"Welcome to the Velvet Room. How may I help you today?"
Those repetitive words pained her as much as it pained him. Theodore would give her fake smile, follow a monotonous routine, and act like a soulless robot incapable of feeling the cursed blessing known as "emotion."
She tried to get him to stop acting so aloof towards her, but he pleaded that she remain distant, lest he forget his duties. She didn't know why she had complied with that request, but somewhere within her being, she felt as if she must.
But…
Such constrictions could not be absolute, could it? Nothing was.
Just seconds before, she stood behind the mysterious door, knees shaking, temples sweating, her heart pounding faster than the beating of a hummingbird's wings. She considered running away, but in her anxiety, she lacked the ability to consider her options. Thus, there she stood, before the man she loved.
"Theodore, I…" the girl began, summoning all of her courage to speak.
Theodore recognized that tone of voice: it lacked the feigned professionalism she promised herself to maintain. He could feel his chest cringe at the words to come. Will you go out with me? Want to go get some takoyaki? Would he be able to control himself from accepting that sinful offer?
Recognizing his downcast expression, the girl breathed deeply, temporarily halting her emotions from suddenly flooding out. "I need to talk to you, Theodore. Privately, please."
She cast a glance at Igor, who seemed not to mind. He simply gave her a questionable stare, before curtly nodding at Theodore to make his way outside the room with their guest, probably for no longer than a few minutes.
The girl stepped outside into the human realm, her face hung low, waiting for the blue-clad man to emerge from his cell. She replayed what she intended to say over and over again, simultaneously wanting Theodore to come out as soon as possible before she forgot and wanting Theodore to stay inside until the words were permanently embedded in her memory.
It surprised her when she rose up her head and met with the man's striking amber eyes. At that moment, she completely forgot the carefully memorized dialogue she ardently prayed to accomplish.
After a brief silence over the implications of the meeting, Theodore finally asked, trying to control his voice from shaking, "…What is it?"
Say it. Say it. Just say it. The girl felt her cheeks swelling up as she forced herself to speak the life-altering words:
"Theodore, I'm pregnant."