Chapter 88
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88
Her body was warm, freshly roused from sleep. Vanessa rested her flushed cheek against the Duke's chest. His skin, damp and cooling in the muggy summer air, felt refreshing against hers. Before any cologne could touch it, his skin carried a clean, natural scent.
"I'm still so sleepy. I haven't finished my writing, I should get up..."
"Close your eyes. I'll wake you when dinner is ready."
As soon as they stepped into the hallway, the bedroom door was before them. The bed was perfectly made, every trace of their morning swept away—even the clumsy attempts she had made to tidy up out of sheer embarrassment. Her lips went dry. The maids must have seen everything, the evidence of how they had spent the morning tangled together like animals.
He lowered her onto the clean-smelling sheets, and she leaned back. Despite her turbulent thoughts, his touch was meticulous as he slid a pillow under her head and pulled the duvet over her.
With a faintly flushed face, Vanessa looked up at the Duke as he moved away. He seemed intent on letting her rest—a stark contrast to the past three nights, when he had seduced her in every way imaginable, leaving her utterly spent.
As he walked toward the window, Vanessa spoke on impulse.
"I had a dream."
Her voice was so subdued it sounded foreign, even to her. The Duke, who had been drawing the curtains, turned at her words. In the dim light, his deep, piercing eyes fixed on her.
He walked back and sat on the edge of the bed, his expression calm. His touch was gentle, almost detached, as he brushed the damp strands of hair from her forehead.
"Was it a nightmare?"
His voice was remarkably soft. Having such a peaceful conversation with him felt like an extension of the absurd dream from which she had just woken.
Ahaha. The clear, high-pitched laughter of a child from her dream echoed in her ears like a phantom sound. A field blanketed in white blossoms, sunlight dappling through the leaves, Dahlia barking happily, a toddler of about three or four chasing a hat blown away by the wind, and…
"Perhaps."
A self-deprecating smile flickered across her dry lips and vanished. No matter how vivid it had felt, it was just a dream. She felt foolish for getting lost in its lingering warmth and saying something so silly.
Especially to the man she had sworn to never let her guard down around again. Vanessa resolutely pushed the image away.
"It was nothing. Just a dream about a happier time."
"Tell me."
"...You really want to know?"
When she looked up to gauge his sincerity, one corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile. The cold, distant look in his eyes finally began to soften.
"Yes. I do."
"Well... there were people in it."
Vanessa paused before continuing.
"I think it was a field in Linus Forest. In the distance, I could see Mary and Mr. Ross at the edge of the woods. It was late spring, and white wildflowers were blooming everywhere. There was a breeze. Some years must have passed... because Dahlia was there with a litter of tiny puppies. And..."
And you were there, too. She barely managed to swallow the words she couldn't bring herself to say. The crushing weight of reality washed over her, a slow, heavy wave.
Dreams were a faithful mirror of one's deepest desires. No matter how much she denied it, she couldn't deceive her own heart. The future she secretly yearned for was exactly that kind of peaceful life—the very thing the man before her could never give her.
"And?"
"That's all."
Vanessa bit her lip. A bead of blood welled up where the skin had split again. Before it could trickle down, he reached out, cupped her chin, and slowly turned her face toward him.
"......"
The moment their eyes met, a fierce, uncontrollable yearning coiled low in her belly. Even now, of all times.
A wave of self-loathing twisted in her gut. Lately, her body and mind felt like they belonged to someone else.
Some days, the mere smell of food made her stomach turn; other days, a maddening craving for sour, juicy fruits would seize her. Whenever it happened, she would close her eyes and count backward, breathing slowly and gripping her own forearm until the urge subsided. She could not afford to show this man the slightest sign of pregnancy.
She slowly lowered her heavy eyelids, forcing her ragged breath to even out.
"I'm tired. I want to sleep."
"Vanessa."
A strange warmth filled his voice as he spoke her name. He reached down and pinned her wrist, which lay limp on the bed, beneath his large hand—as if trying to anchor his own surging anxiety through physical contact.
It didn't hurt, but the pressure was firm. When he held her like this, it usually heralded a long, intense night.
"......"
As he leaned down, a dark shadow fell over her face. The bridges of their noses brushed, and then their lips met, pressing and parting as they drank from each other. His tongue slipped past her lips, tangling with hers in a desperate, thirsty embrace.
His kiss was fiercer than usual. Every time she flinched to pull away, he pursued her, trapping her completely, as if he wouldn't be satisfied until he had wrung a whimper from her. Shivering at the intensity, she licked his tongue in a silent plea.
His spine, arched taut like a bow, shuddered—a reminder that even this was pushing his self-control to its limit.
"Mmm..."
Just as his large hand slid up from her waist to cup her breast, two polite knocks sounded at the bedroom door. Dinner was served.
Vanessa's eyes flew open with a gasp. The Duke seemed to snap out of his trance as well. He slowly licked her lips, slick with their shared saliva.
"You're still warm. You've had a fever for a few days now."
"I think... it's just a cold."
"Not even a dog catches a summer cold, Vanessa. And you have no other symptoms."
"Then I must be exhausted. So much has happened."
"Have a doctor examine you after dinner. Starting tomorrow, I'll have my personal physician stationed downstairs."
"No! I'm fine!"
Vanessa sat up in a panic, her voice sharp. His eyes narrowed at her overly defensive reaction. As he stood to ring for a servant, she lunged forward and grabbed his sleeve.
His cool, calculating gaze dropped to her hand, analyzing her desperation.
"My body has always been like this. Every time, doctors just tell me to take some medicine... so..."
"......"
Did he suspect something? He had to. Vanessa frantically searched for a new topic, anything to divert his attention from her health.
"How did your business go today? Is everything resolved?"
The Duke's mouth tightened. She had stepped on a landmine. Her heart sank at his cold expression, but it had been the right move. At least she had successfully shifted his focus.
"...Yes. I've made my decision."
"I'm glad. You've been so busy with it."
"They worked me like a beast, but I extracted a steep price."
"You made the right choice, then?"
He stared at her in silence. The gas lamps were unlit, shrouding the room in darkness, yet his gaze was so intense it felt as if he could see right through her.
"What are you thinking?"
"Nothing much."
His voice was flat and dry. Yet, as he pressed his lips to her fingers, his expression betrayed a surprising flicker of anxiety.
"I was just wondering how I'll persuade you in the time we have left."
What he wanted was clear: the exclusive, temporary right to her body. A relationship the world would call lovers, or perhaps keeping a mistress.
Perhaps... she might have agreed, if only for a little while. Not because she valued herself so little, but because she loved him so much.
If only she could hide the child. If only her belly would never swell, and he would never find out she carried his heir. If only, years from now, he might hear she was raising a child and never suspect it was his own flesh and blood, simply forgetting her entirely.
"......"
A firm hand forced her chin up, refusing to let her look away. In the darkness, the Duke's blue eyes gleamed with a predatory intensity.
"Tell me you'll extend the contract, Vanessa."
"......"
"Tell me you'll stay by my side, no matter what."