I’d gotten up from bed about thirty minutes after Mrs. Wen left.
Lying there wasn’t helping. The thoughts just kept spiraling: news articles, comnt sections, Feifei’s face, my family’s disgust.
Except they’re not really my family, are they?
I died choking on coffee in a cubicle. Woke up in this body, in this life, with mories that aren’t mine and a family that never knew the real .
So why does it hurt so much that they hate ?
Maybe because Original Runze cared, his mories are tangled up with mine now, his feelings bleeding through. The desperate need for his parents’ approval, the love he had for Feifei, all of it is still there under my skin even though logically I know these people are strangers.
Or maybe because I never had anyone in my past life either, no family, no one who gave a damn if I lived or died. So when I woke up in a body that had parents, a sister, people who were supposed to care, I wanted it to be real.
But the pain is real either way.
I force myself into the shower. The hot water helps temporarily, washing away the sweat from the panic attack, the tension from reading those headlines.
Now I’m standing in front of the mirror in my bathrobe, towel in hand, chanically drying my hair while trying to figure out how to live in this ss.
If they already see as the villain, the howrecker, the scheming slut who destroyed his own sister’s happiness, maybe I should just stop fighting it. Stop trying to explain, stop apologizing, stop caring what any of them think.
I should just survive, protect the baby, and move forward.
The rest can burn.
A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts.
Before I can answer, it opens.
Bael stands there.
His eyes sweep over , taking in the bathrobe, the damp hair, and I realize too late that the robe has slipped off one shoulder. My chest is partially exposed, nipple visible and still flushed from the hot shower.
His gaze catches there. Lingers.
Sothing hot flickers in his expression before he steps inside and closes the door behind him.
"Mrs. Wen said you had a panic attack after seeing the news." His voice is carefully neutral. "But I guess I shouldn’t have worried."
He looks up and down again, slower this ti, and a smirk curves his mouth.
"You’re here looking good."
For half a second I’d actually thought maybe he ca because he was concerned about .
What did I expect?
The irritation flares hot and imdiate, I yank the robe back up over my shoulder.
"Yeah, I’m not just looking good, I’m doing good too. So fuck off. Your worry isn’t needed."
His smirk widens like I just said sothing amusing. "Bratty. I guess I went too easy on you yesterday."
My face burns at the mory before I can stop it. bent over his desk, his hand fisted in my hair, the brutal pace that left marks I can still feel.
I turn away before he can see how much that affected and head toward the wardrobe. I need actual clothes, sothing that covers properly, sothing that doesn’t make feel so exposed under his gaze.
"Don’t worry about the news," he says behind , voice shifting to sothing more serious. "I’ll take care of it."
"I don’t care."
I make it maybe two steps before his hand catches my waist and pulls back. My spine hits his chest and his arm wraps around my middle, holding in place.
I try to pull free but his grip tightens.
"It’s good that you’re not concerned," he murmurs, breath hot against my ear. "At least I won’t have to worry too much."
His tongue drags up the shell of my ear and I can’t stop the shiver that runs through .
His other hand slides under my robe, skin to skin, his fingers find my nipple and circle it slowly, deliberately, like he has all the ti in the world.
My breath catches.
"Bael, stop..."
A knock at the door makes us both freeze.
"Young Master Li?"
Mrs. Wen’s voice cuts through the mont like cold water.
I wrench free from Bael’s grip and stumble forward, yanking my robe closed and trying to calm my breathing.
The door opens and Mrs. Wen enters with a breakfast tray. She stops when she sees Bael standing there, surprise flashing across her face before she schools it back to professional neutrality.
She sets the tray on the desk quickly, almost fumbling it.
"Please eat your food before it goes cold, Young Master," she says, bowing slightly before practically fleeing the room.
The door closes behind her.
Silence stretches between us.
I refuse to look at Bael. My face is burning and my body is still humming from where he touched and I hate it. I hate that he can do this to so easily.
"Well," he says finally, amusent clear in his voice. "I guess I should let my wife-to-be eat breakfast early."
Before I can respond, he crosses the distance and pulls into a kiss.
Deep, demanding, his tongue pushing past my lips in a way that makes my knees weak and my hands grip his shirt without my permission.
When he pulls back, his hand brushes my still-damp hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear with a gentleness that doesn’t match anything else about him.
"Enjoy your food, young master," he murmurs against my ear.
Then he’s gone.
The door closes with a soft click and I’m left standing there, heart racing, face hot, body betraying in every possible way.
I sink into the chair at the desk and stare at the breakfast tray without really seeing it.
All I can think about is the feeling of Bael’s hand on my bare skin, his tongue on my ear, his fingers circling my nipple like he owned it. Like he owned .
Stop.
I force myself to pick up the spoon and take a bite of porridge. It’s warm and bland and exactly what my stomach needs, even if I can’t taste it through the ss in my head.
I eat chanically, not really paying attention, just going through the motions because the baby needs this.
Outside, the morning sun climbs higher over the Wuchen estate.
Another day, a scandal, another mont where I let Bael get under my skin and remind that I’m completely out of my depth here.
I press my hand against my stomach.
"It’s just you and ," I whisper to the baby. "Rember? We don’t need anyone else."
But even as I say it, I can still feel where Bael’s hands were on , the heat of his touch lingering on my skin.
And I hate that part of wants him to co back.
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