90 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 90
90
===
Cesare doesn't lie to Aileen. He chooses silence over falsehood, so he has always been truthful, at least to Aileen.
This time, too, Cesare must be sincere. If Aileen promises him, Cesare will tell her everything she wants to know.
But Aileen couldn't promise that. It would shake the very foundations of her being.
Her mother had always taught her that the lives of mother and daughter belonged to The Prince. Even the last words she left for Aileen were for The Prince.
"My beloved Lily."
"Live for The Prince."
Her eyes, in a face ravaged by illness, with parched lips moving weakly, were filled with a strange gleam. That gaze, a mixture of jealousy, anger, and love, was etched into Aileen's heart, taking root deep within. It was a curse-like testament.
But Aileen willingly accepted her mother's curse. Even if it hadn't been her mother, she would have lived for The Prince anyway.
That's why Aileen couldn't lie and say she wouldn't die for Cesare.
In the lengthening silence, Cesare smiled quietly. A twisted smile hung on his lips, as if he knew from the start that Aileen wouldn't be able to answer.
The moment she saw that smile, words flowed out of her mouth before her mind could even register it.
"...You too, Cesare."
It was an instinctive feeling. It was the same sensation she had felt before, when she saw his smooth palm without a single scar, and when she asked how he knew about the wedding ring in the diary. Once again, that day's intuition seized Aileen intensely.
"If you promise not to die for me."
Aileen slowly moved her lips and spoke.
"Then I'll promise too."
She thought it was ridiculous even as the idea flashed through her mind, but saying it out loud was beyond absurd. Cesare giving his life for her? Even Cesare would find it preposterous.
She thought the sky falling was more likely, but Aileen couldn't stop speaking. She didn't understand her own heart, but at this moment, she desperately wanted to hear a definite answer from him. She wanted a promise of life, not death.
After finishing her words, Aileen lowered her gaze, avoiding Cesare's eyes. She was afraid of how Cesare would react to her nonsense. She just hoped he wouldn't laugh too much.
She waited anxiously for his reaction, but for some reason, she heard laughter. Aileen carefully raised her head.
Cesare was laughing. At first glance, it seemed like he was laughing with amusement, but the end of his laughter was chilling. Aileen's shoulders hunched even further.
"This is a problem."
He looked at Aileen with eyes curved into crescents from laughter. Then, he whispered words she couldn't understand.
"I've already broken that promise."
Aileen couldn't understand what he was saying. She wondered if she had misheard him, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.
Cesare pulled his chair closer. Aileen was almost trapped between his legs. He took Aileen's hand without asking for permission.
It was a touch that seemed careless, but the hand he held was gently caressing Aileen. As if just holding it wasn't enough, Cesare took off his leather glove.
Skin touched skin. Just holding hands sent a tingling sensation through her lower abdomen. She was strangely aware of the firm thighs that trapped her legs. Aileen's gaze wavered, lost.
She had only been intimate with him twice since their marriage. After that, Cesare was so busy that even sleeping in the same bed was rare. Most of the time, Aileen would fall asleep first, and he would briefly come into the bedroom, then get up and leave before her.
Aileen swallowed unconsciously. Unlike Aileen, who was already trembling with nervousness, he simply lowered his gaze and played with Aileen's hand without a word.
He stroked her fingers, rubbed the tips of her nails. Then, he slowly intertwined their fingers. Her fingers were tightly interlocked. Was it because her senses were heightened? Even just having her hand caressed made her feel strangely aroused.
After playing with Aileen's hand as he pleased for a while, Cesare suddenly pulled her hand.
"Ah!"
Aileen made a surprised sound, and at the same time, her upper body leaned forward, and then their lips met. They kissed naturally, as if they had promised to do so from the beginning.
He pushed his tongue between her parted lips, and he held her intertwined hands so tightly that they felt slightly sore. Aileen shuddered at the tingling sensation that came with the slight pain.
