"Thank you for coming back to me."
Hearing the extension of his words, I couldn't speak. The ability to think forsook my brain and my voice suddenly vanished. Confusion and surprise replaced my system, so much so that they gushed into my bloodstream.
"You didn't do it out of obligation, right?" Marvel continued after he pulled apart and found my astonished gaze. "Because I understand, even just for a while, you wanted to run away from me."
Relentlessly panting after the struggle, I watched Marvel and he watched me. When he said that, finally I could properly look into his eyes. Seeing him wear an expression as if he were in indescribable pain, I didn't know what to say in return.
"And you knew full well you could have run away back then, since the situation was perfect; I got killed by the twins, the whole mansion turned into uproar, no one would even notice your disappearance… No one," he emphasized, sure of it. "And yet, you didn't leave."