Royal Temptations

Chapter 31

Hey look last chapter wasn't about someone leaving. Progress lol.

I am on a freaking roll. Guess who just wrote chapter 35 in a night? I haven't felt this creative in so long. Things are coming together.

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Yixing's POV

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Another quiet night in the gardens with all the people I loved and cared for surrounding me. What more could I want? Zitao had joined us after lunch, and I'd managed to coax Luhan away from his work. Junmyeon, Baekhyun, and Hyeja were still here as well, sitting in a ragged triangle and talking quietly to themselves.

"Hello darling," I greeted Ying Yue as she settled beside me on the blanket. She laid her head on my shoulder and turned to our friends. "It's still kind of hard to believe huh?" I continued. "We got married yesterday. You're my wife." She giggled.

"It still kind of feels a bit surreal," she admitted. "And yet at the same time I feel like I've been married to you all my life." And on some level I understood. What we had felt comfortable. Natural. I gazed across the small space, sighing inwardly. Then again I'd thought that before. "Xing?" Ying Yue carefully tilted my face until I was looking directly at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," I lied. "I'm content. It was a happy sigh." Still, she seemed unconvinced. But she thankfully let it slide this time, instead redirecting her focus to our guests. Baekhyun and Tao were now locked in a heated discussion, while Junmyeon and Hyeja looked on, amused. He'd casually slipped an arm around her.

Stop it, I scolded myself. There's no reason to be jealous. Aren't you doing the same thing?

But it seemed my brain and my heart were on opposing teams once again. I wanted to yank him away and tuck him under my arm like I'd done so, so many times in the past. But I knew that was not a wise idea. Instead I focused on my wife, who seemed to be following my line of sight, a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She blinked and quickly shook her head, focusing back on me with a tight lipped smile that reeked fake.

"Nothing," she said. Tao chose that moment to join us, so our conversation ended there. But I made a mental note to talk to her about it later. Junmyeon, Hyeja, Baekhyun, and Luhan joined us as well, and my gaze swept over this ragtag little group. "Thank you to everyone who came and shared our day with us," Ying Yue spoke up. "It means a lot to us to have you all there."

"Nothing would keep us away," Tao said, and nods of agreement quickly followed. Once again, I examined the ring on my finger. It still felt surreal, like I'd wake up from the dream any time. "That's what friends are for after all. We'll always be here for you."

"Whether you like it or not," Luhan jokingly added, and that elicited some laughs. One person, however, was suspiciously quiet. One that I wanted to speak. I turned my focus to Junmyeon, intending to ask him something. But when his gaze met mine, I stopped, instead directing my attention elsewhere. But the pleading look on his face remained wherever I looked.

"It's getting kind of late," Ying Yue whispered to me. "And since tonight is the first night we'll share a room, I'm going to go up and move a few things there." I gave an involuntary shudder as she gracefully rose, patting my cheek and making her way to the the double doors. I'd completely forgotten that fact. She was officially moving into my room tonight. I was going to sleep in the same bed as my wife for the first time.

"You guys waited this long?" Tao asked me, arching an eyebrow. I felt my cheeks grow hot. "Not that I thought you'd be, like, doing the dirty work, but I guess I assumed you'd at least slept side by side."