章 21: Nervous Elsa and Confession

His confidence surprised her. But this also made her feel relaxed as she nodded, "I'm relieved to hear this."

She had known him since he was just a small kid, and over the years, he had grown closer to them, almost becoming a part of their family.

So, even if not for Liam and Elsa, she would feel sad if something bad happened in his family solely because of their bond.

While waiting for Elsa, Eric suddenly found himself looking at Leah every now and then.

'Although she is not as beautiful as Elena, her homely and calm looks, decent proportions, and motherly charm make her an alluring woman.'

Suddenly, his pupils constricted as he realized what he was thinking about.

'Damn, it's all the system's fault. If it hadn't given me such a perverted mission, I wouldn't be thinking about all this.' He thought before focusing his gaze somewhere else.

Beside him, though Leah seemed engrossed in knitting, internally she was thinking, 'Why was he looking at me like that? Is he feeling emotional because I care for him?'

'Sigh, what a sentimental boy! No wonder Elsa likes him so much. She must have noticed all his positive traits before everyone else.'

Swoosh!

A few minutes later, the door behind them swung open.

As Eric stood up, Leah turned her head to see Elsa, who had dolled herself up the best she could, and softly berated her, "You made him wait too long."

Elsa panicked, "I-I'm sorry, Eric. I was just—"

Eric smiled, "It's alright. Aunt Leah is just teasing you."

Hearing this, Elsa glared at her mother, who was now smiling teasingly, and pouted her lips. "You are so mean, Mom."

"Hehe, I don't get too many chances to tease you." Leah chuckled.

As they lightly bantered, Eric looked Elsa up and down. She was wearing a faded yellow dress. He could see it was very old and likely to be Leah's but was well maintained and looked good on Elsa.

Like every time he saw her, she looked quite beautiful, her cheeks a beautiful shade of pink, her silky brown hair neatly tied in a braid that hung down to her lower back.

Elsa, noticing he was looking at her, became nervous and lowered her head to hide her face while her hands gripped the side of her dress tightly.

Leah couldn't help but sigh upon noticing this.

She then coughed lightly and said, "Ahem, what are you waiting for, girl? You don't plan to keep him standing outside, do you?"

"Ah, sorry." Elsa almost jumped and hurriedly invited him in, "Please, E-Eric, come in."

However, after leading him inside, she stopped and started looking between the open living room and her small room to the side.

Seeing this, Eric sighed, took a step forward, came beside her, and gently grabbed her hand before saying in a warm tone, "Calm down, Elsa. No need to be so nervous."

However…

When he saw Elsa's face and even her neck turn a deep shade of red and that she seemed to be frozen, he sighed and released her hand, feeling frustrated. He didn't know how he was supposed to act around her, as just his presence made her nervous.

Just then,

"Ahem, Eric, son, why don't you sit down on the chair over there while I talk to Elsa for a bit?" Leah said as she walked in.

"Okay."

She led Elsa to her room and closed the door.

Eric didn't need to wait for long, as just a few minutes later, they walked out. And now, Elsa looked calm, though not completely.

Then Leah walked out, and Elsa brought him a glass of water. "Here, you must be thirsty." She said while handing him over the glass, her hands trembling a little.

As Eric drank the water, she sat down beside him, her legs closed and to the side and her hands on her lap. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she took deep breaths to calm down.

Eric didn't hurry and took his time to finish the water, giving her enough time to calm down.

When he felt Elsa had calmed down, he turned to her, looked into her eyes, and opened his mouth to speak when…

Leah once again walked in, with her chair in her hands.

After putting it to the side, she looked over at them and smiled, "You guys take your time and talk. I'll go meet Mrs. Anderson. She has invited me over several times."

Saying this, she walked out, but not before giving Elsa a teasing look that made her flush red once again.

"I—I'll go close the door." She sprang up from her seat and went to close the door, and it took her almost a full minute to go a few meters and come back.

She was a nervous wreck. When she returned, she was even hesitating to sit beside him.

Eric sighed again, grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto the chair beside him. Then he didn't let go of her hand as he asked, "Elsa, tell me, do you want to be my girlfriend knowing I have someone else in my heart?"

Being pulled down and having him hold her hand was too much for her, and it sent her heart racing, and her mind went blank for a moment.

Then just as she was about to jump away from him in panic, she heard his words and felt everything go silent, leaving only the loud sound of her heartbeats.

Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum!

'He… is asking me to be his girlfriend?' She wanted to jump in joy, but as she digested his words properly, she started to calm down.

After a few moments, she looked up at him, into his eyes. And even though she was still nervous, her eyes stared into his, unflinchingly, as she asked in a whisper, "Will you be able to love me, even if a little?"

Eric closed his eyes for a moment in thought before he opened them, looked at her, and slowly, but surely, nodded. "Yes. I will."