Nova's sniffing slowly fades with a few hiccups every now and then. With the thunderstorm raging outside, the four walls feel even smaller.
Wrapping her in a blanket and my arms, I remain steady while she's crumbling, trying hard to hide my inner turmoil.
She opens up about her biggest scar, the one that changed her life for good. Trembling agony and the fear of her past repeating itself make her look so vulnerable and fragile in my arms.
I keep kissing the back of her neck, slowly, tenderly. Feeling her body relax against my lips, I press her closer to me.
"Princess, turn around," I whisper gently, barely loud enough for her to hear through the downpour outside.
"No." She shakes her head slightly. My eyes soften as I pull her closer, our hands still intertwined right above her abdomen.
I nod against her head. "Okay, no need to turn."
If Zhao, Nikolai, or Alister had seen me like this, they would have slapped themselves thinking they were hallucinating.
Alister, being all dramatic, would have begged Nova to just stay around because she keeps me sane and more human-like,and it would give him free time.
And Nikolai, he would have asked her what love potion she even gave me.
Let's not forget about Zhao. He would've started a one-on-one therapy session with Nova, asking how she even managed to make me smile which is more complicated than laundering thirty billion francs in a day.
Nova looks over her shoulder. Those beautiful, sparkling brown eyes, red and puffed from crying, make my heart clench in a way I don't want to feel.
Leaning closer, I place a gentle kiss on each of her eyes, her breathing tickling my neck. Her eyes flutter closed.
I stroke her cheekbone, wiping off the last trace of tears.
"Feeling better?" I whisper against her left eye, and she gives me a small nod.
A roaring sense of protectiveness makes me hold her tightly, as if I'm trying to infuse her within myself.
Nova shifts onto her side to face me, her chest pressed against mine, our hearts beating in the same rhythm. "Why are you still here, Aaron?"
Her question is right.
Why am I still here? I,who has grown numb to almost every human emotion.
I,who has killed more people, burned more houses than I've saved. I, who is driven by vengeance and greed. I,who wrote the tale of my own mother's death. I,who has made his entire family his enemy just to become chairman.
There aren't many answers to such a question. She doesn't know who I am…
No. Maybe she knows exactly what I am behind the masks I mastered wearing to survive among wolves.
"Will you trust me if I give you an answer?" I look down into her eyes, searching for the smallest hint of her heart opening to me, and my breath catches when I find one.
She nods. "I will."
I kiss her forehead and murmur, loud enough for her to hear, "Because you are everything I've been praying for. A shining star in my forever dark sky." My voice trembles with intense emotion.
It's like I'm cutting my heart open and getting on my knees, bleeding, handing her my heart that has always craved her, even before I knew her.
I feel her slight tremble in my arms, but I don't stop.
"You are like a soft, warm blanket on a bitter winter night. Your smile makes me wonder how someone so wonderful can even be real." I smile softly, tears welling up in my eyes,and in hers.
"Honestly, at first it was curiosity. I wanted to know the woman who would sit on the edge of a pool and eat pizza and soda like it's the best meal in the world."
She chuckles. I wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks with my thumb.
"Then lust," I admit, my neck starting to burn knowing it's dangerous territory. "I had…" I stutter, "I had never gotten hard for any woman before."
Nova's eyes widen. She snaps her head up in disbelief. "Wait-what?"
I blink rapidly, too embarrassed but still trying to appear cool to impress her a bit. "What? I'm not lying."
She gasps, her brows furrow in deep thought as she looks down at my crotch with a visible question and mutters, "But your performance… it's over the top…"
I swear my cheeks and neck are red as tomatoes because the way she's rating my performance so openly is making me question if this is even my love confession, or a judgment of my private parts.
"You're good, I mean really good." God! Did she have to emphasise on that 'really' part?
She blinks her eyes innocently as if she isn't discussing about my high libido and big dick.
and it only makes me groan, eyes closed, feeling even more embarrassed. "Princess, I'm trying to confess my feelings romantically…" I plead.
She presses her lips tightly, trying hard not to laugh or say more. I open one eye slightly,and she ends up losing it.
Burying her face in my chest, Nova Celestia… this little woman with perfect curves and the most gorgeous brown eyes starts laughing.
I feel my heart warming up, all the sadness, past confessions, and tears forgotten.
"You're enjoying this?" I mock sternly, and she giggles more, her laughter rumbling against my chest. "It's just… it's hilarious…"
I pinch her nose, mocking a serious tone which is going to amuse her more.
" You know what's even more hilarious?"
"What?"
"That my grandfather believed his grandson was impotent,and from East to West he tried every possible remedy, treatment, and sex education,only for a little woman like you to make me lose my mind?"
Nova pauses for good three seconds before doubling down right in my arms laughing her heart out in wild abandonment.
Yeah, it's funny. I know that too. The greatest secret of my overly condense grandfather who still texts me every now and then to check if I ever got turned on.
Emberessing? Sure.
But in this moment, the only thing I care about...is Nova.
Her laughter echoes through the small room like some secret melody I could drown myself in.
My chest feels light, a strange ticklish feeling making me want to pause time and take my last breath in this moment.
God. This woman is going to be the death of me.
And I would die happily knowing that I, Aaron William Laurent, am utterly ruined for good by this infuriating, dangerously addictive, and tender-hearted woman.