LOTM: Before the Protagonist Chapter 67 67: Reconciliation*

"Argh."

With one last thrust, Jace groaned softly as he ca inside Catherine.

Breathing heavily, he fell down, collapsing right onto Catherine's warm body.

After the first rough round in the study, Jace had pulled her into her own bedroom and continued fucking her, his actions were fast leaving now room for any words.

Currently, they were both bare, with no clothes to cover them as they lay tangled in the silk sheets.

Catherine's face was flushed, but she maintained a neutral expression, her own breath coming in ragged gasps.

Today, she had not been touched gently or even kissed; Jace had only fucked her like so common whore.

It was deeply humiliating for her, yet she had shown no resistance, even when Jace had slapped her bottom to deleberatly humiliaye her.

She endured it all because she truly wanted to make things better between them.

After Jace fell against her, she moved her hands, wrapping one arm around his back while her other hand softly stroked the nape of his neck.

As Catherine played with his damp hair, she whispered, "Was that enough to satisfy you?"

Jace didn't answer, focusing entirely on calming his erratic breathing.

He knew he had taken a massive gamble when he forced himself on Catherine; at any point during their "exchange," she could have easily stopped him and turned things over.

As a Sequence 5, she possessed the strength to throw him across the room or even kill him, but she hadn't.

Which surprised him.

After regaining his breath, he moved to get off her, but Catherine's arms tightened around his body, preventing him from moving away.

Anxiety flared within him for a mont, but he quickly cald himself. His intuition—his Clown premonition—had not signaled any danger.

After a few minutes of heavy silence, Catherine moved slowly, shifting her weight and turning around their positions until she was on top.

Her long hair fell down around them like dark curtains, shielding them from the rest of the room.

Jace looked up at her, his eyebrows narrowed as he tried to discern what this woman was going to do to him now that the roles were reversed.

Being beneath her brought back so unpleasant mories for Jace, but he stayed calm.

She looked down at him with an uncertain expression, yet there was an unmistakable softness in her eyes.

Catherine cupped Jace's cheek with one hand, stroking his skin softly with her thumb.

She leaned forward, kissed his lips gently, and then pulled back just an inch.

Looking at him with an apologetic glint in her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry."

Jace's expression didn't change, but Catherine kept looking at him intently.

"Jace, you did to what I did to you," she said, her voice firm.

"But now that it's done, I'd like to restart our relationship."

Jace still looked unconvinced, his gaze guarded.

She searched his eyes for a minute before continuing. "You know... that day, when I did that... thing to you, you fainted and fell asleep due to exhaustion. But in your sleep, you inched closer to . You held , clinging to like a lonely child..."

"That's when I regretted it..., You are lonely, Jace... just like ," Catherine said, her voice a little emotional.

Hearing her say these things, Jace's gaze turned complicated.

Catherine continued, her voice growing faster. "You are a boy walking a path of madness in a dangerous world—and you have no one. No friends, no parents... your aunt in Lenburg does nothing for you other than pay for your apartnt lease."

"You have no one... just like ," she whispered, her eyes brimming with a hidden sadness.

Catherine leaned down until her forehead touched his. Jace tried to turn his head sideways to avoid her, but she followed, her lips pressing against his cheek

.

"I could be there for you..." she whispered.

"...And you could... be there for ..., Let's be good to ourselves and to each other." She finished her plea and closed her eyes, resting her head against his as the quiet of the dark bedroom enveloped them.

They stayed like that for several minutes, the only sound being their synchronized breathing.

"Okay," Jace finally said, his voice even lower than a whisper.

Catherine opened her eyes and leaned back. Jace was still looking away, so she moved her face to match his gaze.

"Okay?" she asked, her expression showed a little expectancy.

Jace had thought about it for a while and decided he would give it another shot with Catherine.

This woman had shown him genuine sincerity and a glimpse into her true self.

He felt the weight of her words, and his intuition told him she was telling the truth.

He couldn't ignore it, and If he had the chance to have soone truly there for him in this mad world, he would take it.

"Okay," he repeated.

Catherine smiled beautifully and hugged him tightly, her breasts pressed against his chest. After a few monts, she pulled back and kissed him with a new intensity.

Jace responded to her kiss, but his eyes widened when he felt Catherine begin to grind her wet pussy against his cock.

He held her waist and broke the kiss. "Cather—"

"You satisfied yourself three tis while fucking like a whore," Catherine interrupted.

Hearing that, Jace looked away, a flash of sha crossing his face. But Catherine held his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"—Which I did not like," she said in a serious voice, though she continued to grind against him.

"Sorry," Jace muttered, averting his gaze again.

Catherine's gaze softened. She leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss.

"It's alright... but now it's only fair that you satisfy ," she said in a sultry voice.

She guided him to her entrance and brought herself down, taking him deep inside her.

"Haa~" A satisfied, unrestrained moan escaped her as she started to move slowly.

Jace held her waist, matching her rhythm perfectly, and pulled her down to kiss her deeply.