I nodded with gravity, my eyes steady on him.
"Both my parents were already too old to conceive at that time," he began to explain, his voice almost a whisper. "Their first child had already been the result of years and years of trying. He was a miracle, as they called him," he said, a small smirk forming at the corner of his lips. "They knew very well about it since they were both bioengineers in Reproductive Medicine...They were the top experts in the industry. Very ambitious... Perhaps too ambitious," he added with a small sneer, sipping on his glass.
He sniffed, licking the red on his lips, his stare intense on the horizon. I waited for a moment, thinking about what I had just learned.
"So... They used their expertise to have you?" I asked cautiously, wanting to understand.
"Not to have me," V sniffed, looking down at the glass between his fingers. "To have him again."
I frowned, extremely confused now.
V slowly removed the sunglasses. His stare turned to me again, and I wished I could have seen the strange flicker in his eyes before.
While his voice was sharp, his eyes looked... sad.
Extremely sad.
"They cloned their first son," he spoke slowly, "and grew it in an artificial womb."
"An artificial womb...?" I echoed, taken aback.
As inexperienced as I was in this new world, I had no doubt this revelation would've caught anyone off guard.
"They called it exobirth," he said, confirming my thoughts. "A perfectly engineered second chance," he raised his glass in the air as if to celebrate his parents' accomplishment. "Impressive stuff," he added after taking another sip, "Except..." he licked his red lips again, "...you can't outsmart Nature."
He took in a deep breath before continuing.
"I think they knew from the start there was something wrong with me," he continued with a small nod, almost to himself. "But they waited until I was five or six to admit it to themselves."
Linking the pieces of the story together, I slowly began to make sense of it.
"Did they realize they... They couldn't replace their first son?"
"This," V agreed, "and much more..." He looked down at his lap. "They realized I wasn't completely human either... They had created a monster."
V looked away now.
A monster?
I wished he had looked at me now.
"V...," I could only reply what felt like the most obvious answer to me. "You're not a monster."
V sneered behind his drink.
"Interesting remark... Coming from a monster itself."
His words felt like a slap.
Without even realizing, I had recoiled into my seat.
I knew he was saying this because he thought he was talking to a machina. Still, his words stung more than I thought they could.
After all, my existence also relied on unusual beginnings.
"Sorry," V apologized as soon as he saw my face. "It's not what I meant. I drank too much. Sorry."
He rubbed his eyes for a long time before turning to me again.
"I meant... You were designed. Just like me. You were built with a specific purpose. This is the whole reason I brought you here, actually."
My mind went on alert.
The reason he brought me here...? Finally, his motivation for having a Love Machina was within reach, I could feel it.
"I'm here because... I'm a monster?" I said with a slight frown, trying to understand his reasoning.
"No."
V moved on the sun bed to sit in front of me. We both sat in front of each other now, our knees almost touching. As surprised as I was by his sudden proximity, I felt so eager to understand his reasons, I wanted him to continue.
"You're here because you're designed to love."
Our stares locked.
"And be loved."
He licked his dark red lips, and I couldn't help but stare at them for a split second before looking back up.
"Which is exactly what is missing from my design."
I frowned, my lips opening to answer now. It was V's turn to look down at my lips before quickly looking back up. I remembered all of the research papers V received by message this week. One by one, they had appeared on the kitchen screen in blue letters, making me wonder about his true intentions.
"Are you... studying me?" I spoke softly.
He leaned backward on his hands as if to put more distance between us.
"Yes and no. I'm continuing my parents' research on exobirth. And since I'm the only exoborn I know of... I guess... I am studying myself."
His fingers got around the sunglasses on his forehead, removing them. He looked down at them for a moment as if he were thinking about his next words.
"I guess I was curious to see what would happen between someone born incapable of love," he looked back at me, "and someone created to love."
Our stares locked again.
I remembered something he had mentioned earlier.
"Is that why you asked me to teach you earlier?" I frowned, no longer scared of what his answer would be. "You want to learn how to love? And... how to be loved?"
V seemed taken aback, as if he hadn't expected how fast I could be connecting everything now.
"About that," he chuckled nervously, quickly getting on his feet. "I had too much wine. Sorry again."
He rubbed his eyes before getting up and pushing his hair back.
