Conquering His Cold Heart

Liana was resting her head on Percival’s arm while her thighs were straddling his thighs. She was delightedly recalling and admiring all the small gestures that her husband did during their pleasant session. There was this constant soft smile on her face as she rewound her memories.

Percival, on the other hand, was lost in some other deep thoughts that didn’t involve his passionate moment with his wife just now.

Liana caught up on that when she looked at her husband’s serious-looking face and lost eyes. She gently placed her palm on his sculpted bare chest and asked, “What’s the matter? What are you thinking?”

Percival looked as though he was suddenly startled out of his daze. He then looked at his wife and gave her a soft smile while saying, “Nothing.”

Liana, however, knew that it wasn’t ‘nothing’. She knew better than that. So, she asked again, “Were you thinking about your brother?”

Percival’s facial expression changed the moment his wife mentioned his brother. He looked a little displeased when he replied, “Let’s not talk about the others right now.”

Hearing that answer from Percival, Liana also looked slightly irked.

And she said in a complaining tone, “Val, we’ve been living together for a couple of centuries already. You know that century is a very long time, right? Even for vampires. So, why is it that the moment I bring up a conversation about your family, you try to avoid talking about them?”

.....

Percival smiled while his eyes gazed at a distance from the open window. The longing was evident in his eyes. “You know it’s not like that,” he said in a much softer and loving tone. “I have already told you everything that there’s to share about my family with you.”

And as if he was trying to make Liana recall everything about his family, he iterated, “Both my parents are in eternal slumber, while my brother is the current King. You already know that.”

“But that’s not everything!” Liana emphasized in a bit agitated tone. However, she quickly collected herself and sighed.

She was very well aware that Percival didn’t find it comfortable to talk about his family because he felt immensely guilty for having faked his own death and staying out of contact with his brother for all this time.

And it was at times like this that she questioned if she was being a burden to her husband or if he was genuinely happy being with her.

Seeing his longing eyes that were still vacantly staring into the distance, Liana couldn’t help but confront his feelings. “Val, can I ask you something?”

Percival finally turned to look into her eyes when he sensed the serious tone in her voice. “What do you want to know?”

Liana suddenly sat up on the bed. Her wavy red hair floated down her shoulders and covered a side of her bare chest as she leaned a little to look at her husband’s face.

For a moment, she hesitated to be direct about her question. But since the question was stuck like a throne in her chest that was only growing with time, she decided to let it out. Her eyes turned dark when she asked in a shaky breath, “Do you regret leaving your family and your Kingdom for me?”

“No!” Percival immediately exclaimed. He also sat up and raised his hand to tuck his wife’s beautiful hair behind her ears. He lovingly looked at her face and cupped her cheeks.

Then he said in a comforting manner, “I have never once regretted choosing you over everything and everyone else. Never. Do you hear me?”

The sullen look on Liana’s face suddenly lit up when she heard him confess. It wasn’t that she was afraid that he would actually say that he regretted his decision. She just thought that it would be very selfish of her to keep her husband bound to her if he regretted leaving everything behind just so he could be with her.

If he had said that he regretted leaving his legacy behind, then she would have agreed to do anything to make up for her husband’s discomfort – even leave his side if he wanted that. After all, the memories that they had already made along the span of a couple of centuries were more than enough to last till eternity if she cherished them well.

“Are you sure that I am not being a nuisance to you?” Liana asked again, just to make sure that her husband wasn’t denying regretting his decision just because he didn’t want to make her feel bad.

“Liana, you’re not…”

Liana held her husband’s wrists and said in a calm manner, “If I am coming in between you and your past then you can be open about it. I won’t blame you if you want to go back to how things were before we met. You gave me a second life, centuries’ worth of memories, and countless happy moments. That’s more than enough for–”

Percival abruptly kissed Liana on her lips to make her stop saying such hurtful things.

Liana closed her eyes and gently pulled away from the kiss. She was about to continue what she was saying.

However, Percival spoke first. “Even if I wanted to, things can never go back to how they were before. And I don’t even want that in the first place.”

To make himself sound more convincing, he further explained while his hands gently traced Liana’s slender arms. “Choosing you wasn’t a decision that I made on a whim, Liana. I had given a good thought before doing what I did.”

“A very good thought indeed…” Percival’s brows knitted together on their own as he suddenly found himself getting sucked into the whirlpool of guilt.

He had knowingly pushed all of his responsibilities to his younger brother who had probably never even imagined that one day, all the responsibilities of the King would fall on his shoulders.