I love you, never doubt that

She watched and patted the placid horse as Wang saddled him before leading them both out into the daylight again. He helped her up into the saddle, and they rode slowly toward a small stand of trees some distance away.

Helping her from the horse Wang showed Changying to a ladder that led up to a wonderful tree house. "Ang and Ben helped me build this one year as an escape from Baozhai," he cleared his throat and pushed a pile of Hustler magazines behind an empty crate. "Baozhai didn't quite understand my need to be alone as we went through puberty." He grinned. "We weren't made aware of the Kept until we finished school."

"This is awesome," Changying looked around at the large space. It was exactly what she would expect from Wang- neat stacks of books and magazines. Comfortable looking vinyl beanbags to lounge in and pen and paper in neat stacks on shelves with more books. "The view of the house is magnificent!" she went to a window and looked out.

"Yeah I could see anyone coming to find me and get away before they did," he chuckled. "I'll come back and get you on my way back from the ride, an hour or so?" He checked with her, and she looked at her watch. Kissing her softly he stroked her cheek, "I love you, never doubt that."

"I love you too," she smiled and watched him disappear down the ladder before flopping into a beanbag facing the view to watch him ride away.

"How on earth did I wind up here," she asked the empty room. She let her mind wander back to when she had first met Wang and the events that had led her to this day and the bizarre contract she had just signed. She had known Wang would not be happy which was why she had asked to hear him say that he knew what she was being asked to do, and although she wasn't about to mention it herself, she wondered if Joseph had told his son about their moment of intimacy. It didn't matter how she tried to make sense of the situation it always came down to one thing, she wanted a future with Wang, and she clung to that thought.

She was still lost in thought when Wang returned pushing through the trap door in the centre of the floor. She smiled as he approached her and flopped onto a beanbag beside hers reaching out and taking her hand as they lay side by side.

"I am sorry," he said quietly. "It was selfish of me to ride off like that considering only how I was feeling about Papa overseeing your trial when I should have been here with you, helping you with all you have had to deal with today."

"I am not going to pretend I understand any of this. It's your world here and your family. What I do understand is what I have to do to become part of this world with you. So I will have no regrets about signing the contract, as long you promise to love me no matter what happens in the next few months. When the trial is over, we pick up our lives and plan our future family together, without any recriminations."

"I am not going to pretend I am happy about my father's interest in your trial. Honestly, I would rather pretend he is just there to watch over you and ensure you're treated with respect despite your trial. If anything happens beyond that I don't want to know, that will be between you and him, or anyone else that happens to become involved," Wang said revealing how upset he was at the prospect of her being intimate with his father.

"It's not a normal situation," Changying sighed and rolled over to face Wang. "I don't think we are supposed to be happy about it. I think that this is one of those things that if it doesn't kill us will only make us stronger. Maybe instead of worrying about what is happening during my trial you can think about how crazy in love with you I must be to agree to it." Wang chuckled and rolled to face her lifting her hand to kiss it.

"I'm a lucky guy," he murmured pulling her closer.

"Yes, you are," she laughed.

"I always wanted to get a real girl up here when I was younger," he reached out and ran a finger down her neck into her cleavage.

"You had fake girls up here?" Changying laughed as the tension between them eased.

"Sisters aren't real girls, duh," Wang rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at her as his hand ran over the thin material of her dress, down to her hip.

"I thought this was a boy only treehouse, given the reading material you have stashed up here." She raised an eyebrow.

"Have you seen the effect of us telling Baozhai she can't do something?" Wang chuckled. "What was mine was hers, and what was hers was hers. Basically, I had nothing of my own, until you came along to turn my life into the crazy mess it is now."

"Ah I see," Changying said without thinking but stopping herself before finishing her thought that she now understood why he was so reticent to have his father involved in her trial. "I am yours, and you are mine," she said with feeling. "You may have to share my company and attention for a little while, but you will never have to share my heart with anyone." She leaned forward to kiss him.

It was what Wang needed to hear at that moment, and he rolled over her pinning her hands above her head and kissing her deeply. "Time for those teenage fantasies to come true," he growled.