𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 - 𝐏𝐭. 𝟒

As you both sat down, the woman breathed in deeply before saying, "To answer your previous question... I'm Rui Zephyrin's fiancée ."

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Your eyes stared at the woman, waiting for her to tell you she was telling a terrible joke. When she said nothing more, you asked her with a shaky voice, "W-What?"

"It is the truth. We have been engaged since childhood. He's my betrothed. My name is Riza Hanan."

Hanan. Nuwa Hanan, the oil baron. A household name.

You suddenly felt disoriented, as if the ground beneath you had been forcefully ripped apart, leaving you free falling. Why would Rui keep this a secret from you? Why was he courting you if he was already engaged?

"My brother informed me Rui was seen with a woman, frequently visiting this apartment. As it turns out, he was telling the truth.", the woman replied with a sigh, a bitter look on her face.

Her baby blue eyes fell on your ring, catching her attention.

"...Is that alexandrite?", she said with a gasp, seemingly mesmerized, before her eyes slowly filled with tears.

"Seems like Rui really likes you..."

You looked down at the ring stiffly, noticing the purplish-red color of the ring in the candlelight. It always changed colors under different lights, and you had asked Rui about the gemstone's name, to which he always answered with something along the lines of 'It's just some gemstone' with a shrug.

You now understood why he refused to give you a concrete answer.

Alexandrite was extremely costly as it was one of the rarest gemstones in the world. Rui knew you would've refused it if you knew. You felt terribly foolish to not have realized it earlier.

"Listen, I'm not going to blame you since you didn't know anything, like me. I-I won't mind if you become his mistress. As long as he marries me, I'm fine. I don't expect anything in return, given how sickly I am and all... just please don't... please keep it private. I think I deserve some respect in this matter.", the pale woman finished with a shaky voice.

You looked down, feeling humiliated, eyes brimming with tears. So this was how it looked like, didn't it? You were just a mistress, someone fooled into thinking she could be a swan when she was just a sparrow.

You felt your heart being ripped apart.

That night you cried into your pillow, crying for the first time in a very long while.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

The next day, when Rui came to have lunch, he noticed the morose look on your face. You didn't bother to greet him or look at him in the face and avoided his attempt at kissing you. He was about to ask you the reason for your behavior when you turned to him, extending your hand, holding the ring towards him.

Rui looked confused and alarmed.

"Y/n, what's the matter? Is there something wrong with the ring?"

"Don't you think you have something to tell me?", your voice cracked, your eyes filling up with hot tears. You hated yourself at that moment for being so emotional.

Rui quickly grabbed your hand with his own, his other hand going around your waist, pulling you close to him. His grey eyes that you so loved looked at you with worry.

"Honey, tell me what's going on.", he asked with a firm voice.

You felt disgusted.

"Don't you dare call me that."

You pulled yourself away from the man you once considered to be your future husband.

"Riza Hanan. Does that ring a bell?", you asked harshly through gritted teeth, looking away from him.

Rui's eyes widened with realization. He breathed in through his teeth.

"I see..."

"I see? That's all you're going to say?!", you asked loudly. "So I was always supposed to become a mistress, huh? That was why you- you gave me this.", you said as you glared at the ring. "And everything else. To placate me. When you could've just come out and said it."

You let out a tired sigh.

"Just take it ba-"

You failed to finish your sentence as you found Rui's soft lips pressed against yours, his warm hands firmly gripping both sides of your face. His tongue entered your mouth, as he harshly stole your breath, his warm breath mixing in with yours. His fingers gently wiped away your tears. He tasted so painfully sweet.

After what seemed like forever, he finally decided to let go of your lips, licking them with delicate strokes.

You stood dazed, breathing hard, your ravaged lips stained red, slick with both of your saliva. Your eyes began brimming with fresh tears.

Rui cupped your face, looking deeply into your eyes. His forehead rested on yours, his soft black hair almost tickling you.

"Y/n, my love, listen to me carefully. You will be my wife. You are my choice. I never intended to make you a mistress. So don't ever say such things."

You were about to protest when he shushed you with a finger on your lips.

"Yes, that woman, Riza Hanan, was betrothed to me when we were younger. Our parents had arranged it. I never loved her. She's practically a stranger to me. Believe me when I say this: I never had the intention of marrying her."

Rui pecked you on the lips, silently slipping the ring back on your finger. His hands went around your shoulders and began to rub soothing circles on your back. You had no choice but to rest your head on his chest and listen to his rhythmic heartbeat. He swayed you gently, calming you down.

"Then... what are you going to do about the betrothal?", you asked quietly, sniffing. Rui couldn't help but peck your now red nose.

"Don't worry about it, love. I'm going to take care of it. Just... don't ever doubt my love for you. I'll never dishonor you like that. I'm very sorry.", he said in a reassuring voice, patting your back as he gently rested his chin on your head.

Unseen to you, his eyes glinted with a mysterious light.