Chapter 43

Previews of my pictures were sent to me, and they came out much better than I expected. I had to choose which ones to put on my artist profile—and decide if I wanted any of them to be the album cover.

Then I saw something unexpected: a photo of Zai and me kissing against the car in my music video.

Who took this?!

Our kiss looked way more provocative from a third-person perspective. His hand was on my waist, my back arched, and our bodies were pressed so close together that there were no visible gaps between us.

My face flushed as I stared at the photo. I turned to peek at the person next to me—still unclothed and reading a book, with an expression that made him look deep in thought.

"Um... Honey," I beckoned.

His ears twitched at the sound of my voice. He closed his book and turned to me with a smug expression.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I... have a group of pictures here," I said. "They said I can choose one for the album cover and... um... you're in one of them. So I need to know if you're okay with me picking that one?"

He blinked twice before replying,

"Your lips are so beautiful."

"I asked you a question!" I shouted, hiding my face.

Zai placed his book aside and started kissing my neck, one hand on my cheek.

"Zai!"

He chuckled and pulled away.

"Let me see it," he requested.

I handed him my phone. He stared at the image for a moment and said,

"Yeah... as long as you send it to me too."

I don't know if that's allowed, but Zai is technically my manager, so it should be fine.

"I'll send it right now!" I replied, full of enthusiasm.

He grinned, and my heart trembled with anticipation. I had to look away just to send the picture—my hand was shaking too much.

"Thank you," he said. Then he stood up from the bed.

"I'm gonna take a shower."

A wave of disappointment washed over me. He gets me so hot and bothered, and then just leaves?!

"Join me."

Zai's invitation reignited my mood at full force.

"A-as you wish, honey..."

Later that day, we took more pictures together. Zai backed them all up and then posted a few, while I focused on updating my status with something simple:

"Putting the final touches on my album. Should be released soon! I'm so excited and I hope you all are, too."

After I posted it, I wondered if it came off as too eager—or worse, fake.

"Where is it?" Zai muttered, scrunching his face as he scrolled through his phone.

"Where is what?" I asked, confused.

"You took a photo of me sleeping. I just realized I never commented on it, but now it's gone."

He saw that?!

"I, uh... deleted it because I thought you might be bothered since I took it without your permission," I admitted, a little embarrassed. I remembered the comments I'd read that day…

"I'm yours, Snowe. Take all the pictures of me you want," he said, smooching my cheek.

I giggled.

"Brag about me all you want. Mark your territory online. It's fine, as long as I can do it too."

I hate how he's calling me out like this!

"Okay, I hear you!" I replied—way too loudly because of my nerves.

"I want to make love," Zai said bluntly.

"What?" I blinked at him in shock. Didn't we just do that in the shower?! I haven't even recovered yet!

"Was I not clear? Let's fk. I want to have sex. Let me put my tong—"**

I slapped my hand over his mouth.

"I got it the first time! Where does all this libido come from?!"

"I save up my energy for you."

He needs to stop. I think things like that… but I could never say them out loud. Because no matter how tired or sore I am, I can't deny that I want him—and I'd hate for him to think otherwise, or miss a chance to be with me.

"Honey?" Zai murmured seductively.

The way he said it struck deep.

"That's not fair... calling me honey," I replied, my voice trembling a little.

"My wife started it."

His second emotional assault.

"Fine! But… I want to be on top first this time."

My comment made him blush—so worth it.

The days passed quickly. I only had to work for three more days, and Zai had to focus extra hard on his project with his brothers, since he'd been messing around with me during my days off.

Then finally—it was the 17th.

Zai was able to teleport us straight to Infaniya with a travel clearance pass. His story was that his parents were from the Eastern Continent of Infaniya but had settled on Earth, where they had him. He had all the proper documentation—even a passport—so when we arrived, no one was suspicious.

I was in awe of my husband.

Thank goodness he's not interested in fighting at all—otherwise, we'd probably have an enemy invasion on our hands.

Zai looked around. Judging by his face, he was unimpressed. I'm not sure what it would take to impress him if the grand city surrounding the Southern Palace didn't cut it.

"Snowe? Is that you?!"

I recognized Ibij's voice as he rushed over to me. His hair was tied in a topknot, and I could tell he'd gotten stronger—he was in much better shape than when I last saw him. He was also dressed very casually... and barefoot.

"Yeah, Ibij. How are you?"

His eyes welled with tears as he hugged me.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

My body stiffened. Then Zai pulled us apart, asking:

"Hey… are you a friend of Snowe's?"

He was smiling—but I could feel the malice behind it. His eyes clearly said:

"I'll kill you if you step out of line."

"Oh… yeah. We were friends in secondary school."

He hadn't noticed Zai before, but now that he had, I could see him getting intimidated.

"He's the friend I mentioned—the one who had parties and gave me Elixir and Inspiration."

Zai glared at Ibij.

"Oh… he's the one." Zai commented, venom in his voice.

Ibij cleared his throat nervously.

"Nothing happened! Plus, it was a long time ago," he said defensively.

"Oh… so you tried to corrupt Snowe a long time ago, so I shouldn't be upset?"

Ibij's eyes darted to me, silently pleading for help.

"Ibij was popular in school, and I was an outcast," I explained quickly.

"When he spoke to me, it made it easier to interact with classmates. After I started going to the parties, people stopped glaring at me in the halls. It was the happiest I'd ever been in school, even if it was short-lived."

Zai sighed and relaxed a little.

"Thank you for looking out for Snowe—even if it was just because you wanted to sleep with her."

"Zai?!" I screamed, mortified.

"I wanted more than that," Ibij said quickly. "But it was a long time ago, and… we just stayed friends."

He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I am so glad to see you alive. Everyone thought you were dead when you vanished."

"Yeah… makes sense that you'd think that."

I didn't want to go into detail, so I kept my response short.

"Smoke was so worried. He was a mess for a decade. I didn't know what to do for him. I was worried too, of course, but… anyway—is this your boyfriend?"

He asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Smoke was that upset about me?

I guess Qon did say he tortured him for a decade so badly that he was left permanently disfigured... but our relationship was short. How hard could he have fallen for me?

"He's my husband," I answered bashfully.

Ibij gasped, looking at Zai, then back to me.

"Congrats on your marriage! I assume you're here for the royal wedding?"

Thankfully, he handled that news well.

"You'd be right," I replied.

"The wedding colors are red and gold—make sure to get a traditional outfit while you're here. Let's get lunch later if you're up for it. I'll invite my girlfriend."

He smiled proudly, and I lightly punched his arm.

"Who're you with?! Do I know them?"

He nodded.

"Kara. Truth be told... she was just trying to get closer to Smoke through me, and I found out. After he rejected her and she saw how depressed he was over another woman, she changed. It took 50 years, but we reconnected—and we're dating now."

I smiled widely.

"I'm so happy to hear that!"

So much can happen in 100 years… I'm glad he's happy.

Kind of sucks that she was a Smoke fangirl at one point—but I guess most girls our age were. Afterall, I was one of them.