With one hand, Cesare intertwined their fingers, and with the other, he caressed Aileen's back. Each time his long fingers traced her straight spine, Aileen let out a small moan.
"Hngh..."
As a moan escaped through her slightly parted lips, Cesare immediately covered them again with a kiss, swallowing even that. Her sensitive palate was carelessly rubbed, making her tailbone tingle.
Aileen, her entire mouth plundered by the intruder, felt dizzy from the lack of breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. Their lips parted for a brief moment. As soon as she inhaled, the kiss resumed.
She felt like she was losing her mind in his kiss. A thought suddenly flashed through her hazy mind.
'In the end, you're not going to tell me anything.'
Was she going to be swept away like this again? Of course, Aileen hadn't met his expectations, hadn't fulfilled Cesare's request...
Aileen, helplessly dragged along by the kiss, gently pushed against Cesare's chest with her free hand. She also tried to untangle their intertwined fingers. It was a signal to stop kissing and talk.
But Cesare seemed to have taken it differently. He didn't allow Aileen's refusal. With his hand not letting go, Aileen called his name the moment their lips parted.
"Cesare..."
But he didn't answer. There was no chance to say anything. Aileen was kissed so thoroughly that she couldn't find any room to breathe.
When the kiss finally ended, Aileen looked at Cesare with eyes full of things to say. He gently stroked Aileen's wet lips with his hand and said.
"It's okay if you keep not knowing."
It would have been okay if she was living as his child in the past. But she didn't want to now. When Aileen shook her head, Cesare looked straight into Aileen's eyes. It was a gaze that scrutinized her, trying to find out if there was something he didn't know.
"What do you want to know so badly? When you can't even promise."
Aileen, feeling unfairly treated, immediately retorted.
"Ce, Cesare, you can't promise either."
"So you won't?"
"Yes..."
He chuckled briefly. Soon, the expression disappeared from Cesare's face. Aileen froze at his expressionless face. She belatedly realized that she had been too presumptuous.
"I'm sorry."
Even as she immediately apologized, Cesare remained silent. He just looked at Aileen like that for a while. It wasn't a long time, but it felt like an eternity to Aileen. Unable to bear the sharp silence, she moved her lips.
"I just..."
At her timid mumbling, Cesare covered his eyes with his hand. After briefly shielding his red eyes, Cesare got up from his chair and turned around. He walked to the window, looked at the forest beyond the glass, and then turned back to Aileen.
By then, Aileen was completely frozen. She was so nervous that she felt like her body was turning cold.
Cesare looked down at Aileen and opened his arms. His eyes, once as sharp as honed blades, were now blunted. Aileen quickly got up and hugged him. Cesare whispered in a low voice, making excuses.
"I didn't mean to scare you."
The hand stroking her trembling body was gentle. It was the Cesare Aileen knew well. How long had she been in his arms? Cesare murmured to himself.
"It's difficult. I think you used to listen better when you were younger."
Now that she was an adult, it was only natural that she would change. But she swallowed the desire to answer, sensing the situation. Instead, she said something else.
"I wasn't scared."
It wasn't really that she was scared of Cesare and froze. She was just afraid that Cesare's affection for her had waned, that was the fear she felt at that moment.
It was a relationship without the certainty of immutability. An endlessly one-sided, hierarchical relationship with a clearly defined power dynamic. Everything could only be obtained with his permission. Hidden truths, affection...
There was nothing Aileen could possess on her own.
At the sudden surge of emotion, Aileen stood on tiptoe with all her might. Then, she pressed her lips to the corner of Cesare's mouth.
Originally, she intended to kiss him, but it was a misplaced position due to her trembling. Cesare narrowed his eyes slightly.
Aileen, watching his reaction, gently kissed his lips this time. Until then, Cesare had been letting Aileen do as she pleased.
She couldn't have affection, but she could still express it. Of course, this was only possible within the range that Cesare allowed. Aileen craved the expression of affection that she had been granted.
"Hold me..."
