Ch. 118
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Chapter 118: Side Story 4
He climbed on top of me and looked down, his green eyes gleaming more intensely than usual.
Gazing at me, he whispered softly, “I didn’t bring any birth control.”
“Me neither.”
Ardion stared at me for a long moment. When I didn’t say anything, he lay down beside me.
I glanced over and saw his chest rising and falling ever so slightly.
“Laila.”
His sudden voice startled me, and I turned my head. Yet even then, I could still feel his gaze. Slowly, I turned my eyes towards him. Despite the deep night, his eyes sparkled with a vivid light, almost unnatural in its clarity.
Ardion called my name but said nothing more.
A strange tension hung in the air, so I cautiously opened my mouth. “What is it?”
Only then did Ardion finally speak. “I think that old man really has something. In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone who could read a person’s heart like that.”
I nodded in agreement. Ardion looked at me, then turned to face my side and gently took my hand in his. His warmth seeped into me, and for some reason, my heart started pounding wildly. His touch, softly grazing the back of my hand, was so tender it took my breath away.
“Laila, you’re all I have. So I just... I don’t want to see you hurting anymore.”
Ardion brought my hand to his lips and kissed it softly. Then he pulled me into a full embrace. With his arms wrapped around my waist, he kissed my forehead.
In a low, quiet voice, he said, “To be honest, everything the old man said, he was talking about you. Even though we’re married, sometimes it felt like you weren’t truly mine.”
“…”
“But after hearing what he said, I realized I’ve been judging you through the lens of the past. And yet you’re here with me, telling me you love me…”
He hugged me tighter and continued, “I think I got so caught up in everything that I forgot about you for a while.”
I was speechless for a moment. Thinking back, Ardion had been endlessly busy ever since Rowell’s trial. He had gone through so much. Maybe that was why he had become so sensitive and short-tempered.
Letting out a small sigh, I replied, “I guess I didn’t do so well either. From now on, if something’s bothering me, I’ll come to you first.”
A soft chuckle escaped him as he hugged me tighter. “Anyway, I should thank that old man again tomorrow. Thanks to him, I got to be with you like this again.”
I nodded. With that, we lay down together, agreeing to thank the old man who had read our palms.
For the first time in a while, we fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, warmed by each other’s presence.
By morning, the storm had mostly passed. Thankfully, the rattling windows were intact. Still, because of the rain and wind, wet leaves clung all over the lower parts of the window.
The sky was still full of heavy gray clouds. The rain had stopped, but there was no sign the clouds would clear anytime soon. The gloomy weather lingered, but at least the rain was over.