chapter 15

It felt as if Aaron's heart was being mercilessly pierced a thousand times over by a thousand small, relentless needles, each digging in with a precision that made him gasp in discomfort.

Kris just stood there, a towering wall of stone in the way, holding Aaron firmly against the wall beside the door, his unyielding posture creating an atmosphere of stifling tension.

Aaron had to be utterly frightened; his eyes were wide open in alarm, his breathing quick and shallow. The scene was melodramatic in intensity—it was like some kind of high-stakes performance—Kris acting as some type of enforcing character, while Aaron found himself entrapped in a swirlingly disconcerting situation.

It was as if each moment electrified an almost theatrical tension.

The question seemed to hang heavy, like a thick fog, on Kris's lips: "Is the person you went to see important to you?" This query continued to swirl in Kris's mind, spurring one of the deepest wonders he had ever voiced aloud to Aaron.

He was deeply curious about his new husband, having known so little about Aaron, whom he had married just a few days ago.

From what Kris had observed during his brief time here, he had realized that Aaron was intensely private, phenomenally adept at concealing his feelings and thoughts. That very fact drew Kris in—it puzzled him but was also fascinating.

In every conceivable situation, Aaron kept calm and composed; he did not raise an eyebrow, much less betray anything that would have revealed the turmoil raging inside him.

This attitude both intrigued and mystified Kris; it was astonishing to him how Aaron could habitually present as the same man embroiled in a mesh of convoluted thoughts and anxieties.

Kris was shocked by the depth of Aaron's thinking; his husband burdened himself with so many psychological and emotional issues all alone. Sometimes, while gazing over Aaron's delicate features, Kris was struck by a disquieting sense of guilt—like he was a villain in a story, and Aaron's sad, expressive eyes cast a single beam onto his own half-remembered inadequacies.

This sensation was further amplified by the way Aaron's eyes held him in an unblinking grasp, as if he was under some sort of critical observation and beholden to an imaginary judgment.

Those captivating, starry eyes overwhelmed and mesmerized him, and suddenly, Kris was awash with awkwardness and an overwhelming compulsion to flee.

Overwhelmed by the situation, Kris later opted to retreat, unable to handle the emotional pressure. Avoiding Aaron felt like running away from a blazing fire. He panicked and wanted to escape due to his inexperience in dealing with his new spouse.

Despite his cool and aloof exterior, which gave every impression of being disinterested or dismissive, Kris couldn't help but feel that it was this very distance that made Aaron look so uncomfortable.

It felt as if Aaron's eyes reflected a profound sense of rejection, the basis of which Kris neither understood fully nor knew how to reverse.

On his wedding night, Kris was unceremoniously tossed into the room alone with his beautiful wife, and he could hardly pretend to be indifferent in front of such a colossal temptation.

It was a turning point that made him almost yield to the seductive temptation and domestic warfare, which prohibited his calm exterior from aligning with the primitive instincts stirred by his partner. The beast inside him was ready to break loose.

But Kris refused, not wanting to fall in line with the Volga royalties who, in most cases, consummated their marriages without any real emotional attachment.

As Kris exited the room, Aaron's eyes haunted him—eyes that seemed to scream of betrayal and longing. The silent cry of "traitor!" reverberated in Kris's mind, and a deep pang of regret struck him for not staying with his partner.

The emotional weight of his actions now pressed down on him like an unsteady burden, further denting his growing sense of remorse.

He felt his inner turmoil further piqued by a nagging voice in his head, a sort of devilish pixie that scolded him incessantly. "Seriously, Kris? You left that stunning person all alone? What were you thinking?" The voice dripped with sarcasm.

It berated Kris for his mistake and built up thoughts of foolishness and regret.

The constant, nagging mental jab made Kris feel even more like a fool for allowing what should have been an opportunity to connect with his partner slip away.

He pondered how painful that realization was, still considering that perhaps if he had stayed, things might not have turned out any differently.

He wondered if Aaron's malaise stemmed from his overactive imagination more than from anything Kris had actually done wrong.

To be perceived as a heartless prince solely concerned with physical consummation or a cold husband who didn't genuinely care was hardly flattering.

In an attempt to atone, Kris sent nannies and helpers to inquire about Aaron's preferences and learned that his spouse enjoyed reading.

Hoping to elevate Aaron's mood, Kris arranged for a novelist to stimulate his partner's creative mind. What transpired showed that Aaron's way of thinking was deeper than Kris had perceived.

Now, Kris was haunted by thoughts of what he could have done differently. Was there something his partner wanted that Kris hadn't noticed?

He had been manipulated all this while, and now he regretted his actions, wishing he had approached things more understandingly.

He wrestled with whether he should have stayed with Aaron or if his partner would have preferred a different path altogether.

The sudden turn in Kris's conversation had caught Aaron off guard. He had never anticipated that things would suddenly shift from what seemed to be a disciplinary matter to questioning the importance of someone in his life.

He stuttered over what to say as his heart raced, feeling the situation intensely.

"They mean a lot to me," Aaron finally replied. In Aaron's mind, the silver-haired man ranked very highly in his life, for he was one of the few who had truly seen him in a positive light.

Unlike Kris, who had been cold and intimidating, this man had not instilled fear or feelings of neglect within Aaron.

He longed to be with his husband, even if Kris's demeanor was ice-cold.

Indeed, Kris's indifference contrasted sharply with the warmth Aaron craved, which exposed more fully the emotional chasm between them.

Kris's cold attitude made Aaron feel like a beautiful heroine abandoned by an aloof CEO, deepening feelings of isolation and longing within their relationship.