"I'm feeling so sleepy..." He stretched his arms in the air, looking into the horizon.
I stayed still, observing him.
I wanted to continue this conversation as I had never felt so close to understanding him, his motivations, and his thoughts.
And yet, it felt like he was slipping through my fingers already.
V looked back at me, noticed my worried face, and interpreted it differently.
"Don't worry, I won't send you back," he said, his hands digging into his pockets. "My life is about to get much more complicated now..."
He chuckled darkly, collecting the empty pizza plate.
"I could use some company," he said with a smile for me, extending his hand to help me get up.
🪴
V's POV
Knock, knock, knock.
My eyes snapped open.
My whole body ached, a deep, lingering ache in my bones.
Even the faint movement of my eyelids opening sent sharp pain through my skull.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, I heard again.
A painful groan slipped past my dry lips.
I lifted my stiff neck from the makeshift bed, and my head throbbed in protest.
Knock, knock.
Pause.
Knock, knock, knock.
My dizzy brain struggled to identify the sound.
I was so used to living alone that it almost felt foreign.
Then it clicked.
Someone was knocking at my door.
I forced myself up.
Too fast.
My fingers held my temples as if they could keep the contents of my head from spilling out.
The room spun around as I stumbled to the door.
My mouth felt so dry.
A hangover.
I haven't had one in years. Maybe at the academy?
Flashing images of the night appeared.
The pizza was good.
Knock, knock.
Again.
"It's me."
I knew that voice.
I reached the panel and slid it open.
"Yes?" I thought I said, but I actually muttered something that sounded more like "mhyehm?", in a dry, groggy voice.
The brightness from the hallway made me squint, but I knew it was Sade standing there.
For a second, she didn't say anything.
Her eyes dropped to my chest, then back to my face.
"Wow," she said.
My pajama shirt was hanging open. None of the buttons had been buttoned.
Nothing better to snap me out of my torpor.
"S-s-sorry," I mumbled, immediately tugging the fabric around myself and folding my arms tight over it.
Sade pressed her lips together and turned her head, as if I hadn't already seen the smile she was trying (and failing) to hide.
We did watch the stars together yesterday. I remembered now.
"I apologize if I'm bothering," she said, clearly struggling to hold a straight face.
"Are you alright?"
I tried to cover my embarrassment with formality, but my stuffy nose and my hoarse voice only managed to utter "Nya aiyite?".
How did we get home yesterday after the pizza place?
I couldn't remember it.
"I had an idea," Sade continued, shifting her weight from one side to the other. "For your research."
I dragged a hand up and down my face, hoping to wipe the exhaustion away. When did I even mention my research to her?
"Sade...," I leaned against the frame, feeling my heart pounding in my head even more, "What are you talking about..."
A cold wave of panic froze all over my body.
My hand still over my face, I slowly parted two fingers, peeking at her through them.
Her big eyes were looking at me with a fervor I had never seen in them before.
What have I done...?
"Use me," she said.
I blinked.
Both my hands came over my face, coming into a prayer around my nose and mouth.
"Use me for your research," she said again.
My eyebrows rose so high on my forehead, it almost hurt.
"Yesterday, you asked me to teach you..." Sade moved her hands in the space between us, as if there was something there. "This."
My wide-open eyes dropped to that space between us.
Then back to her.
"You want to understand love..." she continued. "Let me help you. That's what I'm built for."
She held my gaze, unshaken.
"I..."
I was speechless.
"Let me help you with your research!" she repeated, nodding with the same unshakable conviction. "Who would be better to help? I'm a Love Machina after all."
She was serious.
And she was waiting for an answer.
"I... Erhm... I..."
I remembered to blink.
I was feeling lightheaded now.
Something shifted in my stomach.
My hands slowly slid down from my face to my chest. My pajama shirt slipped open again.
"I..."
My insides turned.
"I'm going to puke!"
🗓️ Next chapters: this Thursday, August 7th 🗓️
FINALLY!! We finally know everything about V's research, the secret he hides from the world, why he was so strange with Sade from the start... What are your thoughts on it??
I can't wait for you to read the next chapters and have Sade and V finally get MUCH MUCH cloooooser ❤️☺️
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE 🥺
Thank you for being here ❤️