While You Were Away, My Husband Changed (2)
Naru had left. He wouldn't be back until late tomorrow due to his adventure. Left alone in the vast mansion with unfamiliar women and their daughters, Ashley wore a gloomy expression.
Honey... She wandered the house listlessly. Even knowing he was gone, her longing drew her to open the door to his bedroom.
The room was spacious and luxurious, befitting its master. Traces of last night's tryst between Naru and a woman named Sophia still lingered. When Jenia and her sisters had peeked in, Ashley had witnessed Naru's sex scene from nearby and been utterly shocked. Her heart ached as if it were being crushed. She wanted to burst in and pull them apart, but her feet wouldn't move. This was karma for her own sins, after all. From a corner of the corridor, she could only suffer in silence, sobbing as she accepted it.
I should have taken better care of him before his body healed... She had pounded the ground in regret countless times. If only, back when he was betting alone with Vera, she had stood by his side and given him strength. If only she had gripped his hands tightly. Would he still be looking only at her now if she had? He had always been diligent. Kind-hearted, devoted to his family, far from a playboy. But now... he was a completely different man.
Was it because of her? Had the shock of being abandoned by her turned him into a philanderer?
"Haa..." She approached the head of the bed and hugged the pillow where Naru had laid his hungry head last night to her chest. It smelled of women's shampoo. She threw it to the floor. Then she clutched the pillow beside it tightly. It carried Naru's scent. A pleasant fragrance. A smile naturally formed on her lips.
After lingering like that for a moment, she walked to the desk. What might be in the desk drawers? She wanted to know everything about Naru. In that sense, being a maid was truly convenient. She could search every nook and cranny while cleaning.
She pulled open the drawers one by one, peering inside.
"Huh?" When she opened the very bottom drawer last, a familiar small box caught her eye.
"Ah..." Ashley's eyes trembled widely. The smile on her lips grew even brighter. Opening the small box revealed the item inside: their wedding ring. The exact same design as the one on her left ring finger. Inside the ring, the inscription she had engraved was visible.
-I am yours-
Memories of that innocent, heart-fluttering time flooded back, filling her with fresh emotion. Back then, just seeing Naru's face had made her happy. She stared blankly at the ring before placing it back in the box and closing the lid. She returned it to the drawer and stood up.
"Sniff." Overwhelmed by emotion, her eyes reddened. Transparent tears welled up as she smiled.
"He definitely still loves me." Thank you for keeping our wedding ring so precious. Doesn't that mean there's still a chance? Ding-a-ling. Suddenly, the bell at the front gate rang. Ashley hurriedly wiped her tears and rushed outside. Hoping it was Naru returning early after just leaving, she ran to the gate.
"Hm?" Through the iron gate, a familiar wench stood there. Her outfit was scandalously skimpy. Her skirt was so short that panties flashed with the slightest movement, and her breasts were brazenly exposed.
"Ashley? Why are you in this house...?" The woman spotted her first and looked shocked. Roberini. That crazy bitch.
"Why are you here, you whore!"
"Kyaa!" Ashley lunged with a shout, grabbing Roberini's hair. The two rolled on the ground, clawing and tearing at each other until Roberini barely shoved her off and fled in a panic.
"Coming to devour another woman's husband again, you filthy slut!" Ashley hurled one of Roberini's discarded shoes while hurling curses.
"You're not even human!" Roberini, hair disheveled as she ran, turned back. She flipped up her skirt, shaking her bare ass side to side in mockery before vanishing around the corner.
"May you be barren forever, you wicked bitch!" Ashley spat in fury and sprinkled salt at the gate. Back inside, she rushed to her room, changed clothes, and hurriedly prepared to go out. She recalled Naru's words from before. The Laphone family estate was being rebuilt. Once done, he had said to leave this house. Suddenly, she felt like visiting the construction site.
