Chapter 661: Honeymoon
Erasmi stared at the closed door and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as his smile vanished. His brothers had planned the ’honeymoon’ for them as a wedding gift before everything had spiraled out of control.
He wanted to refuse, clarify everything, and demand that they cancel the trip, but Caius’s hopeful and happy expression made him hesitate. How could he disappoint his son, who was so excited about the future? The weight of Caius’s joy and expectations pressed on him, making him question his every move.
And that is how they were now here, in this small airplane, flying off to a secluded destination he didn’t know, for the next ten days. With a shake of his head, he took a seat, sending another glance at the door where Ava had vanished. Maybe it was a good thing thet would have time to themselves. He would simply treat it as a vacation. Give them both some space and time to cool diwn.
Maybe during this time, they could even come to an agreement about the annulment. It wasn’t what he had envisioned for them, but it seemed the most practical solution. They could simply annul the wedding and continue to live together, keeping the facade for Caius’s sake and avoiding the scandal of a public separation.
As the plane hummed quietly, Erasmi looked out of the window at the passing clouds, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. How did they end up like this? From strangers to friends to strangers again?
As he was lost in thought, the door to the bedroom creaked open. Ava stepped out, still in her wedding dress, her eyes avoiding his. She took a deep breath and finally spoke, her voice soft but steady. "Erasmi, can you help me?"
He looked up, a bit surprised by the request. "Sure. What is it?"
Ava turned her back to him, revealing that her zipper was stuck. "It’s jammed," she said, avoiding looking into his eyes.
Without a word, he walked to her and reached for the zipper, his fingers gently tugging at it. It was indeed stuck, the fabric caught in the teeth of the zipper. He tried to pull it down, but it wouldn’t budge. "Hold still," he murmured, focusing on the task at hand.
Ava stood still, her breathing shallow as Erasmi worked on the zipper. The tension between them was palpable, a mix of awkwardness and unspoken words hanging in the air. She could feel his fingers graze her back and her own response to his nearness. As Erasmi tugged at the dress a bit more forcefully, the zipper remained stubbornly stuck. But she almost lose her balance.
He steadied her with a hand on her waist and then without a word, leaned down, his face close to her back to look at the zipper carefully. Ava stiffened slightly but didn’t move away even though she wanted to. And then she felt a warm breath on her skin. She turned her head to see Erasmi taking the zipper between his teeth. Her eyes widened as he tugged again, trying to free the fabric caught in the zipper’s teeth.