Chapter 2 (Part 2)

“How are you feeling now? Are you okay?”  

Levin’s voice came from above her head again. He tried to pull her away from his embrace for a moment, seemingly wanting to look at her face. However, she clung tightly to his broad chest with both arms and buried her face against him, leaving him no chance to do so. She didn’t want to allow even the smallest gap between them.  

Seeing this, he asked in a flustered tone whether she was still cold. Yet, despite his confusion, he accommodated her clinginess, wrapping her firmly in his strong arms.  

Instead of answering his question, she pushed out an abrupt confession.  

“I… missed you so much today. I just couldn’t sit still and wait any longer.”  

“What?”  

“That’s why I told you to take me with you. I missed you so much that I couldn’t bear it…”  

Her confession gradually turned into a reproach.  

Levin let out a baffled laugh at her words. He replied that he didn’t know whether to be angry or happy, letting out a deep sigh as he hugged her tightly again.  

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry for everything. But you can’t do that again, okay? I’ll come back safely, and I won’t trip on my way. So don’t worry…”  

“Sniff…”  

“…Cordelia? Are you crying?”  

Her emotions surged uncontrollably. Soon, she began to sob openly, and Levin, clearly flustered, started to comfort her anxiously.  

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Is the water too hot? Or are you feeling suffocated? Do you want to get out of the water?”  

His questions came one after another, all directed at her, all filled with kindness. Kindness so overwhelming it melted her heart.  

Yet, even amidst this, she couldn’t stop thinking about that cursed piece of paper and the curse she had written on it. The thought of it filled her with profound sadness and anguish. It hurt to doubt the kindness right before her eyes and to be swayed by her own crooked handwriting.  

She felt sorry toward him.  

“Hold me…”  

“Cordelia?”  

“I was so scared. The wind was howling, and suddenly there was lightning and rain… There were loud crashing noises in my ears… and you weren’t there. You should’ve been right next to me, but you weren’t. I was so scared because you weren’t there.”  

Could there be a love confession as foolish as this one?  

Even so, she was desperate. She blamed all her doubts on the weather and all her pathetic actions on his absence. Still, once she spat out those lies, she felt a little better than before.  

She knew him well. Levin was undoubtedly a kind person, someone who would listen to such nonsense and still say, “Yes, yes,” as if to soothe her. As expected, he immediately apologized, saying, “Alright, it’s all my fault. I’m sorry.” Even though he had done nothing wrong. Foolishly.  

“Ah, wait, no. You’ll get hurt in the water…”  

“Hngh…”  

She wanted to hold him. After grasping his center, which was pressed beneath her hips, she aligned it below. Despite his urgent attempts to stop her, she lowered her hips. The insertion was tight, perhaps because she hadn’t fully prepared, but surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult to take him all in. It was thanks to the oil she had applied earlier. Levin, who slid in all at once, let out a sigh and gripped her waist. She could feel his body trembling with pleasure.  

“You promised me this morning, hngh… Hurry, do it.” 

She urged.  

She stretched out her arms and gently embraced his head. As she did, she felt Levin, buried between her chest, take a deep breath. He hesitated for a moment at her words, then opened his mouth wide and latched onto her chest like a baby. He softly sucked on the flesh, swirling his tongue inside. It felt like a hot snake was stirring up her skin. As she moaned, she felt his member inside her grow even larger.  

“Ahngh…! Ah…”  

The pleasure, proportional to the pain of her flesh stretching, made her twist her hips and tighten her insides. At the same time, Levin began thrusting his hips roughly upwards.  

“Ah, ah… Ah!”  

“Ugh… Cordelia…”  

With the rough splashing of water, her body bounced up and down. The sensation of her inner walls being scraped out and then filled again, and the hot, hard flesh column rubbing and stabbing below, turned her mind completely blank.  

It was intentional. She had reached a point where she couldn’t entertain any bad thoughts or negative imaginations anymore. All that remained in her head was the overwhelming pleasure of merging bodies with him and the fierce affection she felt within that union.  

“Haa… Hah… Ngh.”  

Levin urgently pressed his lips to hers. Then, more roughly than usual, he delved into her mouth, sucking and rubbing the flesh inside. The dizzying sensation made her entire body feel as though it melted, only to reform again.

Ah, it would be so wonderful if she could just become one with this man like this. Then, all doubts, all insecurities—everything—could be erased.

