Reborn Wife: I'll Chase Happiness Instead of My Husband

NATHAN

"There’s nothing to forgive, Sophia. You didn’t choose it." I kissed the top of her head. "When I knew you were going to marry Jace, I accepted a military assignment in the Western Realm. I didn’t come back for three years. But then my grandfather died, and when I came back for his funeral, I went to secretly visit you."

Sophia bent her head. I could only imagine her expression. Somewhere between surprise and shock, probably. "You did?" she asked.

"Yes, my love. The night you died. You were alone on the bank. I don’t know who pulled you out of the water. Later on, when I saw Jace and Penelope, neither one of them were wet. So, it was likely a servant."

"Daisy," she said softly. "It was probably her."

"I don’t know. No one was around. You looked so pale. Blood stained your clothes. Your face..." I couldn’t bear thinking about her like that. I stopped talking because I no longer could around the lump in my throat. "I failed you. I failed you, and I couldn’t bear that, either."

"It’s okay," she soothed me. "It’s okay. I’m here now. We’re here now. Together."

I kissed the top of her head and held her close until I could breathe properly again.

"What happened after that?" she asked.

"I left this world to be with you," I whispered.

I felt her whole body go still. Then she leaned against my shoulder. "Nathan, you..."

"I killed Penelope first. Jace tried to protect her, but he might as well have been paper. I tore through him easily. I plunged my sword into her chest and killed her, Sophia. Then I returned to you and put a blade into my own heart. So you wouldn’t have to walk the road to the underworld alone."

She straightened and tugged at her veil. I stayed her hand. "Patience, my love."

"Nathan, you didn’t have to do that. You shouldn’t have ended your life just because mine was gone."

"I didn’t want to be in a world without you in it. Even if we weren’t together, even if you had forgotten me, even if you were married to Jace, it would’ve been all right. Because you were alive. But I never should’ve left. I should’ve fought for you. I should’ve kidnapped you and left the Northern Realm."

"Oh, Nathan."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between us. A silence filled with our past lives, a memoriam, because that life was gone forever. And this one was just beginning.

"When did you wake up in this life?" she asked.

"Right before the Hunter’s Ball. I was in the Capital. I had been given the option to go to the Western Realm. It was that choice that took me from you. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again."

"You went to the Hunter’s Ball to find me."

"Yes. To find you and claim you. I knew you were different. You still didn’t remember me, but you allowed our connection to bloom. Your mind might’ve forgotten, Sophia, but you heart hadn’t. It remembered me."

"I had been reborn that night, too," said Sophia. "Earlier in the evening, when Penelope had locked me away in one of the outer buildings. She didn’t want me to attend the Hunter’s Ball. She was such an evil bitch."

"And now she’s a dead one," I said.

Sophia laughed, then she stopped and gasped. "I’m a horrible person."

"Me, too," I said. "So we can just be horrible together."

I could see the entrance to the White Jade Palace up ahead. "We’re almost there," I told my bride.

A few minutes later, the men carrying the palaquin lowered it to the ground. I stepped out first, and then helped my bride out.

"I don’t know if I can walk with this veil on my head," she complained. "I can’t see anything."

"No worries, butterfly." I scooped her into my arms and strode through the flower arch of the palace.

The white and gold tiled pathway led us through the front gardens. Then we entered the formal courtyard with its two pavilions.

And then finally, finally, we entered the main palace and I took Sophia into the prepared bridal chamber.

I carefully put her onto the bed, and watched as she sat there, hands pressed together her lap. She was nervous, I could tell.

So was I.

The room was decorated in red, from the bedcovers to the decorations. Bowls of nuts and dates were on the table, the dresser, and even scattered onto the bed. The Emperor had been serious about having children.

On the table was the wedding wine in a red and gold pot with matching cups.

It was time.

I sat on the bed next to Sophia and lifted the veil.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. She was so beautiful. Her makeup highlighted her features, though she didn’t need it. Tiny pearls dotted the curves of her cheeks. In the center of her brows a lotus had been painted.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes, her smile trembling. "I’m yours," she whispered.

"You are mine. In this life and every life after. And I’m yours, Sophia. Forever and always."

I got up long enough to pour the wine and bring the cups to the bed. Sophia and I crossed arms to drink, and I tossed the cups to the floor.

"Nathan!"

"I’m not leaving this bed again until morning," I said. "And maybe not even then."

"In two lives, I’ve never been with a man," she said, her voice quivering. "I know, in theory, how everything is supposed to work, but ... I’m so nervous. I’m ... I’m scared, Nathan."

"Don’t be scared," I said softly. "I’m here. I’ve never done this before, either, love. So we’ll learn together." I paused. "In full disclosure, I will say that Hune provided a number of books, with rather detailed paintings, of people being intimate. I studied those closely, butterfly. Trust me when I say I’m a very good student."