Chapter 37: Promises
The dining room was tense, and the air felt heavy.
Nicholas sat at one end of the table, staring straight at Marina, who sat opposite him with her arms crossed over her chest.
Katherine sat right in the middle of the table, her eyes moving from side to side. She didn’t know what exactly had made Big Sis Rina angry, but one thing was certain.
Big brother Nicholas was cooked!
"Dang Dang Dang!"
"Keep quiet Katherine" Marina snapped, her sharp gaze cutting at Katherine. Katherine immediately pressed a finger against her lips.
And looking at Nicholas with a pitiful gaze, knowing what he was about to face.
Nicholas sat calmly on the other side, unperturbed by Marina’s sharp gaze that almost seemed to cut straight through him.
He felt the cutting edges of her gaze, as though they wanted to see right through him.
Sweat trickled down his face as he tried to remain calm, ’It seems they must’ve seen the broadcast. Just how many people saw it?’ Nicholas had absolutely no idea the uproar his appearance had caused and the amount of people who had watched him on screen.
Marina let out a slow breath, "Nicholas" she began, her words felt like a gunshot, as he instantly sat up, somewhat startled.
"Marina" he said back, ’Why does she give off a more dangerous aura than the mafia bosses I dealt with before?’
Nicholas had been in so many situations in his life, but somehow, being faced by Marina right now made him feel much more tense than he normally would.
"Phantom hero?" She asked, raising a brow.
"It seems that’s the name they’ve picked as my hero name"
Marina let out a disappointed sigh, "What did I tell you about this hero business? Do you know I almost watched you die?!"
"What do you have to say for yourself?! Katie and I watched a large hammer smash you down to earth and you come back home and expect us to pretend like we saw nothing?" Marina’s voice went through the roof, filled with so much emotions.
Tears slipping from her eyes as she spoke.
"I only have you and Katherine, if I lose the two of you then I have nothing left. No family, nothing! I’ve sacrificed everything to keep this family alive all this while, I can’t have you risking your life just like that. You have to quit this job! I can get back to doing shifts in the cafeteria. But I can’t have you continue this... I can’t lose you too! Not again!"
Nicholas could see the fear hidden beneath her eyes—no, it wasn’t just fear, it was a clash of emotions. The confusion, the hope, the fear, everything.
And she didn’t have the slightest idea that the brother she was so worried about, was long since dead.
What if she knew? How would she react to such information?
Of the three, she was the one who had sacrificed the most.
After their parents’ deaths years ago, she had to quit school and find a job just to make ends meet.
Barely 16 but she worked her ass off to take care of the two of them, paid the bills, fed them and even managed to pay for tuition for both him and Katherine.
She had sacrificed her own future, her happiness, just to make it work for the two.
Of the three siblings, Marina was the most broken and it was not by choice, it was never a burden she chose to carry, but one she was forced to carry.
’You should’ve done better Nicholas’ Nicholas could feel the emotions welling up inside of him. They weren’t his siblings until he came to this new world.
He was amazed at the amount of selflessness and love Marina had shown to the two siblings, even from the moment he went through Nicholas memories, he couldn’t help but be impressed by her sheer will and love.
And that was why, even if the old Nicholas was dead, even if it seemed as though the world forgot them, and even if she pushed against it, Nicholas swore that he would give the two sisters the best life possible.
Nicholas opened his mouth to speak.
Closed it again.
For once, he couldn’t find the right words.
He let out a calm sigh, his steady blue eyes locking with hers, "It’s my turn now Marina, you’ve done enough. You don’t have to go through what you did anymore, you no longer have to sacrifice more than you have to... I’ll take the role from here on out. You don’t have to worry about money anymore. You can finally live your own life. I will take on that job. Even if I have to go on a hundred missions and more, I will do it. Even if I have to take down an army I’ll do it."
"...And you don’t have to worry about me, because I’ll always come back home."
Marina stared at him, her light blue eyes locked with his, her mouth opened but the words failed her. And before she could say a thing, she burst into tears.
Katherine looked at her confused, but soon burst into tears of her own running towards Marina, "Big Sis crying, Katie will cry too! Stop crying!" She said wailing.
He stood from his seat walking up to the two of them, he paused for a moment unsure of what to do but slowly he wrapped both of them in a hug.
The three siblings entered a tight hug.
"It’s a promise, and I’ll keep it" Nicholas whispered.
Marina slowly cleaned off her tears, looking at Nicholas, "Thank you so much Nick, I love you!" She said giving him a kiss on his forehead.
Nicholas’ eyes widened, and his face went red and his entire body went stiff.
"Brother looks like a tomato! Hahaha" Katherine said with a gleeful chuckle.
Marina burst into laughter, "You’re so adorable, all that talk and you freeze up from a kiss... Sure I shouldn’t be worried?"
Nicholas smiled, touching the side of his cheeks where she kissed him, "You bet, you don’t have to be worried. I’ll be fine, and I’ll make sure nothing happens to you two either" he said with a warm smile ruffling Katie’s hair.
At first, he felt like this wasn’t his family but the longer he stayed with the two siblings, the more he felt like detaching was nearly impossible.
This was his family now.
{A/N: Not enough to make you leave a review? A review would really be helpful for me right now. Also, the character arts are up. Not all though, but you can support your favourite characters with points! Thank y’all for sticking with me!]
