was faster.
His free hand shot up and he pressed his palm firmly against her lips, halting her advance. "That’s enough," he muttered, pushing her gently back into her seat.
Elize, watching the entire exchange, bit her lower lip, "...Kael."
Brandon glanced into her yellow eyes ’If she is really obsessed with me, then only I can control this woman...’
"Darling..." she whispered again, her tone dripping with sweetness, "you don’t have to push me away. I’ve always been here... watching you, loving you."
Her fingers brushed lightly against her own cheek, remembering his touch on her cheek just now.
Elize leaned forward, "Kael... that’s her second personality. She isn’t dangerous, but... she’s very attached to you."
"Attached?" Brandon muttered, smiling dryly in his heart. ’This isn’t just attachment...’
Charlotte giggled softly, tilting her head "Oh, don’t call me a personality. I’m Charlotte too."
Brandon exhaled slowly, steadying himself. "Why are you so hostile to Eira?"
At once, her smile faltered and a cold glint passed through her eyes "Because she’s a thief. She’s trying to take what’s mine."
Brandon had a thoughtful look and asked "What is Eira trying to take that’s yours?"
Upon hearing this, she grinned and moved closer. "You, of course, you are mine... I will ’protect’ you from other women."
Protect me? Brandon frowned slightly ’To get her in submission... I have two ideas, which one would be the best outcome?’
’One... I can be harsh to her and make her beg for my affection and I can tell her that if she wants my attention, she should not harm others.’
’Two... Or I can act quite affectionate with her, baiting her... but then I can say that I will stop loving her if she harms others’
’Both give me the same result... and both carried risks.’
The harsh path could splinter her into something worse and the soft path might teach her restraint, but at the cost of making him the axis of her world.
Either choice had the power to escalate...
He blinked and shook the thoughts away, forcing his expression back.
Looking at his face, Charlotte raised her hand and her palm trembled faintly with excitement as she caressed his cheek.
Her fingers lingered there reverently "Finally..." she whispered, her yellow eyes gleaming. "...I can touch you. This bitch never allowed me near you and was always in control of the body."
Elize stayed silent, though her gaze flickered from Charlotte to Brandon.
Her eyes shifted to Brandon. ’What will you do?’
Then she saw it... the small, warm curve of his lips as Brandon smiled.
Elize’s chest jolted and her gaze trembled ’There it is... that smile of his...’
A soft warmth spread across her cheeks despite herself and her heartbeat quickened ’Damn it, that smile of his is so infectious...’
But Charlotte saw it too.
Her eyes widened, as if she were seeing the sunlight for the first time in years.
The moment the smile reached his eyes, something inside her broke loose.
A trembling laugh escaped her lips before she lunged forward, unable to restrain herself.
"Kael!" she cried and her arms swept around his neck, clutching him with all the desperation of someone drowning.
The impact nearly toppled him back against the couch, but Brandon held her shoulders firmly.
"Easy," he murmured under his breath.
Charlotte froze against him for a moment, and then slowly, she leaned back just enough to look at his face again with her arms still looped around his neck.
She swallowed hard and her voice broke into a shaky whisper. "...You’re really smiling for me, aren’t you? Not for her, not for anyone else-" Her head jerked slightly toward Elize before snapping back to him. "-but for me?"
The blush on Elize’s face deepened ’Fuck that smile... it’s too cute...’
She remembered when he was young, how he shows that smile if he wants something from her and every time it worked.
Brandon let his smile soften further and his thumbs moved slightly along her shoulders, coaxing her.
Brandon smiled sweetly and muttered "I... do love you, but if you want me to keep loving you, you need to follow some rules."
Charlotte’s grin widened and she leaned forward, craving the closeness, but his hand reached out and cupped the back of her head, his fingers tangling gently in her hair.
"You’ll stay," she whispered, her voice trembling with a joy that bordered on desperate. "You promise?"
Brandon pressed his forehead to hers for a moment, "I promise I will be here. You just need to follow my rules."