Chapter 52: Sweet Dreams, My Love

Laina and Dante carefully made their way through the corridors of Laina's quarters until they came to the spare guest room. They quickly headed in, with Titan trailing closely behind. When Laina closed the door behind her, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness no one saw us," she said as she placed her hand over her heart.

Dante grinned as he came up close to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing them closer together. He gently caressed her cheek as he looked at her lovingly.

"What are you afraid of? Afraid of what people might say?" he asked in soft tones.

Laina blushed bright red as she pushed Dante away. As much as she tried to deny it, there was a part of her that wanted to be in his embrace.

She cleared her throat, "Aren't you worried about your reputation…"

"My reputation? No, not one bit, Princess Laina," Dante swiftly replied.

Laina crossed her arms and pouted her lips, "Fine, but could you be worried about mine? Or at least pretend to be? I've already got a lot on my plate to worry about."

She was exhausted from everything. Her duties as a crown princess, the financial crisis of her nation, the marriage alliances her subjects want her to go through with. Everything weighed down on her shoulders.

Seeing her stressed out like this broke Dante's heart. He just wanted to take her away from everything and lead a carefree life. He walked over to her. When he got close, Laina took a step back.

But Dante did not give up, he took another step forward. He took hold of her hand. He cupped her chin and gazed into her eyes.

"Marry me, Laina," he declared.

She tried to remove her hand from his but he held on tight.

"Laina, I'm serious. Marry me and all these problems will go away."

Laina bit her lip. Her eyebrows furrowed.

Pak!

She slapped him across the face with her free hand. Dante let go of her hand, surprised by what she had done. His hand hovered over his reddened cheek. It took him a few seconds to realize why she had done so.

He reached for her hand again but she backed away quickly. Laina refused to meet him at eye level. She looked towards the side as she gripped on tightly to the side of her arm.

"I thought you were different from them," she said coldly.

She looked up at him, with tears welling up in her eyes. She could not help it. Her emotions never listened to her. Laina was angry at Dante. She assumed he was different from the rest, that he did not want to just marry her to consolidate power.

But it seems like she was wrong.

Realizing she mistook his intentions, Dante quickly explained himself. He moved forward, grabbing onto her shoulders. No matter how much she struggled this time, she could not get out of his grip.

"Laina, Laina. I did not mean… what I am trying to say is… Let's get married. In name only. That way, they won't keep offering you marriage alliances. I won't touch you, not unless you want me to."

Laina shook her head, she looked up at him.

"Why? Why are you doing this for me? What about your reputation?" Laina asked.

She could not understand why Dante would suggest something like this. People who talk behind their backs endlessly about them.

"I just want to protect you."

"You barely even know me, Dante," she said as she folded her arms in discomfort, "You barely even know me and you're willing to do all this for me, just so that you can keep me by your side? I don't understand."

There were so many things he wanted to tell her. The truth was what he should have said. But he could not bring himself to do it. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"You don't have anything to worry about. I just want to protect you. I know we've just met. But I feel like I've known you forever. So let me be there for you."

Laina was at a loss. In front of her was a man she barely knew. She placed her palm over his heart and leaned on his chest. Though she had not thought much about it at first, Laina always felt a sense of familiarity with Dante.

When he said he felt like he had known her forever, it resonated with Laina. She felt the same way. Having Laina lie on his chest gave Dante a glimmer of hope. Maybe she was coming around to his suggestion.

"Is that a yes?" he asked eagerly while trying to remain as calm as possible.

Faced with his question, Laina was at a loss for words. She did not want to reject him completely, but she did not want to agree to this either. She was not ready to take the leap forward.

"Dante, I appreciate what you want to do for me, I really do. But I can't. Not right now. Will you still stay by my side?" she asked as she looked up into his eyes.

He smiled gently as he caressed her face.

"As long as you're willing to let me stay. I will never leave," he whispered to her.

He guided her towards the bed, "Now it is time for you to get some sleep, my princess. From what I recall, you have a long day of work ahead of you."

Dante tucked Laina into bed lovingly. He wanted to lean in for a kiss but he did not do so. As he was about to walk away, Laina held onto his hand.

"Where are you going?"

He turned back, "I'm not going anywhere. I am just going to sleep on the sofa over there."

As he turned to walk away, Laina did not release her hold on his hand.

"I think I would feel safer if you slept next to me tonight," she mumbled her words.

Dante leaned in closer to Laina, "Did you say something, Princess Laina? I couldn't hear you."

She knew he heard her. Through gritted teeth, she asked again.

"I think I would feel safer if you slept next to me tonight. I will not repeat myself again."

Dante did not wait for her to finish speaking. He took off his shirt and laid down in bed next to her.

"Why in Kinshearth did you take off your shirt for?!" she exclaimed in embarrassment as she covered her eyes with her hands.

But she could not help to take a peek through the gaps in her fingers. Dante was a perfect specimen of a man after all.

"I always sleep without my shirt on. Now, sleep well, princess," he smirked.

Laina turned over to the other side, refusing to face Dante as she slept. Seeing as the bedside lamp was still on, Dante leaned over Laina to turn it off. Just as he was about to return to his side of the bed, he leaned close to her ear.

Laina's heart was palpitating loudly. She hoped he could not hear any of it.

"Good night, princess. Sweet dreams," he whispered into her ear.

Not wasting the opportunity, he leaned over closer and kissed her on the cheek before turning over to sleep.