Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2884: Communication Is The Key

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City

”It didn’t used to be this awkward between us, you know,” Anna said as she stepped closer to me.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous that she might give me the same treatment Corey had received. Still, I steadied myself and met her halfway, wrapping an arm around her waist and boldly pulling her into my embrace feeling no resistance from her side.

”That’s because I keep hoping things between us can go back to how they were before Anne came into the picture,” I admitted. ”But they can’t. I need to understand that and start making an effort instead of putting the entire burden of our relationship on you.”

”Hold on. Are you telling me you liked the old bossy me? The one who would sexually harass you regardless of when, where, or who was around?”

”Well, I did fall for her...” I paused when I caught Anna staring at me. Deciding there was no point hesitating anymore, we were engaged, I revealed. ”I like my women bold and aggressive. Sue me. It felt pretty great being pursued by a princess.”

”Bold and aggressive, really?” Anna asked skeptically, clearly thinking about Susan as well.

”Hey, just because I love dark chocolate doesn’t mean I can’t love vanilla too.”

”I see,” Anna said slowly as she wrapped her arms around my neck, letting her lips linger just a hair’s breadth from mine. Whenever I tried to close the distance, she would pull back slightly, and when I followed, she would shift to the side, teasing me like a snake charmer playing with her serpent.

Seeing her beloved getting closer to his other fiancee, Anna was beginning to doubt herself, wondering what did the former have that she didn’t. She thought maybe her fiance liked the conservative and traditional type. It was too late for her to be traditional, but she could be a damn good conservative. She was trying to be someone she wasn’t to gain her beloved’s attention, instead she ended up driving a wedge of misunderstanding and lack of communication between them.

But now that they talked and the misunderstanding was clear, she returned to the correct path almost immediately and began to be herself.

”You know,” Anna said, still keeping her lips a hair’s breadth away from mine.

”Mm...”

”I was actually considering kicking you around until I got all my anger out,” she admitted softly. ”But the moment you pulled me into your embrace, the anger just disappeared like it had never been there. What remained was confusion... and fear. Then, after hearing your words, even those feelings faded away, and what remained was...”

Anna paused, her teasing eyes locking onto mine as the corner of her lips curled upward.

”Guess.”

I didn’t bother guessing. In one swift motion, I slid my hand from her waist to the back of her head and closed the distance between us. To my surprise, she offered no resistance at all. It seemed my answer had been right.

I don’t know how much time passed, but Anna and I passionately rolled through the bloodstorm clouds without a care in the world. It felt like the good old days again. The spark between us had never truly disappeared, and thankfully, we had found it again before it was too late.

Anna wasn’t the only one who had been confused and afraid about where our relationship was heading. I had been too. Part of me had even wondered if the Anna I fell in love with was gone, replaced instead by two different people: Anna and Annie.

But that wasn’t the case. What we had been missing was honest communication, the kind we used to have in the old days. She had once been my go-to person for everything, but as I grew stronger, I gradually stopped relying on her, and the number of secrets between us only kept growing.

Yet despite all that, our love for each other endured and brought us closer than ever before.

As we lay on the cloud in each other’s embrace, both of us gasping for breath, Anna looked genuinely impressed.

”I was worried I might break you, but not only did you hold your own, you actually gave me a run for my money. Also, where did you learn those moves? Because it definitely wasn’t from Susan or Jill.”

”Didn’t I tell you before that I had a past before meeting you?”

”I thought you were joking back then, to save your manly pride. However, after learning Corey is a reincarnator, I’m starting to hope you are too. It would not only explain a lot of things, but also solve my insecurity about our age difference.”

”When the time is right, I’ll tell you everything about my past.”

The Card Celestial already knew I wasn’t the Wyatt of this world, but an outsider. At first, it had rejected me, yet now it had partially accepted me and was even willing to work alongside me. That gave me the confidence to eventually reveal my past to those closest to me.

Maybe the truth would bring us closer, or maybe it would drive us apart. Either way, the truth was bound to come out sooner or later. It was better for my loved ones to hear it from me first.

”Alright then, let’s talk about the present instead. That whole thing about the devil merchant code is insane. I couldn’t believe it myself until I visited the inter-realm city. Peyote even took me to your guild and workshop in the Chaos Darwen district. No wonder you’re loaded.”

Anna could not be more impressed by my standing within the devil merchant code.

Honestly, she seemed more impressed by how far I had risen within the devil merchant code than by the mesmerizing Myriad Realms or even the devil merchant code itself. I couldn’t help but feel a little proud about it.