Chapter 21

Back to present:

My head jerked up:

"What?"

Bartholomew shrugged as if what he said was nothing:

"It happens sometimes. That's the price of being powerful."

I grabbed Bartholomew's hand and he smiled at me:

"Do you feel bad for me, kitten? That's not why I told you this. I just want to be honest with you."

I wanted him to stop talking and stop smiling so I touched his cheek. The next second Bartholomew's cheek went red and his eyes started shining.

"Stop acting as if it's normal.

-It's okay darling.

-It's not."

I lowered my head and Bartholomew started panicking:

"Baby, are you crying?

-I forbid you from lying to me. What happened to you is far from okay and it breaks my heart to see you used to it. I have known you for less than a month but you have been the biggest support possible and knowing that you didn't get any support for years...

-Aed... Please don't cry. I am really okay.

-You are not. You said that there were rumors about you for years and you didn't have any friends before Gardenia and Zadimus but you don't even seem happy in their company anymore. You have been there for me unconditionally so I will be there for you too. You can lean on me as much as you want."

Bartholomew pulled me closer:

"What if I am not as good as what you think?

I don't care. You are good to me. Is that selfish?

-It is. And I love it.

-I will take care of you.

-Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?"

I shook my head:

"You need love too."

Bartholomew froze and his eyes turned dark:

"Wait a minute. Does that mean that we are getting married?

-Slow down. That's not what I said."

I tried pushing Bartholomew away but he maintained me in place and bent closer:

"It is exactly what you said. Taking care of someone means getting married.

-I... I still need time to think.

-Come on. Where did my brave wife go? Say that you will marry me. I need love.

-Stop pretending.

-You said it yourself. I need someone to take care of me. What would become of me without you?"

Bartholomew was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips. I felt my heart speed up and had no idea what I was thinking anymore.

"Okay...

-Okay what?

-I...

-You?

-No."

I finally managed to push Bartholomew away and the latter looked at me, his face glitching.

"How could I get married to you? You didn't eve propose to me.

-How can you switch so fast?

-I am not answering until you ask me properly."

In reality I didn't care about the proposal and was just being shy but seeing Bartholomew smirk, I guessed he must have liked it:

"Technically I proposed already but my wife is always right. You deserve the most romantic proposal ever. You better get ready because you will be crying for days afterwards. And I am not even counting what will happen in the bedroom afterwards."

I went bright red in a second and decided to run away as fast as possible pretending to need to use the toilet. I did my best to ignore Bartholomew's laugh and didn't look back once.

I didn't even feel like Bartholomew had tried any hard to seduce me and here I was thinking about accepting our wedding. But I couldn't help it. Bartholomew just seemed like the perfect husband. At first it was because he loved me unconditionally which forced me to trust him but then I started caring about him and seeing him smile while talking about almost getting poisoned broke my heart.

Bartholomew didn't have an easy life and I genuinely wanted to be there for him. I didn't only want to receive his love, I wanted to love him too. It seemed no matter how many times I met him, I would fall in love with him. Having him worry about me like a puppy only helped me trust him quicker and let him through my walls. I was ready to bet my life that nothing could come between us.

"Kitten, are you ready?"

I jumped and quickly got dressed before coming out.

"Yes, sorry for taking so long in the shower."

The next second my feet left the ground and I screamed:

"What are you doing?"

Bartholomew only laughed before carrying me to bed.

"I missed this. It has been so long since I last carried you like this."

He put me down and I didn't have time to blink that he surrounded me of his arms and pressed his head against my chest with a satisfied smile:

"This is paradise."

We did sleep together every night but I only let him hold my hand. I did wake up every morning in his arms however because I would always crawl to him in my sleep. After a few days I gave up and let him hug me but turned my back to him or only grabbed his shirt. This time Bartholomew was laying in my arms and he looked so happy that I hugged him thight.

"Your heart is beating so fast, kitten.

-I was surprised because you started carrying me.

-Are you sure it isn't because you are shy having me hug you like this?

-You hugged me a lot in the past. You said it yourself, it's nothing weird. Let's move on.

-But you don't remember it do you?

-Tease me a bit more and you'll sleep on the ground."

Bartholomew rubbed his head against my heart:

"I was wrong... Please don't kick me out of bed.

-Go to sleep.

-Yes, sir."

Bartholomew didn't say anymore and closed his eyes, his smile not leaving his face. He looked so cute that I couldn't hold back and kissed him on the forehead. The next second the ceiling was in my field of vision and Bartholomew was dangerously bending towards me:

"Did you just kiss me?"

My lungs gave out work and I had no idea how to speak anymore. This was dangerous for my heart and I had to quickly think of a threat to calm him down. That was the only weapon I had. Quick, something. Anything.

"You can't just kiss me out of nowhere, Aed. Otherwise I will think about more.

-I just kissed you on the forehead.

-That's still a kiss.

-How can you get so worked up just for a forehead kiss?

-Because it's you.

-I..."

I had no idea what to say but the way Bartholomew was staring at my lips wasn't good.

"I am not ready!"

Bartholomew smiled before laying down next to me and pulling me back in his arms:

"Let's just sleep then. My fiance is really the cutest. He gets flustered very easily.

-I didn't get flustered.

-You did. Did you kiss me because you thought I was cute? I should act cute more often then.

-Next time I won't kiss your forehead.

-You can be so mean when you are shy..."

I was going to ignore him but couldn't help feeling bad for some reason. I tried ignoring that feeling too but sighed before hugging Bartholomew back:

"I will kiss you on the forehead every time you are cute."