My Heart Nearly Exploded
Leticia Tepes thought the entire world had stopped.
It might have been a dream.
There was so much kindness in it for her that her head spun.
The only reason she could breathe freely was because she had finally admitted to herself that she loved her brother.
Even if, every night, she did things so shameless… that if he ever found out, she was terrified of the way he would look at her.
But she would keep doing it anyway.
And yet, even with that kind of relationship, Leticia loved her brother more than she had ever loved anything.
No. More accurately, she loved him so much that she never felt satisfied. The desire kept rising like a flood. It was unbearable. The moment her brother was asleep, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him senseless.
But even if it was only right beside him, that would be enough.
She didn’t dare hope for more. She had never been allowed to dream of more. So this was already enough.
Except…
“Brother… can I tell you how much I love you?”
What was she even saying?
The moment she spoke it, her chest swelled until she had to gasp.
Just being beside her brother was enough. To Leticia, that was the absolute peak of happiness she had been given.
Even if Scarlet held another woman in her arms, even if that woman whispered the love she herself had never said, it would still have been fine.
It was happiness she was not allowed.
But it was.
“I’m making you mine.”
This…
—calmed the raging storm in her chest. Her heart was about to shatter, but her brother’s face was so sincere, so steady.
No one knew her brother better than she did.
Leticia faced the truth she had never known, the truth he had only just realized today after endless nights of agonizing over it, the brother who had taken one more step toward becoming the man she had always loved.
Her chest ached.
She resented the fact that her beloved brother had suffered so much alone, that she had known nothing of it.
Still, if she scolded herself, her brother would only feel guilty. He was so kind, so gentle.
So… had a new woman been born in the Halei territory this time?
She didn’t know who it was, but her chest burned with jealousy.
Yet… she was happier than ever.
The sincerity she had finally met from her brother was so wonderful, so… it made her heart flutter.
“Brother, you always sacrificed everything for me, but I only ever thought about myself.”
The brother who had cared for her more than anyone else lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
He apologized.
Sorry?
Leticia had no idea why he was apologizing.
Even now, her heart was still swelling so violently that she couldn’t calm it, as if it might burst.
She reached out.
He was still bowing.
She could almost see tears in his eyes. She had to smile. She had to show only a smile to her brother.
With a trembling hand she cupped his cheek.
She looked up into her brother’s eyes.
His eyes held her face. Pathetic. He was crying.
Leticia laughed.
Silly brother. You had nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who’s happy because of you—why are you the one apologizing?
I already told you.
Someone became happy because of you.
Do you know who?
You’re the woman who was saved by me long before her.
A silly smile rose on Leticia’s lips.
She started speaking without thinking. She scolded her brother for not listening. The lips she touched were still warm.
Still, she held back. Because the man she loved had been honest with her first.
She decided to be honest too. Not only to herself, but to her brother as well.
She spoke as if dreaming, of her past. Even her brother who had no idea what a virgin was looked adorable.
It was wonderful.
It was a release so breathlessly sweet she felt naked. It was embarrassing… but doing it in front of her brother felt right.
Even while confessing her lust, she wanted to flee in shame.
Leticia continued steadily, honestly. When she felt herself growing wet, she thought to herself that she was truly irredeemable.
And then…
“So last night I put you to sleep….”
Her greatest sin. The shameful past in which she had longed for her sleeping brother.
Even while confessing the very core of her filthy, unending desire, she squeezed her eyes shut.
She couldn’t be brazen now.
Honesty was never the only virtue.
“I’m sorry.”
So she apologized. Without even thinking about what she had done when Scarlet had apologized, she filled her chest with only the need to say sorry.
Then…
“Big sister.”
She wondered if the wicked girl had secretly hoped for this too. If Scarlet would forgive me—something like that.
But greater than that fear was the terror of being discarded.
Even the smallest possibility had become a giant fear for her.
Her heart, which had been swelling only moments ago, cooled to ice. She had to live by piercing it with sharp needles.
But what returned was not contempt but a warm call.
Big sister.
A nickname. Had she ever been called that?
She was stunned. The frozen heart inside her melted in an instant.
Just as winter comes and flowers bloom in spring, her frozen heart began to race wildly.
“That’s not it.”
W-what?
She didn’t know if she answered properly in her panic. Her mind was blank.
“I’ll do it first.”
…Oh.
The answer to what I said sorry for…
Then, what do I do first…
“Wait. You were the one who apologized to me…”
Her brother didn’t even pretend to listen. He simply smiled with the warmth of the entire world in his eyes, sincere and gentle.
“I love you.”
The world stopped.
Truly.
In a world where only the two of them remained, the man she loved, her heart on the verge of bursting, reached out his hand.
She reached out her hand too.
Their fingers intertwined.
“Please date me.”
…
“…Yes.”