Saving You, Villain - Side Story 1 Part 2

When Jax saw the marks all over my neck, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Liv! What happened to your neck? Oh my gosh. That’s too big to be from a bug… looks like you got chewed up by a dog.” Of course, it wasn’t long before he realized that the marks weren’t from a dog but from Camian, and his face grew solemn.

Camian, on the other hand, showed no sign of embarrassment as he calmly continued eating. He was the one who’d ruined the atmosphere at the table, yet he seemed the most at ease. It made me want to throw water in his smug, handsome face. Though dumping a whole cup might be too much, I figured flicking a bit of water at him after washing my hands in the bathroom might be satisfying enough.

As I stole a glance at him, Camian caught my gaze, as if he had a sixth sense. His eyes met mine, and before I could look away, he pinned me down with a charming smile.

“You went out this morning without wearing a coat.”

The words that slipped out from his lips were far from pleasant. I had hoped he might let it slide today, but apparently not. Dread began to settle in, knowing a wave of nagging was about to follow. I pulled my gaze away from his face, which had distracted me for a moment, and pretended not to hear him, stabbing a fork into a piece of crispy bacon.

A soft snort escaped from the side.

“Maybe I’ll wrap you up in a blanket so you finally get it.”

“……”

“You think I won’t? It’s because you never listen. Go ahead, try it again and see what happens.”

The clear threat made my temper flare, but I wasn’t like Camian, who could act shamelessly. Considering we had just been caught in an intimate moment by Debra, the last thing I wanted was to start a fight now.

I stayed silent, and the awkward tension returned. The only sounds that broke the silence were the clinking of dishes.

As we neared the end of our meal, Debra spoke up.

“Liv, Camian.”

“Yes?”

I hurriedly swallowed the food I had stuffed into my mouth, hardly chewing. Oh no, I didn’t chew ten times. Feeling guilty, I glanced at Camian. He immediately frowned at me, looking ready to start lecturing. Was he even eating, or just watching me all day?

Fortunately, Debra’s next words stopped him from saying anything. He merely glared at me with his stern expression.

“Now that Liv is healthy again, I think it’s time for the two of you to live on your own.”

“…Debra!”

I blurted out in shock, not having expected this at all.

“Most children move out when they’re seventeen,” she added.

“What? Still, isn’t it too sudden to ask us to move out?”

Sharing Camian’s life force meant I would live much longer than an average human, far beyond Debra and Jax. I had always thought I would stay by their side until their final moments. I hadn’t even considered leaving, but maybe that had been naive of me. Perhaps Debra and Jax felt uncomfortable living with us now that we were adults—especially after catching us in an intimate moment earlier today.

The thought of being a burden to them, of them having to navigate our personal boundaries, weighed on me. Maybe they hadn’t said anything, but they must’ve felt the strain all along.

Seeing the change in my expression, Debra softened her tone and spoke kindly.

“We’re not trying to push you out, Liv. We just wanted to ask what you and Camian think.”

There wasn’t much to think about—I didn’t want to leave. I fidgeted with my toes and glanced at Camian. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised. Without breaking his calm demeanor, he responded smoothly.

“May we discuss it first and let you know our decision?”

“Of course. Take your time.”

I lost my appetite. As I quietly set my fork down, I heard a faint click of Camian’s tongue. Normally, he would have insisted I finish my meal, but he could sense my mood. He didn’t push me further.

“Liv, moving out doesn’t mean you have to leave the village,” Debra added with a gentle smile.

“I know.”

“You could build a new house nearby, so you’ll still be close. That is, if you want to be independent.”

“We’ll think about it. Thanks, Debra.”

After the meal, I went straight upstairs and collapsed face-first onto the bed. Camian followed me, pulling me up into a sitting position. He propped me against the pillows, arranging them behind my back so I could rest comfortably. I let him do as he pleased, trusting his familiar touch.

“Do you think Debra is uncomfortable living with us?” I asked.

“Not sure.”

Camian’s calm reply did little to ease the storm of thoughts swirling in my mind.

“Don’t give me vague answers.”

“They’re just trying to be considerate, worried that we might be uncomfortable living together.”

“…But I’m not uncomfortable at all. Now that I’m healthy again, I was planning to take over all the work Debra and Jax have been doing.”

Even now, I was helping with much more than I had before. Carrying heavy, water-soaked laundry, cleaning up hay, organizing the grain storage—things I couldn’t even dream of doing when I was ill. But in reality, I was only helping. Most of the heavy work still fell to Camian, Debra, and Jax.

