Predatory Marriage - Chapter 269

Chapter 269 – Broken Bed (1)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Ishakan looked as if he regretted saying the words as soon as they came out. Lovingly, his hand brushed her face.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was obvious why he tried so hard to hide this in his heart. He didn’t want to pressure Leah to remember. He wouldn’t have said it at all, if she hadn’t regained control of her feelings. Ishakan would never have said a word, if she hadn’t.

But now the wind blew a long gust, making Leah’s nightgown ripple and her silver hair to flutter, and Ishakan’s voice cracked a little as he bent and whispered.

“Tell me you love me.”

Her heart ached. It was still difficult to express her true feelings, but until she was completely free of the spell, she would need to speak them clearly. Reaching for Ishakan, she hugged him and tried to make him believe it.

“I love you,” she said sincerely, and even rose up on her tiptoes to hold him tighter and comfort him. Ishakan smiled as she awkwardly kissed his cheek.

It made her smile, to see him smile. Ishakan kissed her forehead, a tickling brush of his lips, and when she reached to rub that place, he caught her hand and kissed that too. Everywhere he touched her tickled.

“Arrrrgh!”

All around Leah and Ishakan, they thumped to the ground like a hail of pecans. Among so many, Leah recognized a few faces, and as soon as Haban got up he immediately started apologizing.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! But I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear!”

“Then what?” Ishakan asked shortly.

“Huh… that is…”

“……”

Mura interceded, as Haban had obviously didn’t know what else to say.

“We came because we were worried,” she said. “We were afraid you might do something to Leah. Last time you broke the bed!”

All the other Kurkans started talking at once.

“Exactly! We have to be careful, what if something serious happens?”

“No matter how strong Kurkan babies are, Leah is still fragile!”

“Right! Right!”

“Really…” He said, catching her hand with a self-deprecating smile. “I am only weak with you.”

She was the only one who could defeat him. His arms went around her and she hugged him back. Every time he referenced memories of their past, she wished she could share them with joy. She wanted to be able to tease him about when he had been weak to her. That’s what she would do, as soon as she got her memory back.

“Thank you for coming to find me,” she said after they had been standing together for some time, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Of course,” he said, with a frown that said anything else would have been absurd. “I would have looked for you no matter where you were.”

“But…”

“You did the same,” he said, tapping the point of her chin. “You went to save me.”

She could understand why she would, though she couldn’t imagine Ishakan ever needing saving.

“I’ll take you back,” he said. “No matter what it takes.”

Leah’s fists clenched, hearing this promise, and Ishakan chuckled. But then suddenly he frowned and bent close, looking around the forest as he whispered in her ear.

“Watch,” he breathed, as if he were warning her of something deadly serious. “Soon they’ll start falling.”

Leah wondered what on earth that meant, but it didn’t take long to figure it out. A moment later, she spotted the Kurkans.

They were creeping out from the branches of the trees, clearly frustrated that they couldn’t hear Ishakan’s quiet voice. Then one of the shifting Kurkan shadows made eye contact with Leah.

“……”

There was a moment of silence. All the shadows froze, hands and feet partially lifted, wavering, and then started dropping out of the trees.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Of course, Ishakan didn’t so much as lift an eyebrow, but Leah’s face was on fire.

She could not believe the bed had broken. She had thought the bed at Count Weddleton’s mansion had been very creaky, but she had been too…distracted to wonder why.

Had they come in and repaired it while she slept?