[BL] Oops! I Seduced My Sister's Fiance (And Now I'm Pregnant) Chapter 120: Too Much Space

Twenty-five minutes later, I step outside hating both Bael and myself a little.

Mostly myself.

Because I knew exactly what he was doing at breakfast. I knew he was provoking deliberately, knew he recognized the one thing guaranteed to override my common sense was my refusal to let him look down on .

And sohow I still walked directly into it anyway.

The morning air is cool enough that it brushes pleasantly against my skin as I make my way across the estate grounds, sunlight still soft and pale over the gardens. The paths are mostly empty at this hour, the estate quiet except for distant movent near the lower courtyard where staff have started their morning routines.

Bael is already waiting near the eastern path.

Of course he is.

One hand rests loosely in his pocket while the other holds his phone at his side. He looks up the mont he hears my footsteps approaching, grey eyes settling on steadily before flicking once over the clothes I changed into.

Not lingering, just noticing, and that sohow feels worse.

"You’re late," he says calmly.

I stop several feet away from him. "I changed my mind twice."

"I know."

That answer catches off guard enough that I look at him properly.

Bael pushes away from the railing before I can figure out what expression just crossed his face.

"We’ll start slow," Bael says after a while.

I glance sideways at him. "You say that like I’m eighty."

His gaze flicks briefly toward .

"You’re already offended and we haven’t started yet."

Heat flashes imdiately across my face.

I look away first.

"This was your idea, not mine."

"And yet you’re here."

I hate that he keeps sounding faintly amused today, worse, I hate that part of likes hearing it.

We reach the wider path bordering the eastern gardens before Bael slows briefly, stretching one shoulder back with easy looseness before finally glancing toward again.

"Stay beside ," he says. "Don’t try to compete."

"I wasn’t planning to."

He looks unconvinced.

That alone irritates enough that by the ti he starts jogging lightly forward, I imdiately follow faster than necessary.

Which, judging by the brief look he gives sideways, he notices instantly.

The first several minutes are manageable enough to make overconfident.

The pace isn’t fast. The path curves gradually through open gardens and shaded walkways, cool air filling my lungs while the repetitive rhythm of movent slowly settles into sothing almost comfortable.

Almost.

Beside , Bael keeps his pace steady and controlled.

Not slowing enough to insult , not pushing hard enough to strain either. Just matching automatically in a way that feels suspiciously careful despite how casual he’s pretending to be about it.

That realization bothers more than it should.

I focus harder on breathing evenly instead.

Several minutes later, pregnancy decides humility is important for my personal growth.

My breathing turns uneven first.

Then my legs start feeling annoyingly unsteady beneath . The ache in my lower back slowly returns underneath the repeated movent, dull at first before sharpening gradually enough that I try ignoring it out of sheer stubbornness.

Beside , Bael glances over once.

His pace shifts almost imdiately afterward.

Smaller strides, slightly slower. Subtle enough most people wouldn’t notice.

I notice.

Of course I notice.

The realization irritates instantly.

Because he’s adjusting for without ntioning it, without making feel weak about it, without even acknowledging he’s doing it at all.

Like it’s instinctive now.

Sothing about that lands dangerously sowhere underneath my ribs.

I speed up out of reflexive annoyance.

Bael looks over again imdiately.

"You do realize this isn’t a competition."

"You’re slowing down."

"You were breathing like soone fighting for survival."

"I was fine."

"You looked seconds away from collapsing."

I glare at him despite the fact that breathing is becoming significantly harder now.

Bael looks entirely unimpressed by my denial.

That expression alone makes jog faster again.

A terrible decision.

A few minutes later my lungs are burning badly enough that speaking feels difficult, heartbeat pounding unevenly while the ache in my back spreads sharper through my body with every step.

Ahead of , Bael finally slows near the far edge of the gardens where the path opens beside the field.

Relief hits so fast my knees nearly give out from it.

I make it exactly two more steps before the world tilts unpleasantly sideways beneath .

Then warmth catches imdiately.

One arm slides firmly around my waist before I can stumble properly, the other steadying against my back while Bael pulls upright against him with smooth instinctive ease.

Like he expected this.

My breathing turns uneven imdiately, chest rising hard enough that speaking feels almost impossible while one hand instinctively grips the front of his shirt for balance.

Above , Bael looks unfairly calm.

"Tired already?"

I glare weakly up at him through completely destroyed dignity.

But painfully, my legs still feel unreliable enough that the movent throws my balance off again slightly.

Bael’s grip tightens instinctively.

And suddenly I’m pressed properly against him.

My heartbeat spirals imdiately.

This close, I can feel warmth through both layers of clothing between us, can sll the faint clean scent clinging to his skin, can hear his breathing still perfectly steady while mine sounds completely disastrous.

Humiliating.

Above , Bael studies my face silently for several long seconds.

Then his gaze drops briefly toward my mouth.

My stomach flips violently.

I understand what that look ans, I do.

And the terrifying part is that he doesn’t look hesitant. He looks certain.

The realization barely finishes forming before Bael kisses .

No warning, no hesitation.

One second he’s looking at and the next his hand slides upward against my back while his mouth presses against mine hard enough to steal every coherent thought directly out of my head.

I make a startled sound against his lips, fingers clutching the front of his jacket before I even realize I’ve moved.

The kiss deepens almost imdiately. Not rushed, not uncertain, just deliberate in a way that makes panic and heat crash through all at once.

Bael kisses like soone who already decided he was going to, like soone no longer waiting for permission to want openly.

The thought hits so hard it almost hurts.

I try to pull back after a while, weakly at first because my body still feels unsteady from the run and my brain has stopped functioning properly.

Bael follows imdiately.

Not forcing, but refusing to let retreat completely.

His hand presses more firmly against my waist while his mouth moves against mine again, slower this ti, devastatingly thorough in a way that makes my thoughts dissolve completely.

By the ti he finally pulls away, I’m breathing so hard it feels impossible to recover properly.

His forehead nearly brushes mine.

His grey eyes fixed steadily on my face.

And then quietly, like he’s admitting sothing to himself as much as to :

"I think I’ve been giving you too much space."

My entire body goes still. Because that doesn’t sound impulsive.

It sounds decided.

Fear flashes hot through my chest imdiately afterward.

Not fear of him, fear of what happens if I start believing this ans sothing real.

I shove against his chest hard enough this ti to force actual distance between us before stumbling several steps backward.

Bael lets go imdiately.

That almost makes it worse.

Heat floods violently across my face while my heartbeat spirals completely out of control.

"You—"

But words abandon entirely.

Bael watches calmly, breathing only slightly harder than before while I continue emotionally disintegrating in front of him.

Then his gaze drifts downward briefly before lifting back to my face.

"Do you need help bathing after this?" he asks.

I stare at him in complete horror.

Bael looks perfectly serious.

Which is sohow infinitely worse than teasing would’ve been.

I turn around imdiately and start running...walking back toward the estate before he can say anything else capable of ending my life permanently.

Behind , I hear him laugh quietly under his breath.

Low, warm. Dangerously pleased.

That sound follows all the way back upstairs.

By the ti I reach my room, my heart is still beating uncontrollably hard.

I shut the door behind too quickly before locking it imdiately and leaning back hard against the wood with a shaky breath.

My lips still feel warm.

My waist still burns where his hands touched .

And sowhere underneath the panic and embarrassnt twisting violently through my chest, one terrifying realization settles quietly into place.

Because the frightening part now isn’t the kissing.

It’s that Bael keeps reaching for like he already expects to stay.

And I don’t know what happens to if I start believing him.