Caught in a wave of regret, she clung to him even more desperately, as if she were yearning for him. One hand dug into the back of his neck and hair, while the other caressed his firm, muscular back.

Even though they were pressed so closely together, something still felt lacking. It was as if she had become a person driven mad by thirst. More aroused than ever before, she clung to him with fervor. Initially startled, Levin gradually matched her rhythm.

Levin, who had been thrusting his hips upward, eventually grabbed her hips and began driving downward with force. The intense friction of their bodies colliding sent a searing column plunging deep inside her.

“Ahh…! Ah!”

If they were outside, someone might have noticed something unusual. Her insides ached as they always did when she was dripping wet below. But this time, it felt as if something had burst within her. Suspended on the peak of climax, she let out a loud moan. Her voice was higher-pitched than usual. Calling out to him as his movements grew faster and faster, she urged him toward release.

“Ah, darling…! Hurry, hngh…!”

It wasn’t his name. It was the title they had agreed to use starting this morning.

At her words, she felt Levin’s body flinch slightly. Then, holding her tightly as if he would crush her, he drove deeply into her, stopping at her very core as his body trembled.

“Hah… ngh…”

A hot, sticky fluid began to pour into her, filling her insides as if it would overflow. It was a long climax.

Through half-closed eyes, she glanced downward. In the bathwater, she could see the milky-white liquid spreading slowly. Shuddering with the aftershocks of her climax, she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

“‘Darling,’ you say. How adorable.”

Still catching his breath, he gently pulled her away to look at her and spoke. His gaze was tender. His expression overflowed with affection, as though love itself were dripping from him. Overwhelmed with emotion once again, she looked at him with tearful eyes.

“How am I supposed to scold you now? Were you planning to drive me insane today?”

In response to his playful question, she lightly pressed her lips to his. Then, she opened her mouth to speak.

“I love you.”

At her words, his golden eyes widened. Watching his wavering gaze, she pushed her feelings out once more.

“I love you, truly. I mean it.”

Those words were also the answer she had found to the questions that had plagued her today.

It was a choice—to no longer believe the contents of that note, but instead to trust only in this man before her and the reality he gave her.

For a moment, she saw Levin’s eyes waver. He must have sensed it too—that something about her was strange today. But being the kind and gentle person he was, he wouldn’t press her about it.

And that was the image of her husband that she knew. He always handed her every choice and adjusted himself entirely to her decisions, never prying into anything. He treated her with utmost care and caution. She loved his deep patience, his love, and his tender consideration more than anyone else.

“What about you? Do you love me?”

She asked, looking at him as he stood there frozen like a fool. Of course, the expression on Levin’s face said it all. His cheeks and ears flushed red, his neck turning blotchy with color—it all clearly screamed affirmation.

At her question, he nodded heavily. Then, closing his eyes, he pressed his lips to her forehead, her cheek, and finally her lips in turn. Each time his soft lips touched her, it felt as though she were receiving a sacred blessing, as if she could feel the purity of his love.

“This feeling… I don’t think it can be expressed in words. Such small words could never contain it.”

He spoke as he raised a hand to brush back her damp hair. She mirrored his action, wanting to be completely in sync with him at this moment. Perhaps noticing her feelings, his half-curved smile deepened with affection.

“Still, I want to hear you say you love me.”

She spoke then, saying she needed to hear those simple words. It didn’t have to be anything difficult—just those words.

At that, Levin gave a bittersweet smile, as if he had just heard a heartbreaking plea. Then, as he leaned closer, he finally answered.

“Yes. I love you.”

Eventually, his warm lips covered hers. Within that embrace, his tongue softly crossed over, bringing with it an overwhelming wave of affection. It was a confirmation—a clear answer. It was proof that he felt the same as she did. Or perhaps, it was a vow to hold her with even greater love than what she had just expressed.

‘This is enough…’

She closed her eyes and savored the tender sensation. With him and his love, she thought, there was nothing left to fear.

After all, the things that had once made her uneasy were merely remnants of the past. They were events that no longer had any influence over her present.

Besides, they had reconciled. And now, they loved each other so deeply. What more could possibly frighten her? Even if, in the past, she and he had failed to trust one another and had harbored resentment, that was no longer the case. That alone was enough.

Feeling at peace once more, she clung tightly to her own heaven.