Chapter 221: Confession

As Lysandra slowly leaned forward, her eyes moved down to his lips, making Kaelen realise what she was about to do.

His first instinct was to stop her, but he paused just as he was about to hold her.

Lysandra was on the verge of an emotional breakdown and had just vented her frustrations to him about treating her like a pawn instead of a person. It was clear to him that she was mentally drained from trying to live in his shadow, and it took all her willpower to confront him like this, which was why she apologised as soon as she realised her outburst.

Rejecting her now would only do more harm than good, and his relationship with her might never remain the same after this, no matter how hard he tried to make her understand that it was all too sudden and that he’d never thought about her this way.

The best course of action was to make her feel seen and happy, then later he could tell her what was on his mind.

Just as her face was merely inches away from his, Kaelen subconsciously moved back and immediately froze, realising what he’d done.

Lysandra froze as well and blinked as if she’d just realised what she was about to do.

"I-I’m sorry," she hurriedly stuttered and quickly pulled away from him in shame and embarrassment.

Shit.

Kaelen cursed internally and bit his tongue to punish himself for his stupidity.

"No, it’s fine—" he quickly tried to console her.

"I’m so sorry. I-I shouldn’t have. I got carried away. I’m really sorry." She apologised repeatedly as she distanced herself from him to the other side of the bed.

"Lysandra, it’s fine. I wouldn’t have minded. I just..." He trailed off. He had no excuse for messing it up after telling himself he’d allow it this one time.

She didn’t say anything more, and for a moment, a deafening silence enveloped them as they both avoided each other’s gaze.

"I think you should leave..." she suddenly said.

"What?" Kaelen blurted out in surprise.

"N-No, I’m not chasing you away. I’m just... saying you need to return and get some rest for tomorrow. It’s almost daybreak, and I... want to get some sleep too," she said quietly and bit the soft tissue on her inner lip.

Kaelen was silent and motionless for a moment before he reluctantly stepped out of the bed and stood up to leave. He tilted his head to look at her, still pressed against the corner of the bed as if she were hiding in the shadows.

"Will you be okay?"

"...Yeah. I’ll be fine."

That was quite the opposite of what Kaelen could see, and this was exactly what he’d tried to avoid in the first place. Now, there was no telling whether Lysandra would ever open up to him about anything again, even if she was mentally or emotionally drowning.

He shouldn’t leave her like this, but she’d asked him to leave, and staying would only make things worse and make her uncomfortable each time he was around.

She couldn’t even look him in the eyes again.

She was probably feeling inferior and disgusted with herself for trying to kiss him when she was the superior one of them both.

Kaelen looked away in defeat and took a step forward to switch back to his lobby when he paused.

He had already made the situation worse, and that mistake would cost him a lifetime with a loyal subordi—ally... ally like Lysandra.

It couldn’t get any worse, no matter what he did now. So he was going to risk it all.

He suddenly turned and drifted back to the bed and towards Lysandra.

She was stunned and confused.

"What are you..." She trailed off as Kaelen appeared before her, placed a hand behind her neck, and paused to stare into her eyes.

She was still trying to make sense of what he was doing, and just as her lips parted to speak, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

Lysandra froze solid on the spot, her eyes wide open as Kaelen’s lips pressed against hers. She felt her brain go numb and her heartbeat become erratic as a strange sensation overwhelmed her body.

She liked it... but.

She recovered the function of her limbs and forced herself to push him away. It was weak, but Kaelen took the hint and pulled back.

She stared at him for a moment, wishing he hadn’t stopped, but still forced herself to act rationally at that moment.

She understood that he was only doing this to make her feel better, and she didn’t want his pity. If the feeling wasn’t mutual, she’d prefer that he didn’t indulge her at all.

That... was a lie.

"Kaelen, y-you don’t have to do this—"

"Shut up." Kaelen interrupted her and gently pulled the back of her neck to press his lips against hers again.

Lysandra was stunned once more and raised her hand to shove him away, but her hands only landed softly on his shoulders and remained there.

Without realising it, her eyes slowly closed as she indulged and let herself get carried away by the euphoria.

She didn’t know how long they lasted like that, but the connection was abruptly cut short when Kaelen pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked quietly.

She stared at him for a moment before she subconsciously shook her head.

Then he smiled.

"That’s good. Come here." His hands went behind her slender waist and pulled her into his embrace before he fell onto the bed on his back, putting Lysandra above him with her head lying on his chest.

She was stunned once again as her red face flushed even harder. Then she smiled and cuddled him tighter as she rubbed her face against his chest.

"Kaelen," she softly called out. "I know you’re doing this just to make me happy, but I... I really like you. I also understand it’s all too sudden for you to process, but you can take your time to think about it. All I want is for you to indulge me and let me keep loving you, and I don’t mind becoming your second or third wife. After we achieve your dreams together, we can become a family, and I’ll bear as many children as you want..." she said softly and smiled as she fantasized about it.

"..."

"Kaelen?" she called out when she realised he hadn’t said anything about her confession.

Snoring~

She slowly looked up to see Kaelen already fast asleep with his mouth slightly open.

She was surprised before smiling sheepishly and placing her head back on his chest and closing her eyes.