Chapter 15: Lies and Rejection

DAHLIA:

What was he saying? How did Tristan knew I was lying?

He inched towards me, still accusing me of telling him a lie with his beautiful eyes. I stepped some more backwards.

My leg was caught at the sofa, which was right behind me. I yelped in surprise as I stumbled backwards, and that was when I felt a pair of arms coil around my waist. It was Tristan’s. He caught my body in an embrace, and we both stumbled down into the long sofa at the waiting room.

I don’t know what happened, but when I fell sideways, it was soft and not painful at all. Tristan’s face had fallen into the top of my chest, and I felt his breath blowing through the exposed skin of my breast.

I shivered. Moon Goddess, why are you doing this to me? Why are you tempting me like this to the extreme?

I knew I wasn’t the only one tempted. I felt a lump of flesh harden somewhere at the center of Tristan’s hips where one of my legs was caught.

I started to breathe faster. I felt the rising temperature of my body starting to burn me from the core.

Tristan didn’t move at all. He further buried himself in between the spaces of my bosom, drinking in my scent while I felt intoxicated with his own natural musk of citrus and woods, drowning my thoughts and reasons.

“Lady Hurst, why? Why must you lie,” he began to say slowly arching his face towards mine. “Your lips say one thing, but your body says something else.”

He arched his lips towards mine and kissed my semi-parted lips. It felt like I was instantly transformed to heaven.

Suddenly, he let his tongue swivel into my mouth. I panicked for a while, not knowing what to do. They were soft and exciting. I received his kiss and twined my other arm into his neck.

He broke from my lips all of a sudden, looking at me in awe. “Is this your first time to kiss someone in this manner? Then last night, was I your first kiss too?”

I don’t know what to tell him. I buried my face in the palm of my left hand in embarrassment.

He was right. I knew him only for a brief moment, but he had already planted three different kisses on my body. What was he thinking of me, and what was I thinking when I let him do them? Before, I wouldn’t even let Kaist kiss me on the cheek during my birthday, but now I am letting some stranger kiss me on a dressing shop’s sofa where we could easily be caught by anyone passing by the street.

“Say you’re lying… Tell me you want me, hmm? Tell me I am not imagining this feeling of being hopelessly attracted to you at all,” Tristan said in a low, raspy voice.

I was turning weak. I wanted to say yes, but the moment I remembered papa’s words, I froze.

“If you want that scoundrel to live and if you don’t want him to throw you away like a piece of rag once he finds out, stay in this engagement and wed Kaist…”

Moon Goddess, I do not want Tristan to get harmed in any way! I don’t wish him to painfully cast me aside too. Moon Goddess, what should I do?

“Tell me, what it is, Lady Hurst… What is it that you fear,” he said, removing my hand from my face and looking at me straight in the eyes. “Do you fear that I’d die, hmm? Or do you fear that I’ll find something about you I may not like?”

At the sound of his last question, my body became rigid, and my heart seemed to tighten. I raised myself from the sofa and removed his arms around my waist.

“Count Abell, this was all a mistake. I have no feelings for you… I will wed his highness. I love him.”

I gritted my teeth when I said the word ‘love.’ I have no feelings for Kaist other than friendship… Why was it so hard to say that lie?

“Are you absolutely sure of what you’re saying, Dahlia?”

My heart was trembling, but I put on a mask of a cold and hard expression so that he would finally let me go.

“I do…”

I saw Tristan’s eyes suddenly change. His expression now was cold and heartless. He stood up from the sofa and bent to say something against my ears.

“I know you can heal people, Lady Hurst, and I thought you were a splendid healer… Too bad though since you love someone else…”

Before I could say anything, he quickly walked away and exited to the front door, which was miraculously unguarded.

As soon as he was out of my field of vision, I cried. I had never felt so hurt in my entire blasted existence!

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TRISTAN:

As soon as I exited that shop, I wiped my lips with my right thumb. I thought I’d see a trace of red lip tint but I didn’t. So, her lips were really just naturally red then?

I almost lost my sanity back there. We were right in front of the dress shop’s huge see-through window, and people could naturally see our every move. Why did I have to kiss her like that? Why couldn’t I control myself?

“Lord Abell, is there good news,” my assistant, Gideon, said as he joined me on my walk. He was wearing an excited look in his face like an idiot. He was a skilled warrior, but in times like this, he looked like a school-age boy.

“If I were successful, I wouldn’t have walked out of there by myself,” I muttered enough for him to hear me.

“Then, she refused your hand in marriage?”

“What do you think?”

“But why? When she looks at you, I can feel it. I can feel a strong burning attraction…”

I wanted to snap Gideon’s head away from his body. So, he was checking out Dahlia too?

“Ah, don’t misunderstand, my lord. Lady Dahlia is a prominent figure. I have seen her a couple of times already ever since you first sent me to scout information about her. Last night was the first time I saw her get moved because of a man. I’m pretty sure you meant something more to her than just an ordinary wolf…”

I didn’t say anything, but I knew Gideon was right. I could feel it in my bones. She has deeper feelings for me than she cared to admit.

“Then, are you giving up now,” my assistant said thoughtfully.

I smirked. “Of course not. Why would I give up on my mate?”

Mate - what an odd word when it came out of my mouth!... I could still remember the heart-binding spell I had undertaken when I turned of age a few years ago. Back then, I swore never to love anyone else, not even my mate if she had the unfortunate luck to appear in front of my eyes.

Maybe that spell was a hoax… How else can I explain this undeniably attractive pull towards that lady?

There was one thing I was sure of. Samalah’s potions were indeed very potent. Now, all that’s left for me to do was to rescue my mate from making the fatal mistake of marrying someone else…