Chapter 180 - No Going Back
"Listen to me," Elias patiently said, his face grim and his smile a grimace. He grabbed both of her hands, since she refused to let him hug her. He brought one to his lips, kissing each of her lovely fingernails. It wouldn't be long before he would never be able to do this again.
"Your hands are shaking," Adeline said in a low voice. She had never seen him like this before.
"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly softening her tone so that she didn't sound so angered.
Elias could not say it. He had just accepted the baby yesterday and now, fate was playing a horrible game on him. First, there were two flowers for the prophecy, and now, there was another one. He gritted his teeth.
Was that why Dorothy pushed the Golden Rose, Lydia Claymore, onto him so strongly? Did she know? Would the Golden Rose have survived the pregnancy?
He suddenly thought back to the prophecy. Whoever embraced the Golden Rose will gain a sudden burst of strength, those that consume her blood will become the strongest in the world, and whoever deflowered her will be granted immortality. Some even said her grounded bones could fertilize the most barren of land.
"...ias… Elias!"
Elias snapped back to reality. He suddenly discovered a haunting plan. No one ever said a man had to consume the Golden Rose's blood. The strongest in the world. His eyes snapped to Adeline. Would she survive the pregnancy if she drank the blood?
"Yes, darling?"
"What is on your mind?" Adeline asked, frowning. He seemed to be in a daze, and she didn't know why. "I was calling your name for a while, and you weren't answering."
Elias's brooding gaze landed on her, his eyes bright red, his face pale. He couldn't look away from her, despite the race of his heart, the churn of his stomach, and the thirst for power.
Elias met her eyes, the color of a soft, plush meadow of grass near a snow peaked mountain. Earnesty and determination danced within the folds of green, her gaze shining the brightest out of everything. He saw the window to her soul, and knew she was too pure for this world. Too pure to drink the blood of her best friend, and pretend nothing happened.
"Elias," Adeline called again, this time, worriedly smiling up at him.
Adeline pulled her hands back to rest them on his waist, tugging him closer to her. It was the first time she did this, but he responded well.
"Tell me what you're thinking about," Adeline said as she stood on her tippy-toes and tenderly touched his face. She was worried about him. He never had that blank, distant look on his handsome features before. She wanted to know the cause of it.
"I am thinking about how much I love you, darling," Elias said, his voice cracking towards the end, unable to control his emotions.
Pain was something he never felt until he met her. Pain was something he only grew accustomed to when he was introduced to her, and was forced to part from her. Agony was what he learned from her when she pushed him away, when she chose death over life. So many emotions, so many unfamiliar feelings, all of which, was taught by her.
"Hm?"
"And I love you so, so much," Elias confessed, cupping her face.
Elias felt his c.h.e.s.t being split in half, his heart trampled on, a thousand needles pricking his skin. He couldn't look into those large, innocent eyes of hers and try to ruin the light from within. Was he filled with so much darkness he wished to destroy her light?
Adeline was confused. She tilted her head, just as he kissed her forehead. She couldn't suppress her smile as she leaned against his body. He always knew how to touch her to soothe her, to p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e her, to adore her. He knew so much that it swelled her heart.
"I love you so much more," Adeline lightly joked.
"Impossible," Elias said.
"The word 'possible' is in there for a reason," Adeline said. She wanted to ease the tension between them, since he seemed so hurt all of a sudden, but she didn't know why. However, she had never seen him like this, thus, wanted to do everything it'd take to make him smirk again.
"What a cheesy line," Elias scoffed. "Don't steal random quotes off the internet, darling. Put those books in your bedroom to good use."
Adeline wrinkled her nose. "The books you gave me are boring. None of them suit my interest."
"Your interest in e.r.o.t.i.ca books?" Elias deadpanned shamelessly, not even blinking when she flushed red.
"I don't read—"
"I remember a little conversation we had in the Marden Estate," Elias suddenly stated. "Something where you came for the plot of the book."
"You—"
"Aren't you a lucky girl?" Elias asked. "You get to live out all of your crazy fantasies with me, someone equally as shameless as you."
Adeline sharply gasped at his audacity. "I don't have fantasies!"
Elias stared her down. Did she really not? He refused to believe it.
Adeline squirmed uncomfortably under his pressuring gaze. She looked away, and towards the bedroom door, where people were probably waiting for them. "Don't try to change the subject on me by teasing me, Elias."
Elias's mood soured again, the warmth leaving his eyes. "It will rain soon. Weston had your flowers perfectly planted this morning. Come and see it before the rain ruins it."
"I am trying to have a proper conversation," Adeline suddenly said.
"We are always having a proper conversation," Elias responded.
"No, we don't!" Adeline argued. "We always keep our emotions bottled up, until it suddenly explodes on us and leads to a fight, then amazing make up s.e.x, and then, the cycle viciously repeats!"
Elias paused. "Darling, surely—"
"A relationship is made up of communication," Adeline sharply added on. "If we're going to talk circles around each other and sweep the problem under the rug, what happens when there is a mountain of dust and the rug can't hide it? What happens when miscommunication leads to misunderstanding that leads to a divorce?"
Elias's heart froze over. Even if she hated his guts, even if she poisoned his food, he refused to divorce her. They swore before the law. Till death do them part.
Elias meant to use that phrase quite literally. If she wanted to divorce him, she better prepare to die. And when she dies, he'd kill himself just to join her in hell, and if she wasn't there, he'd kick open the gates of heaven.
"Let's strive to tell each other what's on our minds," Adeline said. "I'm not a mind-reader. I'm only a wife who wants to hear about her husband's troubles. We made a vow to share each other's burdens and to celebrate our victories like it's our own. Don't you dare forget that Elias."
Elias could no longer hold it back anymore. He yanked her towards him and embraced her tightly. Damn it. He loved her so much his heart was going to break from the intensity. How could she say the right things so perfectly? How did she know what made him happy? What pissed him off? How did she know so much, yet know so little?
"Good riddance," Elias g.r.o.a.n.e.d. "What are you doing to me darling? You're muddling my thoughts, turning the brain of a King to a town fool. You need to take responsibility for this."
Adeline didn't even know what gibberish he was talking about.
"I will share my thoughts with you if you share your concerns with me," Elias said. "Don't wait until the last minute to blow up on me, just tell me when you're hurt."
Adeline could accept that.
"Alright," she said, barely able to hold back her smile.
Elias smirked. "Now that we've made up, let's have our make-up s.e.x, just like you said."
Her eyes widened. "W-wait, I didn't mean it like that—"
"Too late," Elias taunted. "There is no going back on your word."
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