No matter how much I insisted I could handle it, Debra and Jax always answered with, “Sure, sure,” but never gave me the bulk of the work. It seemed like they didn’t fully trust that I had recovered. Camian didn’t even back me up. Instead, he’d make me feel awkward by saying things like, “Don’t bother, just rest,” and would handle the tasks by himself.

For now, I was only helping, but after some time, once Debra and Jax realized I was completely healthy, I’d be just as valuable as Camian when it came to getting things done.

And yet, they were talking about us moving out before I even had a chance to prove myself. I slumped my shoulders, feeling dejected. Camian reached over and playfully tugged at my upper lip.

“Why are you telling me this? You should be saying it to Debra.”

Camian’s tone suggested that it didn’t matter to him whether we stayed or moved out. To be more precise, he acted like it wasn’t his decision to make.

“What do you mean, ‘why are you telling me this’? What do you think about it?”

“When did you ever ask for my opinion?”

Does he think I always act on my own? I slammed my hand down on the bed in frustration.

“That’s ridiculous! I ask for your opinion all the time!”

“When?”

“That time, when…!” Camian tilted his head, raising his chin in a smug gesture that seemed to say, Well, go ahead and tell me if you’ve got something to say. His cocky attitude only made me dig deeper into my memories. But… I couldn’t think of a single example. Not one.

Have I really been acting like a dictator? No, that can’t be right. If anyone fits the title of ‘dictator,’ it’s Camian. At least, that’s what I had always believed.

But now that I thought about it, whenever we needed to make a decision, we hadn’t spent much time discussing or negotiating. And the reason was simple.

Camian’s world revolved around me. His own desires were secondary, always giving way to what I wanted or preferred. He would make those choices before I even had a chance to voice them.

However, when it came to things that might harm me or put my health at risk, Camian’s stubbornness was unyielding. No matter how much I yelled or protested, he wouldn’t budge. We had had many screaming matches over such matters, and I always ended up losing.

Living like that, we never really needed to negotiate or compromise.

I avoided Camian’s gaze, staring into the air and scratching my cheek in an attempt to deflect.

“…How could I possibly remember everything? Don’t ask me for specifics.”

It was a weak excuse, and Camian knew it. He could have easily pressed me further, but instead, he just laughed softly.

“Stop laughing… What do you want to do?”

His large hands cupped my cheeks, and despite the awkwardness of the situation, I couldn’t help but appreciate the warmth of his touch. I relaxed, letting my head fall into his hands. He gently tilted my face up so I was looking at him, and his smile deepened as our eyes met.

“I want to stay here.”

His answer didn’t surprise me. It was exactly what I had hoped he’d say.

***

“You want to knock down a wall?” I asked in disbelief.

When Camian and I told Debra and Jax that we didn’t want to move out, Jax’s face noticeably brightened. He couldn’t hide the smile tugging at his lips as he said, “Why would you want to live with us old folks?”

Debra quickly chided him, telling him not to say things he didn’t mean.

“Looks like we’ll have to be more careful going upstairs from now on,” Debra teased, her laughter making my ears burn with embarrassment. I hurriedly hid my flushed face behind my hair.

I thought that was the end of the conversation about independence. But then Jax suddenly commented, “Since Camian’s been spending most of his time in Liv’s room, don’t you think it’s getting a bit cramped?” Debra agreed, and before I knew it, they were discussing knocking down the wall between our rooms to combine them into one big space.

“No, I need my own personal space,” I cut in, throwing cold water on their excitement. The conversation, which had been filled with talk about new windows and bedding, abruptly halted.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Debra and Jax exchanged looks, then glanced at Camian. They were clearly pitying him.

“I mean, we’re together most of the time anyway, but sometimes, you just want to be alone, you know? Camian, don’t you feel that way too?”

“I don’t.”

“…Uh, really? Well, Camian needs some personal time too, I’m sure.”

At this point, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Maybe I was being a bit of a dictator. But Camian didn’t protest my misinterpretation.

In the end, we neither moved out nor knocked down any walls. The only change was that my bed got bigger. Other than that, everything stayed the same.

The normal life that I had missed out on during my illness had finally come back to me after so much time. Now, I just wanted to savor it. Whether my family understood this or whether they valued this daily routine as much as I did, I couldn’t be sure. But either way, no big changes were happening, and for that, I felt a deep sense of contentment.