Page 54 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate?
What he said was innocent, but my mind went immediately to the gutter, remembering theexperienceI had with Amos. That was definitely something different.
He stopped stroking my hair, his nostrils flaring. “That turned you on?”
Oh, god.Of course Elias could tell, too!
I scrubbed my cheeks as if it would get rid of the redness. “I’ve been having a wild streak lately. Ignore me.” Quick, think of something else to talk about! “By the way, about my foggy memories … Mia told me what happened during my debutante ball. From the perspective of onlookers, at least. I couldn’t help but feel somethingmorehappened.”
Eli frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She told me I played with a stove, caught my dress on fire, and jumped into a fountain to extinguish it. But it doesn’t seem like the whole story. Why did I escape my party in the first place? Why was my dress ripped too, aside from burned? Details weren’t clear.”
Now it was Eli’s turn to be embarrassed, his cheeks pinkening. “Right. We should find a quiet spot to talk about it.”
This piqued my curiosity even more. Where could we go where Mia and my bodyguards wouldn’t find me for a few more minutes?
I would never have thought of the armory, but I guessed that made it a good choice. Elias returned his training sword to one of the weapon racks attached on the walls. There was a vast assortment of weapons available, even the ones I never thought were feasible to use in actual combat aside from video games.
It made me think since magic could boost someone's combat ability. IfIwere going to train a weapon specialty, which one should I choose? Definitely something weird and unusual, because that would be entertaining. While badass, a whip was a classicgirlweapon, so not that. Maybe I could train with a gunblade! Or a lightsaber!
“You should start with basic knives first before moving to specialized weapons,” Eli murmured, studying me with a smile. How did he know what I was thinking about? “And before you ask, your face is giving all your thoughts away. I’ve known you for a long time; I can read you like an open book.”
God fucking dammit. I was a walking neon sign that glowed pink so people could read me easily.
“What happened at the party?” I huffed, changing the subject without preamble.
Eli laughed quietly first before turning serious. “You really don’t remember, do you?”
“I know in the deepest recesses of my heart that I did something terrible to you, but I can’t remember. And any other details of that day,” I confessed.
Elias blushed as he gestured to a closed trunk, imploring me to sit. “I won’t use the word ‘terrible’, but I did feel awful. I guess anything would be awful to a thirteen-year-old. Can’t say it’s your fault since I had a hand in it too.” He waited for me to sit before he continued, crouching down in front of me. “It actually went something like this.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Us sitting down?” It didn’t bring any memories.
“Yes.” He held my hands, looking straight into my eyes. “I asked you to see me behind the kitchens when no one was around. Everybody was busy with the party, and you had completed your mandatory dance. We sat down like this, and I held your hands.” His grip tightened. “Anything?”
I shook my head. “I still don’t remember. Although, I recalled you having long hair when we were kids.”
Eli smiled gently. “Just the long hair?”
“We used to play dress up. That’s it.” Was there anything else?
“I think that’s what shocked you the most,” he mumbled. “You thought I was a girl our entire childhood, and I never corrected you because I was afraid you’d stop visiting and playing with me. So, on your debutante ball, I decided to be honest and admit the truth — that I was a boy and I liked you the whole time.”
Oh, my god.NowI could see how that would be a colossal mess between the two of us.
Eli went on. “It wasn’t surprising you mistook me for a girl. My mother dressed me up as one from birth until puberty. When it’s becoming clearer that I wasn’t one, she got tired of me. By then, my father hated me, and I was estranged from Amos. But I digress.” He swallowed. “I wantedyouto see me as a boy, Ela. But I guess it’s hard when I still had my styled, long hair and a fluffy party dress on.
“I decided the best way to show you was to sit you down and confess, and then after, I would kiss you to show my sincerity.”
I couldn’t help it — I cringed, my body flinching. “That didn’t work out well, did it?”
He chuckled. “It went to fucking hell. After the kiss, you were so mad you started insulting me, angry at me for withholding the truth for years, and at the end, slapped me for the audacity.”
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised I had it in me to do that.
“I got mad too. I had this grand vision of you accepting me immediately and we’d be together forever.” Eli sighed, letting my hands go. “The worst part of the event happened.” He stood up and walked to the other end of the room, composing himself.
It must have been so terrible he had to calm down. I stayed in my seat, patient, as Elias found the gall again to continue his story.
