Conquering His Cold Heart

Before Vincent could remind Tilla that he wasn’t going to leave her side even if she didn’t want his affection, Caspian spoke first.

“Other fellow maids?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and knitted his brows in contempt. “Do you mean there are others who could still harm you or Anastasia?” he asked coldly, almost ready to run out of the room and hunt those maids down.

Tilla let out a shaky breath and replied somewhat hesitantly, “There was another one who came along with Marcella to harass me. They were jealous of me and Her Majesty because they thought that we stole the most eligible bachelors from this Kingdom. But I don’t know if there are others who might feel the same way.”

“They were jealous of Anastasia too…” Caspian repeated Tilla’s words while frowning angrily. “How dare they think that they have the right to be jealous of my wife?”

For a split second, Caspian thought of dismissing all the maids from the castle. However, he knew that it wasn’t possible because, in the end, he needed the maids to keep the castle from falling apart.

There were some chores that only the female servants were proficient in and they couldn’t easily be replaced by the male servants. Even if they were replaceable, it wasn’t ideal to have all males working in the castle.

So, he quickly shook off that idea and questioned Tilla, “Do you know the name of the other maid who harassed you yesterday?”

“Her name is Beatrice,” Tilla replied. She didn’t want Beatrice to come after her again or go after the Queen to exact her revenge on behalf of her friend.

.....

“Beatrice…” Caspian nodded and then looked at Vincent. “I will go and find her. You should wait on Tilla until Holly comes back.”

“Thank you!” Vincent gave a polite bow to the King as the latter stepped out of the room and then disappeared from view.

And as soon as Caspian was gone, Vincent sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked at the pretty fool who was hiding things from him for all this while. And he reprimanded her, “Were you trying to push me away because they threatened to do something to you?”

Tilla couldn’t meet Vincent’s eyes when he guessed somewhat correctly. “They did threaten me saying they would hurt those who I cared for. I assumed they would hurt Anna or Martha and Holly if I didn’t agree to stay away from you. But that happened only at the night.”

“Then why were you–” Vincent suddenly recalled how Tilla had sustained wounds on her knees, palms, and her back in the morning. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes to control his erupting rage. And he asked in a soft whisper, “They were the ones to push you down? You didn’t fall on your own, did you?”

Tilla gulped hard and nodded. “I didn’t see who it was at that time. But I had heard them backbiting about me in the bathhouse. They were saying that they wanted to push me out of your way. So, it wasn’t hard to guess that they were the ones who deliberately and quite literally pushed me to the ground.”

Vincent suddenly placed his cold palm on Tilla’s cheek and gently caressed her lower lip. He wanted to scold her for being a fool and not informing him about what had happened even when he practically forced her to.

But instead, he softened his gaze and said in a low whisper, “I am glad that the Queen somehow came to your rescue. And I am glad that I was still roaming around the castle when Martha stumbled upon me. You should consider yourself lucky because if a single thing would have gone wrong then…”

“Then I wouldn’t be here with you…” Tilla finally looked into the pair of sad red eyes that were looking down at her as she said what he couldn’t.

Vincent heaved a deep sigh and leaned down. He gave a soft and cold peck on Tilla’s lips and rested his forehead on hers.

He closed his eyes and wistfully whispered, “You know you don’t have to push me away anymore, right? Caspian and I will take care of everyone who might potentially harm you or the Queen. And I will make sure that no one, and I mean not a single soul will dare to look down upon you.”

Tilla couldn’t explain how glad she felt when she heard those reassuring words. Her heart swelled with happiness because there was someone other than Anastasia who was there for her in this foreign land.

At the same time, she also felt a little nervous because she didn’t know if this feeling of secureness and happiness would last her lifetime.

‘Even if this feeling is fleeting, I want to savor this moment,’ Tilla thought to herself and slowly lifted her hand.

She slowly wrapped her palm around his nape and pulled him even closer.

Vincent opened his eyes to check if Tilla was trying to kiss him or if it was just him who was getting that vibe. But when he saw the yearning in her eyes and her parted lips that were inviting him in, he instantly swooped in and made his claim on those beautiful lips.

At first, he tried to be as gentle as he could. However, with every soft jab from her warm lips, he was tempted to go deeper into her mouth.

And before he knew it, he slipped his palm below her head and pried her lips open wider. The sweetness that suddenly flooded his mouth reminded him of the first time he had kissed Tilla. He had thought that he would never get a similar rush in his heart again.

However, he was ecstatic to know that he was wrong. He felt an even greater rush this time.

‘Is this… Is this what they call love? Have I finally found the one for me?’ the thought came at the back of his head when he felt Tilla’s warm fingers softly dancing around his neck.

He could feel his cold frozen blood rushing towards his ears and he couldn’t help but kiss Tilla even vigorously when he felt a slight tingle of warmth in his chest.

“Mmmm…” Tilla moaned in pain when his excitement was a little too much for her current state to bear.

Vincent swiftly stopped kissing her and lifted his head. He rested his forehead on hers again and chuckled like a hopeless fool. He was feeling over the moon right now, and most importantly, he was feeling alive.

“Why are you laughing?” Tilla asked while massaging his shoulder.

Vincent lifted his head and looked into her eyes. The remnants of his smile were still on his face when he asked Tilla, “The doctor said that you need to fully rest for a whole month. Come to my mansion and live with me. I will take very good care of you.”