In a gaze filled with relentless desire, Velia unknowingly almost closed her eyes.
But then, shocked by her own behavior, she hastily swallowed all her emotions.
“Velia.”
She didn’t know why her name, as he called it, felt so suffocatingly heavy.
When Raul had called Velia’s name a long time ago, it was sweet as if in a dream.
But the name of Velia, as called by Khaled, was so terrifying that she unwittingly retreated, feeling a tingling sensation on her back. She couldn’t make a clear judgement as to what she was afraid of.
With the thought that she couldn’t continue like this, Velia instinctively turned her face away to escape from Khaled’s touch.
“Velia.”
Why did he keep calling her like this?
Her whole body shuddered.
“Look at me.”
Khaled turned Velia’s face towards him, as she had been avoiding his gaze.
“Don’t avoid me.”
She couldn’t meet his eyes.
“……”
“Does it burden you that I hold you in my heart?”
Velia tightly closed her mouth.
“I thought you were pushing me away, so I tried to approach slowly. But you keep running away without even facing me.”
Somehow, she wanted to cry.
Why was this man causing her so much trouble?
In their relationship, there should be no place for emotions mixed with sincerity.
“What are you afraid of?”
Khaled tears apart Velia’s tightly hidden feelings in an instant.
Feeling as though she was laid bare by that fact, Velia had no choice but to face him.
What exactly did he notice and from where?
“You might want to run and avoid, but I’ve decided not to let you go.”
“… What if I don’t want that?”
At Velia’s barely muttered question, Khaled wore a languid and relaxed expression.
He was like a beast with its prey completely in sight.
At that, Velia gritted her teeth.
“You can refuse, then. You can run away like now.”
His voice was affectionate.
To Khaled, that was not a big issue.
“Because I’ve decided to do my best to hold onto you.”
“So, shall we consider this a fun game of hide and seek?”
Khaled whispered in Velia’s ear with a subtly patronizing tone, as if he were soothing a child.
“Khaled.”
“Yes. You can continue calling me that way.”
Velia let out a sigh. She had to stop him.
This was just interest that had transformed into possessiveness.
It wasn’t his sincere love.
‘So don’t get it wrong.’
She was tired of being swayed by emotions.
It was pathetic to be swayed again after what had happened with Raul.
Velia, as if doused with cold water, came to her senses.
“Take your hands off me.”
At Velia’s icy words, Khaled’s hand that had been caressing her cheek fell off cleanly.
As soon as he backed away a bit, the atmosphere changed.
Even the heavy air that felt as though it would suffocate her was significantly lighter.
“Hah.”
Velia let out a big breath.
She had to avoid leading him into this atmosphere again.
She wanted to divert that heavy, sticky gaze filled with desire elsewhere.
“Khaled. We should at most…”
Just then, Khaled quickly cut off Velia’s words.
“If you’re going to say that we are only tied by a contract, stop.”
And then, as if frustrated, he ran his hand through his flowing hair.
Velia was swaying.
It was clear, just by looking at her forcing excuses to push him away, that she was different from their first meeting.
“I’m just thinking about how I can have you right now.”
Velia froze.
His voice was subtly lazy, like a devil’s whisper.
“You don’t need to think too hard. You need me.”
She knew she had to resist, but she kept listening to his words.
“I’m giving you the opportunity to use me to your heart’s content.”
Khaled pressed Velia even more persistently.
Her heart throbbed passionately with each of his words.
Velia’s pupils shook. Her heart pounded.
She felt as though she was bound, unable to move.
And Khaled, seizing that moment, landed the final blow.
“How about it. Don’t you want to perfectly tame the hunting dog?”
At his deep question, Velia’s hesitation finally ceased.
‘…I need him.’
The contract had not changed.
Only the condition of whether sincerity was included or not was added.
Then, she just needed to not waver herself.
It would be fine then.
Thinking so, Velia accepted the challenge that Khaled had walked up with.
[This is the time separator]The next day, urgent news arrived from the investigation team that had gone to the south for a gold mine survey.
The existence of the gold mine was confirmed there, and gold was also collected from the river marked on the map.
They had expected at least 2 weeks until the discovery of the gold mine, but the results arrived earlier than expected.
Khaled came to find Velia with that report.
“Your words were truly correct. They’ve found a response to a large gold mine there.”
He did not hide his surprise as he handed the report to Velia.
Velia quickly confirmed the contents written in the report.
[Strong response to the magic tool for exploration. Gold mine confirmed.]The hastily sent report was brief, but what it wanted to convey was clear.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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