85 Unspoken Promises And Commitmen (1/2)
Nine patted the bed next to her. Nocturne walked over unsteadily. He wasn't sure how to react to this sudden turn of events. His face was still burning up. Why was it that he was able to control his emotions so well in front of other people, but in front of Nine he was always fumbling about?!
”It's fine!” Nocturne blurted out. Then, he wanted to kill himself. Ah, he was seriously so uncool in front of Nine.
Nine's lips couldn't help but quirk at the cute reaction.
”Alright then, Crown Princess Nox,” Nine said, feeling indulgent. ”Do you still like me?” she asked, wanting to give him an out one last time. Though he probably threw himself into marriage with her thinking he knew everything that was bound to come together, she wanted to hear it from himself.
”I –”
Nine placed a finger on his lips to stop his reflexive reply. ”Wait. Listen to me. Do you really like me? Aren't you just attracted to how I look? You threw yourself into a marriage with another man just because of that?” Nine said, her presence growing unintentionally. Nocturne couldn't take his eyes off his husband. ”You better think about it carefully. If you leave now, you can still escape. If not, then I'll chain you to me for all eternity.”
Nocturne looked at Nine with dazed eyes. Was this really happening? Why did he feel like the entire day was just one huge dream?
”I'll give you a week to think about it,” Nine said, standing up. She was about to walk to the door when Nocturne pulled the back of her coat.
”Wait!” Nocturne cried. His hand shot out reflexively to stop Nine from leaving.
Nine waited patiently, eyes hiding her expectation. She could have avoided Nocturne's hand had she wanted to, but… somehow, she just didn't feel like doing that. Strange.
”I don't need time to think about it. I don't just like you,” Nocturne said, eyes boring into Nine's. ”I love you. Nine, I love you.”
Nine didn't make a sound, waiting for Nocturne to continue. She could see that he was struggling to make his feelings for her known, and she wanted to listen without pressuring him. All this time, she had known that he loved her, but to what extent? Why? She didn't think that she did anything that would have made him fall so hard, and to this extent?
”Do you remember, when you stole me away from Alixia Lacroix's castle? When you said, 'let's call him Black', I was so annoyed over that nickname that I felt like if I ever woke up, I would hack you into a million pieces.”
Nine looked at him, baffled. What was so bad about the nickname she gave him??
”But the more you called me that, the more it kind of grew on me,” Nocturne said, face red. ”Then, you started doing little things like patting my head when it was just us alone and doing things like apologising each time you had to do something without acquiring my consent,” Nocturne said, rambling.
Nocturne made a noise of frustration. ”There's just so many little things that all add up together, and the more time I spend with you, the deeper in I fall. The time I spent away from you in my homeland was the hardest I've ever had it. I never thought about how hard not seeing someone could really be, but each day felt like it was crawling by. It was only after a year that I admitted to myself that I really was deep in, and that there was already no way out.”