Rudy watched Lucy enter and leave Reba''s room with clothes in her hands to go to the bathroom to take a bath.


    Once he heard the sound of the bathroom door being locked, he slowly walked towards Reba''s room to continue what he was doing before Lucy interrupted them.


    He saw Reba sleeping on the bed with her eyes closed, although he was aware that she was simply pretending to be asleep as she had been wide awake and active a few minutes ago.


    He walked to the bed and crouched down to level up with the bed. Then, he moved his face close to Reba''s ears and whispered,


    "Are you sure you want to be so defenseless in front of me after what we just did?"


    Reba smiled slightly and opened her eyes, saying, "I have always been defenseless in front of you, and I know you wouldn''t do anything to me."


    Rudy kissed Reba on her cheek and said, "Are we going to continue?"


    "No. Your five minutes have long passed, and we have to learn to stay loyal to ourmitments, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Good."


    Rudy held Reba''s hands in his hands and asked, "So how long is this status quo phase going tost?"


    "How long do you want it to be?"


    "As long as you want, but please don''t make it too long," he chuckled softly.


    "I think if I keep on thinking about my decision, then I would start to have second thoughts, so it''s better if I just… tell you tomorrow?" she wondered.


    "Oh… that''s quicker than I thought. Do you have your answer already?"


    "I am thinking about it. What about you?" she asked curiously.


    "Same."


    Reba stared into Rudy''s eyes and muttered, "This feels like a dream. All my life… I have been waiting for this day toe, and when it''s finally happening… I feel… content. That''s an honest and satisfying feeling, and it feels good."


    Rudy kissed Reba''s hand and calmly said, "From today onwards, Everything will feel like a dream to you. I will fulfill all your wishes and make you the happiest girl in the universe."


    Reba chuckled and said, "You have told me the same thing when we were on a date on my birthday."


    "Well… I wouldn''t really call it a date, but yes… I did promise you that."


    "And then you disappearedter that night," she remarked.


    "Ouch."


    "You don''t have to try to make me happy, you know? I already feel happy when you are with me. When we are having a conversation— not the mother and son— but the conversations like this. I feel butterflies in my stomach, and my heart is beating so fast."


    Rudy squeezed Rebeca''s hand and said, "Regardless of what your answer is tomorrow, whether it be positive or negative, I will keep my promise and make you happy. And I hope that your answer is yours alone and not because of something mentioned in that diary."


    "Do not be afraid. And tell me what''s in your heart," he added.


    "Tomorrow, yes."


    "Tomorrow, it is."


    "You should go now before Lucy returns. We can''t let her suspect anything, or things can go bad."


    Rudy looked at the time and asked, "There are more than three hours left before dinner, so I guess you should sleep."


    "Yes, but it will be hard. I am just too excited."


    "And one more thing, if you don''t mind…" He let go of Reba''s hand and asked, "When is… tomorrow? Like, will you answer after the clock hits midnight? Or when you return from your night shift? Orter that day?"


    "After I return from my night shift."


    "So tomorrow morning, huh?" Rudy chuckled nervously and said, "Not going to lie, I do feel a little anxious all of a sudden. As if I am waiting for a girl''s reply after confessing to her."


    "Good night."


    Rudy kissed Reba on the forehead and said, "Good night."


    Rudy left Reba''s room and went to his room. As soon as he entered his room, he had a sense of nostalgia for no reason.


    "Why does it feel so weird? I was in this room this morning, and even in 1990, I was in my room in the morning. I have neithere here after eighteen years nor have I missed this room, but still… it''s a weird sense of nostalgia."


    Rudyfortably sat on the bed and recalled his memories of his room and the bed.


    ''I have done so many things in this room…'' He then remembered his sessions with Angelica and Elena and muttered, "So… many things."


    Rudy got off the bed and went beneath the bed for some reason. He nced around the back surface of the bed as though he was searching for something.


    "Here it is…" he muttered as he found what he was looking for.


    When Rudy and the gang had gone to buy the bed in the past, Elena had written ''Rudy and Elena'' on the bed as a sign.


    "It''s ridiculous that I never noticed it until now, but then again, who even goes beneath their bed for no reason? It''s dark here, and also, the name is written in small letters, so it makes perfect sense that I never saw it.


    Still, it makes me relieved knowing that all that actually happened and I am in the same universe. I am still baffled after my battle with Asura. What was all that I saw? I have no words to exin. And I feel like I will go insane if I keep thinking about it."


    Rudy rolled out from beneath the bed and grabbed his phone.


    "Now, there is one thing left to do." He unlocked his phone and opened the dialer app instead of his contact list.


    Tu~ Tu~ Tu- Tu!


    He wrote four numbers and stopped for a few seconds before adding the rest of the six numbers.


    He looked at his phone screen and slowly moved his hand to the ''call'' button. He didn''t ce the phone on his ear and kept it in his hands. A few secondster, the call started ringing.