"Huff, huff!" Soon, arriving at the Laphone estate grounds out of breath, she saw workers building the house just as Naru had said. It was in the early stages—digging the foundation and leveling the ground.
"Haa, haa." Ashley caught her breath while secretly watching, then turned her gaze elsewhere. Stacks of lumber for the house lay nearby. Without hesitation, she dashed over. Taking advantage when the workers weren't looking, she hugged an armful and grunted as she dumped it into a nearby pond. She hurried back and grabbed more.
"Who are you!" Caught by a worker, Ashley dropped the wood and bolted. She tried returning to the site, but the workers had gathered, discussing gravely. Giving up, she retreated. Brushing dirt from her dress on the way home, Ashley thought of Naru and grinned broadly.
"I'll live with my honey. No one can tear us apart. Hehehe..." She had found hope in the wedding ring carefully stored in the drawer. With hard effort, things might return to how they were. Arriving home full of swelling anticipation—
Carts loaded with luggage stood before the gate. Moving belongings. Among the gathered people, Melissa appeared.
"Ma'am, long time no see. How have you been?" Following Sophia and her two daughters, yet another woman was moving into the house. With the competition growing, Ashley sank back into gloom.
If I, from another guild, loiter in front of Thunderfield Guild, they might misunderstand. Aquina pulled her robe hood down tightly. She had come to keep her promise of accompanying Naru on his month-long adventure. Familiar students stood in front of the distant building. She approached.
"Where's Kang Naru?"
"Professor!"
"Hello!" Angelina, Hazel, Rachel, and Roan greeted her. Lydia just raised a small hand.
"Are you coming too, Professor?"
"Yeah."
"The assistant professor said he'd report it and went inside for a bit."
"Got it." Aquina stood still, scanning the group. One woman stood out especially. Tanned skin. Pointed ears. Definitely a dark elf.
What? Is this woman a slave? She sensed the other woman sizing her up too. Not staring openly, but an unmistakable air of wariness emanated from her.
Dark elves are hard to tame... What's that guy's scheme? Well, she'd find out in time. She waited for Naru to hurry out. Standing in front of a rival guild's building made her nervous someone might spot her; her body itched uncomfortably.
Making me do this... I'll let it slide because he's my boyfriend. They hadn't explicitly said they were dating, but Aquina, experiencing romance for the first time, assumed sleeping together made them lovers automatically.
Shlick. Shlick shlick. Olivia's hand stroking his cock back and forth built the pleasure higher and higher. Her hand was slightly cool but soft—felt great.
"Ugh... Sis..."
"It's getting bigger." Olivia smiled watching it slowly harden.
"Look how hard it is." Once fully erect, easier to stroke, her hand sped up.
"What are you gonna do if I cum?"
"Who knows. Gotta research it."
"The ability only activates from ejaculating inside a pussy or feeding cum into a mouth. Just watching won't reveal anything."
"Is that so? Hmm..." Olivia propped her chin, deep in thought. Meanwhile, her other hand skillfully kept stroking his cock.
I never imagined doing this with Sis. Looking down at her squatting before me, I recalled the old days.
Our first meeting. When I left the dark elf family and first entered the human world.
"Kuh...! Aaah...! Uuuh...! Aaaah!" Accustomed to dark energy back then, emerging into the world of light triggered a violent rejection—my whole body throbbed and ached.
"Hah! Hah! Haaa!" The air was different, the water different; the dark energies clinging to me peeled away one by one, causing skin ailments and leaving my condition in ruins. Worse, to avoid detection by the Lord of Punishment, Kelhabaine, I'd suppressed my light energy with medicines from my adoptive father, Saras—which now acted as poison tormenting me.
Shedding. Like a reptile molting, the darkness enveloping me was sloughing off. They say the molt is when they're weakest. I was too. Exhausted, staggering along, I collapsed in front of some nameless village.
"Are you okay?" In my fading consciousness, the last thing I saw was a country woman with a herb basket at her side, shaking me. That was Olivia.