Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 124. Come to me II
Rose bit her lower lip and glanced to the other side. He was right, she had agreed to it and his request was not something that crossed the line. No, Rose even knew Angel did it to soothe her. But sleeping in a man's arms? The thought itself had made her nervous. Indeed, she had done it once. It was 5 years ago after she treated him at Asteria. But they weren't this close.
Still, she had agreed. She didn't want to go back on her words and realized Angel's good intentions. So yes, she would try it.
"How do I know that you won't do anything to me?" She whispered, glancing back at Angel.
"Here of all places?" he made sure. A soft chuckle escaped his mouth and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Like I said. If I wanted to do it from the start, I would use my power to do it," he reminded her. He didn't know how many times he had told her. But rather than disbelief, he caught her nervousness.
Although, after what he had done, he wished Rose could trust him more, he could understand her. Rose had never dated a man before. Not even close to any of them. To make it worse, they started their reunion with a huge misunderstanding and a contract marriage.
Wouldn't it be weird if they suddenly got intimate without telling what was on their heart? So exposing everything they felt was much better to avoid another misunderstanding in the future.
"Who knows? You are unpredictable. No one knows what's in your mind," she replied bluntly. It was not a bad thing, but it made her a little uneasy.
He brought his face close to hers a bit.
"And I prefer to keep it that way," he said calmly. He was a king, predictable could be something bad for him.
"But you don't have to worry. I will not go back on my words."
"You should," she whispered.
"So, are you coming or not?" he asked again, opening his arms to her.
With her eyes fixed on him, Rose took a deep breath before she drew closer to him. His arms captured her body and his warmth covered her, more than the blanket itself. Although this wasn't the first time she had gotten this close to him, she couldn't deny her nervousness. Her heart was beating faster. She wasn't even sure she could sleep this way.
Yet… she found comfort in his arms. Her heart felt much calmer. She felt like a baby in a cradle. His warmth reminded her of her childhood, how she always felt safe when she was with her father.
His scent and the darkness reminded her of their first encounter in Asteria. She could feel his muscles and strong arms. It was the same as the past… no, he was stronger. Much, much stronger since he had to protect his kingdom and his people.
Slowly, a happy smile appeared on her face.
'You changed… but neither did you.' Of course, what had happened in the past had changed a lot of things in his life. The way he behaved, the way he solved the problem. The way he fought… The only one which didn't change was his swordsmanship.
Rose was about to close her eyes but his soft snore made her realize that he was asleep. She looked up in reflex.
'Huh? That fast?' She was quite surprised by how fast he woke up due to a small thing and fell asleep again after he made sure everything was fine.
Assuming he was tired, she thought about letting his hug go but his soft whisper stopped her.
"Father, please don't leave me…" he mumbled in his sleep and tightened his hug.
Rose was frozen. Once again she turned her gaze to Angel and could see the frown on his forehead.
As she stared at him, in an instant she realized something that they have in common. Something that might be the reason why they fell in love with each other. It was how they looked up to their fathers and how their parents' death turned their lives upside down.
'Is that the reason why we fell for each other?' she thought. Because deep inside their heart, they hoped that they had someone who could understand them.
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