Chapter 56: The Spider's Choice

Gwen’s breathing slowly became steadier, her sobs fading into quiet sniffles until exhaustion finally took over.

Even after she fell asleep, her fingers remained tightly wrapped around Chris’s shirt.

Chris carefully adjusted her head against the pillows.

When he tried to move his shirt out of her grip, she held on even tighter.

He tried once more, but her fingers didn’t move.

A small smile appeared on his face before he gave up and let her keep holding onto him.

I stood near the foot of the bed, crossing my arms as I looked at my daughter.

“Is she in danger, Chris? The bite… the changes?”

Chris looked at Gwen for a moment before answering.

“I don’t think so. She’s stable, and nothing about her condition makes me think she’s in immediate danger.”

I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“We keep her here for a while and let her get used to it. Once she understands how strong she is, she’ll have a much easier time controlling herself.” I nodded slowly.

“What about getting someone else to help? A doctor or a specialist?”

“No.” Chris’s answer came immediately.

“Nobody outside this house needs to know about this.”

I frowned.

“You think someone would try to take her?”

Chris looked at me.

“If word gets out that a fifteen-year-old girl suddenly has abilities she shouldn’t have, people are going to start asking questions. Some of them won’t be interested in helping her. I don’t know who might come looking for her, and I’m not taking that chance.”

His words made my stomach tighten.

I understood what he meant.

Gwen wasn’t just my daughter anymore.

If people found out about her abilities, she could become something much bigger in their eyes.

Chris glanced toward the doorway.

“White.” The pale girl who had arrived with him stepped into the room.

“Yes, Lord.”

“Take over Helen’s work for now. The company paperwork, legal documents, meetings, everything. I don’t want Helen leaving the house until we know Gwen is okay.” White nodded.

“Understood.”

I looked at her with some concern.

“Chris, you’re really going to have her handle all of that?”

“She can handle it.” He said it so simply that I didn’t know what else to say.

White remained completely calm.

“I will take care of everything.”

I looked toward Chris before finally agreeing.

“Fine.”

Chris turned his attention back to Gwen.

“She needs someone here with her.” Chris looked at me.

“Is it okay if I stay there?”

Her hand was still gripping Chris’s shirt even while she slept.

“You don’t have to ask,” I said quietly.

“Stay with her.”

Chris nodded.

White gave a small bow before leaving the room.

I watched her disappear down the hallway before looking back at Chris.

He was sitting beside Gwen, watching her sleep.

For the first time since she had returned from the trip, she looked peaceful.

I didn’t know what had happened to my daughter.

I didn’t know what the bite had done to her or what she would become.

But at least she wasn’t dealing with it alone anymore.

I looked at Chris sitting beside her.

Whatever happened next, we’d face it together.

Chris POV

After Helen and White left the room, everything became quiet.

The lights were off, and I was left alone with my thoughts.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.

In the universe I remembered, Gwen shouldn’t have gotten her powers like this.

She shouldn’t have been bitten while I was away.

But she was.

Seriously…

does fate just hate Spider-Men?

Gwen had already been uncomfortable after finding me asleep in Helen’s room, and now she had to deal with getting bitten by a spider and gaining powers while I wasn’t even around.

I had planned to talk to her about what she was feeling eventually, but I thought she needed some time.

That could wait.

Right now, I needed to make sure she was okay.

More importantly, I didn’t want Gwen to become like the other Spider-Men.

I didn’t want her growing up believing that having powers meant she had to sacrifice herself for everyone else.

If anything, I needed to make her a little selfish.

She needed to understand that her own life mattered too.

I also needed to make sure Helen didn’t leave the house for now.

If she went out alone, she might end up becoming a lesson for Gwen to be good.

Maybe I was being paranoid, but I wasn’t taking the chance.

I would have to put someone else in her place for the time being.

That reminded me of the Arc Reactor.

I had planned to buy the blueprint and have it patented, but with everything happening now, that could wait.

I sighed.

“When did I become this soft?”

In my previous life, if I wanted something, I took it.

I didn’t spend much time thinking about how other people felt.

If someone got hurt because of my choices, that was their problem.

I had almost been a psychopath before I died.

But now…

I actually cared.

I looked toward Gwen.

Is this because of this body?

Maybe living as Chris Sterling had changed me more than I realized.

But that didn’t make much sense either.

The original Chris hadn’t cared much when his parents died.

Most of his memories were filled with anger and resentment toward them.

So why was I feeling this way now?

I was about to call the Research Assistant when Gwen’s arm suddenly wrapped around my waist.

Before I could react, she pulled me down onto the bed beside her.

I froze for a moment.

I tried to push myself up, but Gwen wrapped both arms around me and buried her face against my collarbone.

The hug caught me off guard.

It reminded me of the way Helen had held me when I was upset, and how easily I could fall asleep in her embrace.

Gwen stayed like that for a few seconds before quietly saying my name.

“Chris.”

“Yeah?”

She didn’t answer immediately.

Then she asked, “Have you killed someone?”

I froze.

Okay.

So this was the conversation we were having.

Should I lie?

I thought about it for a second.

There was no real reason to.

Even if Gwen eventually became a liability, I could accept her as one.

“Yes.” Her arms tightened around me.

I could feel her fingers gripping the back of my shirt.

Then she spoke again.

“I like you, Chris.” I didn’t know what to say.

I stared at the ceiling.

I cared about Gwen.

I thought she was precious to me.

But if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t know if what I felt for her was romantic.

If I had to name the person I had developed those feelings for, it would be Helen.

Not Gwen.

But I couldn’t say that to her right now.

Not after everything she had just gone through.

So I simply said, “I know.”

Gwen was quiet for a moment before saying, “Mom told me that if I ever said this to you, I had to accept that you wouldn’t always act according to normal ideals.”

I frowned.

“Before today, I thought that was a bad thing.”

Her grip tightened slightly.

“But when you found out something was wrong with me, you didn’t hesitate. Even when Mom was standing there, you were already trying to protect me.”

I didn’t say anything.

Shit.

Did I break her somehow?

I had wanted Gwen to become more selfish.

I wanted her to understand that she didn’t have to sacrifice herself for everyone.

But the way she was talking about it now…

It sounded different.

Maybe I had pushed her in the wrong direction.

Then another thought crossed my mind.

If you love someone, maybe you’ll do anything to protect them.

Maybe that’s what she was feeling.

Her grip tightened again, and then she became completely silent.

I stared at the ceiling.

I could only hope she wasn’t becoming what I thought she would.

…

Author’s Note

So, with this, Gwen has admitted that she likes Chris, while Chris is interested in Helen.

I think, because of Chris’s paranoia, we’ll probably need another demon, or maybe Chris will give Helen powers by creating a skill.

Right now, I’m leaning toward adding another demon.

I hope you like this chapter.

This is kind of my first time writing romance, so I’m still figuring it out.

Author’s Note (28|08|2026)

I’ve seen the comments about the direction of Chris’s relationship with Gwen and Helen, so I’m leaving the final choice to you guys.

I’m putting up a poll that will be available to everyone.

The poll will stay open for three days, and the option with the most votes will be the direction I follow going forward.

After the three days are over, the result will be final, and I won’t be taking any more requests to change the relationship direction later.

So if you care about where this goes, make sure you vote now.