✓ | REBIRTH OF THE REBEL [Book Two]

CHAPTER 31

"We made a promise once I came back from Denver, we will talk, right?" he said, making my head recall the truth. Indeed, under short notice, he kept his promise.

"Alright, I will listen to whatever you will say, your grace," I said, looking straight into his amber orbs. Those autumn-like eyes sparkled and are alive. Malayong-malayo na siya sa dating duke na kilala ko.

Before, he always looked at me with dead eyes and bored expression. Who wouldn't have thought that Roshan is capable of change? Despite the lapses and miscommunication, he sure kept his promise that he'll change.

"I love you," he suddenly uttered these words.

Alam ko may dahilan kung bakit masyado siyang sweet ngayon. I know it, it is an assurance over the recent incident and the current one we are facing.

"I love you," I uttered the same phrase.

He leaned forward and claimed my lips. This time, he's patient, it feels like he just wanted to feel my lips pressed to his. Sa una lang 'yon, dahil nagsimula na naman siyang gumalaw. He playfully nibbled a corner of my lips, making a grand entrance for his tongue to play inside.

Hindi ko na nga namalayan na nahiga na pala ako sa kama at wala na akong suot. That is how fast he was, and I didn't complain. In the next moment, he was pounding on me hard, with every thrust felt like a delicate dance he wanted me to feel, and I still didn't complain. Ganito na ako karupok, I meet his thrust, I complied with every position and I totally forgot our own daughter was out there.

But one thing is for sure, he did say an hour is enough for him. We even finish before the time.

"How can you say she's not her?" I asked him while fitting into my new dress because damn I can't wear the one I prepared for because he ripped a part of it.

"She is dead," he replied instantly. Napako pa tuloy ang tingin ko sa kanya. He was fixing himself too. At parang nararamdaman niya siguro na nakatingin ako kaya tumingin siya sa gawi ko. "I know what happened to her that night," he continued.

What he said made my breathing sharpen. Kinakabahan ako, pero sa uri ng titig niya sa akin ngayon, parang hindi siya apektado. There is no hatred or even a trace of anger in his eyes. They were simply looking at me with such admiration.

"You know who killed her," I said, almost not audible. It is not a question because it's too obvious to even ask. Binaba ko na lamang ang aking tingin at binalik ang atensyon sa pag-aayos.

"You didn't kill her," he replied. Natigilan lamang ako pero hindi ako lumingon. I sensed his presence, approached me and held my right hand and brought it to his cheek making me face him. "You were slaved by your own father's order, and as a young child who doesn't want to disappoint her parents, you do as you are told. At first, I was angry at you for exposing what she truly is, but upon knowing that you saved her to your might that night, I know you have limited choices."

Hearing it from him made my eyes emit tears. I always fear his reaction regarding Annabelle's death. Buong akala ko ay kakamuhian niya ako pero hindi, he was showing me that he's not mad. He even got worried when I started to cry, wiping my tears away as if crying would break him.

"I am still responsible," I confessed. "When the Emperor ordered her to be killed, I knew what I had done. You and I shouldn't have suffered this loss if I didn't expose her. She could have been here—"

"Oh, wife. Please," he cut me off. He held both of my cheeks, wiping the tears that continually fell. He looked at me intently as if he wanted me to listen and understand. "If that didn't happen, I won't meet you anymore. If you didn't obey your father, your life would be compromised. I know, I shouldn't think of it as a blessing— her death— but due to that it led you to me. Despite all this, you are the only woman I will marry, nothing else."