Chapter 8 – Confession (Part 7)

At that moment, a glint of madness flashed in Killian’s eyes before they darkened. His words, spoken with a murderous gaze, made her flinch.

“Did you also cause the incident where the young master of Berkshire fell down the stairs and broke his leg?”

“Yes, that was me. I threatened to cut off his head if he bullied you again, and he got scared and fell down the stairs.”

“Then the incident where the young lady who bullied me was so terrified she wouldn’t leave her room as if she’d seen a ghost…?”

“Anything related to you likely involved me. I didn’t expect the rumors of you being a cursed lady because of me. I truly apologize for that.”

“Oh, no. It was good because the bullying stopped.”

Oh my goodness.

Although she replied that way, Sophia couldn’t believe how shocked she was inside. All the things she thought were good luck were actually Killian’s doing…

Sophia finally realized that she had misunderstood Killian all along. That he had been looking at her lovingly, not menacingly.

She felt grateful and strangely happy. But she didn’t dislike it. She was glad to feel his genuine feelings towards her.

Sophia looked up and met Killian’s eyes. He smiled. Before, she would have thought it was a sinister smile, but now it seemed different. It felt like he was shy.

“It would have been nice if I had known you were Victor from the start.”

“Would the situation have changed if I had revealed I was Victor?”

Killian made a puzzled expression.

“Yes, actually, I was curious about you. You were my first love. So I think I would have had less resistance to accepting our marriage.”

Sophia found the current situation fascinating. She never thought she would marry the boy she remembered before marrying Clive.

But when she thought about it, it wasn’t a coincidence. Although her first meeting with Killian might have been by chance, most of the rest were part of his plans.

So Sophia could now understand. Killian had loved her from the beginning until now. He had never changed, but she hadn’t believed him.

She felt grateful to the man who schemed to marry her, but one problem remained.

“Everyone around us is clamoring for a divorce; is it okay for us to maintain our marriage?”

She didn’t want a divorce, but if they stayed married, the people of the Loden family would undoubtedly become more hostile. She wondered if it was okay since she would have to see them in the future.

“You don’t need to get close to my father or my brother. It’s fine to maintain the relationship as it is now.”

“How can you say that?”

“I only want you to look at me.”

“What?”

“I want your eyes to be filled with only me. Without any other men.”

Killian revealed his long-hidden possessiveness. His eyes, which seemed fierce, seemed to contain his heart.

“Even so, what about the Duchess?”

“You don’t need to worry about my mother. She quite likes you.”

“What? That can’t be true.”

Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words.

Before leaving the Loden household, they only made her work hard without ever treating her warmly, so what could this mean?

“She gave you a lot of work because she didn’t know what kind of person you were and wanted to test you. She also made a promise to me. She said if you completed the tasks she assigned without complaint for a month, she’d allow you to leave the Loden estate.”

“Oh…”

“Although she assigned you difficult tasks on purpose, you didn’t complain once. You didn’t take it out on the maids either. So, although she might not have been pleased initially, she changed her mind midway.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

Recalling the Duchess of Loden’s cold gaze and tone, Sophia found it hard to believe Killian’s words.

“The handkerchief you painstakingly embroidered back then was given as a gift to the family members. I heard that my mother praised you while handing out the gifts.”

“….”

“Just as Liam doesn’t dislike the Loden family, there are people in the Loden household who don’t blindly dislike the Dveshi family either. So you can ignore those who oppose.”

Listening to Killian’s words, Sophia couldn’t help but let out a laugh. It was a rather reckless statement, but strangely, it seemed okay to follow it.

All of this was likely because her trust in Killian had deepened. Sophia hugged him tightly.

“Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for not giving up from the beginning to the end.”

If he hadn’t been there, she might have married Clive, and the marriage would have been a mess.

In the worst-case scenario, it might have been revealed that he secretly had three children, and Duke Dveshi might have been the first to declare war on the Loden family for mocking their family.

Clive, that irresponsible man who only chased women, could have broken the peace because of him… Just imagining it was terrifying.

“Thank you for loving me. Thank you for treating me well so that I could also love you.”

Killian’s lips curved gently at Sophia’s confession.

“I, too, want to thank you for choosing me and freeing me from the shackles of the family. Now that you are truly my wife, I will never hand you over to another man. So please continue to look at me and love only me. I will also love only you.”

His words were extremely self-centered and possessive, but they sounded like a serenade of love. Killian, with his red eyes filled solely with Sophia, seemed to be telling her with his entire being that he loved her.

“I love you. Never break your promise to love only me.”

Sophia found the man who looked only at her so lovable that she smiled brightly and nestled into Killian’s arms.

“Hug me tighter.”

It didn’t matter if it became a mess. She just wanted to be in his arms and spend a blissful time.

“Of course.”

Killian’s embrace, which she hadn’t felt in a long time, was so warm and comforting. She wanted to entrust her body to his touch. More intensely.

Just as they were about to quench the thirst they felt for each other by intertwining their lips, a cautious knock was heard.

“Hello? Sophia? Are you still awake?”

Knock, knock, came the careful knock. They thought they had kept their voices low, but as Sophia and Killian’s conversation grew longer, it seemed the Duchess of Dveshi had heard them.

“….”

At that moment, Killian deliberately grabbed Sophia’s chest, and Sophia quickly covered her mouth with her hand, pulling away her lips.

She intended to quietly wait for the Duchess of Dveshi to leave, but his movements did not stop. Even signaling him to stop with her eyes was ineffective.

When the hand holding her br*ast rolled and flicked her n*pple, the sudden stimulation caused Sophia’s body to tremble with pleasure.

The sense of betrayal and thrill of having her mother outside made her body heat up, but she tried to hold her breath tightly to prevent any sound from escaping.

“Did I hear wrong?”

Thinking she had heard something, the Duchess of Dveshi began to move her steps.

“Ugh!”

Unable to endure Killian’s stimulation, Sophia let out a small moan without realizing it.

At that moment, Duchess of Dveshi, who was about to walk away, stopped again.

“What was that sound?”

“….”

In the thick darkness, only silence lingered, and the sound of the Duchess’s footsteps outside could be heard moving away.

Only after hearing her leave did Sophia finally breathe comfortably.

“How could you touch my chest when my mother was nearby!”

Even as she frowned and hit Killian’s chest with her hand, he only laughed, not saying he was sorry.

“Don’t you think it’s time to let the Duchess of Dveshi know about our relationship?”

He spoke shamelessly.

“Not like this!”

Sophia glared at Killian, but he smiled contentedly. After giving a short kiss to her pouting lips, he hugged her.

As Sophia continued to glare at Killian, he lightly kissed her eyes, nose, and cheeks as if asking for forgiveness, and her gaze softened.

Soon, their lips met, and the kiss deepened. Their sweet night, having realized each other’s hearts, was about to begin.