After saying so monotonously, he turned off the cabin light.
Soon, a dark blue darkness enveloped them.
As visual stimuli waned, the uniquely rhythmic sound of the waves filled the void.
The erratic yet uniform sound of the waves, and the cradle-like rocking of the boat, enveloped them like a mother’s lullaby.
Sleep was about to pour down, but Brody lay still, blinking her eyes.
Finally unable to tolerate the discomfort, she spoke.
“Your Highness, are you asleep?”
“……Not yet.”
Piercing the silence, a low-pitched voice pleasantly resonated through the cabin.
Brody sighed internally and continued speaking.
“Would you come up?”
“……No. Don’t worry about me.”
The response was as expected. Without showing any surprise, Brody spat out her next words.
“That’s because…, it’s cold.”
“Cold, you say?”
“……”
At her words, Aiden rose without a second thought.
He seemed to have reacted unconsciously.
Brody awkwardly smiled and glued her body to the wall to make room.
Aiden slowly lowered his body, slightly embarrassed by his own excessive reaction.
The bed was indeed too narrow for both of them.
In the end, Brody lay somewhat atop Aiden.
Resting her face between his shoulder and chest, she could feel his calm breathing and strong pulse.
Surprisingly, it felt very familiar to Brody.
Thinking about it, they had hardly been apart for the last few weeks.
More than just accompanying each other, that is.
Aiden’s warm body had always been reassuringly beside her.
His body heat familiarly warmed Brody.
She began to doubt herself.
Was the ‘discomfort’ she had felt really about Aiden sleeping on the floor?
Had she mistaken the ’emptiness’ she felt in a bed devoid of warmth for ‘discomfort’?
Brody sensed a slight crisis.
She would have to stand alone in three years…
Becoming this accustomed to his warmth was…
Whether it was because her health had improved a bit or because she had some spare time now…
Thoughts about the night spent with Aiden in the south surfaced in her mind.
Since then, they had been so engrossed in evading their pursuers that she had forgotten… But since that night, the two had been very close.
“……”
Uh… Hmm… Once the thought crossed his mind, Brody became aware of his body again.
Why was it so soft, so warm… Moreover, why was his heart beating so fiercely?
Suddenly feeling a rising warmth, Brody readjusted his position, hoping to fall asleep.
Aidan asked.
“Can’t you sleep?”
Brody hesitated before answering.
“…A little.”
In fact, Brody’s tossing and turning had also woken Aidan.
He felt a renewed surge of desire that he had been suppressing, considering Brody’s physical condition.
For some reason, Brody felt his heart rate increase as well.
‘A little, just a little… Couldn’t we get a little closer?’
Ridiculous as it was, he was feeling quite exhilarated at the moment.
Whether it was truly cold, or he was worried about her sleeping on the floor, she had called him in.
‘Might be a good sign.’
She had asked for protection for only three years, but more than anything, didn’t she need his protection? If the problem wasn’t resolved, it might take more than three years.
It was a bit cowardly, but Aidan, who held the key at the moment, didn’t want to give up his desire to be with her.
If they lived as a couple, she might choose Aidan over freedom.
Aidan gently stroked her cheek.
Brody looked at him with puzzled eyes.
Then, he lifted Brody’s head. Swiftly. Aidan’s breath touched her cheek instantly.
“May I kiss you?”
“…”
The time for seeking permission was short. Aidan didn’t miss Brody’s momentary hesitation and kissed her lips.
Brody’s mind turned white for a moment, perhaps because she was flustered.
It was too tempting. While moving, hadn’t he felt how Aidan had treated Brody? So gentle, so devoted, so soft, and so dependable.
Moreover, when Brody had been struggling, the man who had so perfectly restrained himself was now so desperately desiring her.
What woman wouldn’t be swayed by that allure?
Again… what if she just gave in and became his wife, just as he wished?
“Ah…”
Caught in the depths of intertwined breaths, Brody let out a moan.
She became conscious of the sound she had made and blushed. She reluctantly pulled away from him and said,
“Sailors said to be mindful of noise. When newlyweds are on board, complaints come from the next room…”
“I’ll be quiet.”
“…!”
No, I can’t manage that.
It was impossible. Brody couldn’t hold back any longer.
Regaining a bit of cold reason, Brody gathered all her willpower.
“Brody, please.”
However, Aidan grasped Brody’s hand and pulled her closer, kissing the back of her hand and spreading his warmth.
Aidan desperately wanted to hold her. After she had overcome a life-threatening situation, he had wanted to confirm her well-being by holding her in his arms countless times.
The moment their body heat merged as one, and he breathed in her scent, he wanted to feel her complete presence before him.
The moment he lost the thread of rationality, he couldn’t control the surge of longing.
Aidan started by kissing the back of the hand he had grasped, then moved up her arm.
And then, he covered her mouth that was about to let out another moan.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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