"What about me? I told you everything about me, yet you couldn''t tell me your name?" he asked in a low voice.


    "I nned to. The day you brought Rias over to your house and shared your memories with me to tell me everything about yourself, including your powers and harem… I wanted to tell you about my name too.


    But… ording to you, you didn''t know anyone by the name ''Elena'' in your present time. I know who I was, but you didn''t. I thought… I thought if I told you I am your best friend''s mother… you would break up with me. And that was a valid reason to break up… by the way.


    So I hid it from you, hoping you would realize it one day, eventually. And I know you did. I guess we were worried about the same reason and didn''t want to ept the reality."


    "Yeah…"


    "And then I… I thought about it. What would happen if you suddenly went back to 2008? I was obviously scared of you leaving me behind, but that was something not in your or my hands.


    And since you showed me your memories… which was the future for me… I knew what wasing. I was a mother of twins. That meant two things. Either you returned to 2008, and I moved on and married someone.


    Or… you impregnate me. Of course, I know what that would mean. You would be the father of your two best friends. As bizarre as it sounded, I wanted that over the former option. And thus…"


    "You asked me to impregnate you that day on the school''s rooftop…" Rudy finished Eleanor''s sentence.


    "Correct. But you turned me down. I was deeply hurt at that time. I even tried to force you emotionally, and then I felt terrible, so I stopped and apologized to you. I was just… scared. I didn''t want to have someone else''s child. I loved you and you only.


    Loving someone else or being touched by another man was worse than hell for me. Then… I realized something. You always used to say that whatever is supposed to happen will happen— and that''s why you were in 1989.


    So I let it do its thing. I put my trust in fate and epted my destiny. I wanted to cherish our remaining moments as much as we could. And… we started having sex whenever we got time.


    I am not saying that sex was all that mattered when I was with you, but that was a great way to bond better. We always talked about important things during sex and… I guess we were more direct and honest that way."


    She chuckled with a distant smile on her face.


    "Yeah…"


    "..."


    "Umm… so… Eric and Erika are truly my children…?"


    Eleanor let go of Rudy and stopped hugging him. She looked at him in disbelief and stepped into the bathtub. Then, she sat down and hugged her knees.


    "..."


    Rudy also got into the bathtub and sat in front of Eleanor.


    "I think… I should have asked that question with better phrasing. I wasn''t implying that you cheated on me or moved on and had kids with another man. Obviously, you wouldn''t do that.


    I am trying to ask if they are our children." Rudy let out a frustrated sigh and continued, "Like… you got pregnant after I impregnated you, and you conceived them."


    Eleanor opened her mouth and responded, "No, I adopted them."


    "..."


    "Do you remember the teacher couple who used toe often to have sex on the school''s rooftop? And then she got pregnant and took maternity leave? After which, you became a teacher at the same school."


    "Yes, yes. You don''t have to be that specific."


    "Eric and Erika are their children."


    "Uhh… I just calcted the months and days… and their birthdate doesn''t add up in that timeframe. Are you trying to hide something from me?"


    "I am not. Their birthdate doesn''t add up because it''s the date of the day I adopted them."


    "If that''s the case… then… well, I had impregnated you the day I left."


    "Did you, though?"


    "I creampied you with my fertilized sperm cell."


    "That''s just a creampie for normal humans. Just because you did that doesn''t mean the girl would necessarily get pregnant, you know?"


    "That''s true, but… I still think you are not telling the truth."


    Eleanor raised her brows and asked, "Are you sure you are ready to know the truth? You might not like what I have to say."


    "..."


    "You know what I am referring to, right?"


    "Yes. And I truly hope it''s not what I think it is. I know you wouldn''t do that."


    "Maybe you trust me too much? I was away from you for eighteen years, which is a long… really long time to forget someone. As you know, time is the best healer to all words, physical or emotional."


    "You are bluffing."


    "How do you know? Maybe I am not."


    "Elena… I swear if you are joking about this, then I will be really, really angry. This is not something you should joke about."


    Eleanor looked into Rudy''s eyes without any sign of fear or anxiousness.


    "Would you still say I am bluffing or joking?"


    "I don''t want to know."


    "The truth is—"


    "I said I don''t want to know."


    "You have to know." Eleanor got closer to Rudy and sat on his thighs.


    She moved her finger from his head to behind his ear to his neck.


    "The truth is that Eric and Erika are—"


    "Stop… I don''t want to know. I don''t want to hear what you are going to say. So stop."


    "I won''t stop. You have to know. You have to go through what I went through. You have to feel how I felt. Consider it your punishment for making me wait for so long."


    Eleanor moved her face close to Rudy''s ear and whispered, "Eric and Erika are… your children. They are our children. You impregnated me that day, and I got pregnant the following week. Everything went swiftly on time."


    Rudy let out a deep sigh of relief and hugged Eleanor.


    "Why would you scare me like that… idiot."