Iris:
"I don’t understand what you’re saying," I asked softly, watching Kash relax his muscles, stretch his neck back, then straighten his posture before giving a brief look.
"A seer told that in a few years, you would fall sick, so sick you wouldn’t be able to move again," he revealed.
Once he finished, I shook my head and pointed at him.
"What? When did this happen? When did you do all my tests?" I demanded in confusion, watching him give a gentle smile.
"Whenever you would pass out," he answered, then paused before adding, "The seer also told there was only one cure."
He stopped there.
I could tell he was waiting for to understand.
And I did.
My eyes widened.
"The pearl. The blue water pearl," I whispered.
He nodded.
"Wait, I don’t understand. Why are you telling all this? Why didn’t you tell before? What? Wait, I don’t get it," I panicked, placing my fingers on my temples and gently massaging them.
A gentle but firm touch caught my wrists and lowered my hands.
Kash had leaned closer, looking into my eyes.
"Iris, if I had told you, it would not have worked," he explained.
That was all he said.
Then everything began to make sense.
The puzzle pieces, all the questions that once stood unanswered, began to settle into place.
After I started passing out, I rembered Kash acting strange.
He made up with Lara and never told why.
It all started to connect, and I forced myself to focus.
"All this ti, you had questioning your character, calling you nas and hating you. And you were doing it for ?" I asked, slowly removing his hands from mine and pointing at my chest.
He rested his arm along the back of the bench and smiled to himself.
"No. It was for us. Your sickness wasn’t only going to affect you," he replied, swallowing at the end.
"It was killing ."
I buried my face in my hands, then looked at him again.
"And when I ran away, when I left and you thought I was with Luca, why didn’t you stop then? Did you fall for her, or did you decide to be with her? What happened?" I asked.
I was not judging him.
I just wanted to know how far he had gone to get the cure.
"When I saw the pictures with Luca, I was angry. But I never stopped looking for the cure. The problem was that a war erupted. And now I know why. The borders were on high alert because of . Because I was trying to invade their territory to look for you," he explained.
He paused again, noticing I had another question.
"But if you hadn’t found , then what?" I pressed.
"When the war with the West ended, I was already planning a war with the East. I’m sure I would have found you there. So no, I never decided to be with Lara. In fact, I hated Lara when she cheated on . My hate grew stronger once I felt the mate bond with you. When I fell in love with you, I understood what true love was. I only kept her around because I wanted the pearl for you, whether we were together or not," he confessed.
Tears filled my eyes.
"I had to make it believable. Lara would not let into her life until she heard tell her that I had tossed you into the guestroom," he paused.
"I lied to her at first, but then I realized it was not easy. Her father already suspected that anyone who wanted to marry her wanted access to the blue river water. Whenever she asked to be rude to you, I had to be. I needed that access. Otherwise, I would have lost you forever," he admitted.
He paused, took a deep breath, then nodded to himself.
"Every ti I hurt you, I felt awful. I was disgusted with myself. I felt like a loser. But there was nothing else I could do. The cure was in the blue river water, and I could not even break through the border and take it because the creature of the water guards the land," he continued.
He paused again, breathing heavily.
It seed like he had more to say.
For now, it was enough.
"Wait, why are you telling this now? Did you..." I trailed off, touching my lips as it hit .
"The pearl was in the pineapple juice, wasn’t it?" I asked.
He gave a comforting, happy nod.
"No, you’re not crying. It’s a happy mont," he murmured, reaching for my cheek.
I slapped his hand away.
"I’m so stupid. All these years, you were doing it for . I don’t get it. Why would you do that? Why would you let yourself look like a bad husband? A man who wasn’t responsible? Even let your children be upset with you? Why?" I cried, grabbing his collar and shaking him.
He did not move.
He lowered his gaze to my hands, then looked up with amusent and happiness in his eyes.
"Because I knew you weren’t leaving," he replied.
I shoved him.
"No, I’m leaving," I shot back, rising from the bench and striding toward the mansion.
It was the guilt.
And the happiness that he would choose over everyone.
He would even make himself look bad.
He was going to kick Lara out for .
"I’m not going to let you go," Kash yelled from behind .
I slowed, then turned around as the wind whipped our clothes.
"Say that again," I called out.
"How about I say I love you?" Kash shouted, opening his arms.
"That’s much better," I yelled back, tearing up as I ran toward him.
He stepped toward .
We collided.
My arms wrapped around his neck.
His arms circled my waist, lifting into a close embrace.
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