Arwen didn't say anything, but she could feel the knife he was carrying plunged into his heart. It was twisting painfully, carving wounds that had long scarred over but never truly healed. Yet he bore all the pain with a quiet resilience, as if he had mastered the art of enduring suffering over the years.
Reaching out, she held his hand in hers, her touch soft and deliberate. Slowly, she patted the back of his hand, her voice coming a gentle balm. "No matter how much power and pride the Winslow na carries, to , it's aningless without you. It's you who matters, Aiden —with or without the na. Just you."
Aiden froze, her words cutting through the bitterness that had clung to him like a second skin. His gaze which was shadowed with anger monts before, softened as he stared at her. "And it's you who matters to . You are the only family I have in this world. After my mother, it's just you and no one else," he said, holding a serene mont with her.
Arwen wanted to feel warm from those words, but she could tell that his words today were not as simple as they seed. It was not so promise he was giving to her, rather it was a wound he was unravelling for her to see —raw and unhealed.
All the while he spoke, her eyes not once left his face. She stared at him as if she were there, witnessing all his sufferings. It seed more painful than she had imagined. To tell her everything, he looked like he was scraping the depths of himself, forcing himself to relive the agony he had long buried. She thought it would be fine, but now she no longer felt confident.
Not because she thought he would bla her, but because she knew that if he got hurt because of her, she wouldn't be able to carry the guilt.
Pressing her hand over his lips, she shook her head, stopping him from continuing any further. "I am sorry," she said, feeling her eyes sting from the unshed tears. "I shouldn't have asked you sothing that I knew would make you uncomfortable."
Aiden didn't say anything. He just sat still, watching her. At that mont, he didn't look like that powerful man she had co to understand he was, instead, he allowed her to see the vulnerable side of him that maybe no one has ever seen up until now.
She could no longer look at him like that. Before she realized it, her arms went to wrap around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "I don't want to know your past, not anymore," she said, making herself understand the sa. "Just knowing you in the present is enough."
Aiden still didn't speak and finding his silence heartbreaking, she pulled away to persuade him. But before she could speak anything, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her lips. It was just a touch at first, but knowing what he wanted, she reached to interlace her fingers in his hair, deepening the kiss further.
This kiss was not of desire but of a promise that can't be explained. And Arwen was willing to give it blindly to him. Not because he needed it at the mont, but because it was 'him' who was asking her. As long as it was him who was asking, she would even willingly give away her life.
She didn't know when he beca so important to her, but after today, she knew he was soone she couldn't see getting her. No matter what.
The realization scared her. She feared that she was overgiving herself, but when she noted all that he was willing to give her without her asking, she felt like she was still falling short in comparison to him.
It wasn't like she was comparing, but rather she was being mindful that tomorrow when he looks back, he won't regret her, even if it is for a second.
Arwen didn't realize how long they kissed like that, but I never felt enough. Only when she started feeling short of breath she stopped. She didn't pull away, instead, she rested her head upon his and breathed in the sa air as his.
"A-Are you upset with ?" she asked when slowly her breath eased. Her eyes remained closed but she could feel his gaze, staring deeply at her.
When he didn't speak, her guilt multiplied. She switched the roles and realized if it was her at his place and he would have asked her sothing that she was uncomfortable to tell, then she might have blad him. But he never put her into such a situation.
Not like he never had a chance. He had, but still, he chose not to. Yet here she was, she couldn't hold back her curiosity even for a day.
"Aiden, I —"
"I can never be upset with you moon." Interrupting Arwen, Aiden spoke, his fingers slowly caressing her face. His actions were as gentle as she ever rembered —not even carrying the smallest hint of bla. As if he didn't the pain she had knowingly brought him.
How can he be so forgiving? Shouldn't he at least bla her for being inconsiderate towards him?
Opening her eyes, she looked into his and asked, "Why?" she asked.
The remnants of the past sorrows remained in his gaze but he still smiled at her. "Because what you said is right. Being my wife you deserve to know it all. I cannot refuse to answer your questions just because it would hurt . You —"
Before he could say more, Arwen pressed her lips softly over him, shushing him for saying more. "Enough! You don't have to be so upright with every ti. It makes feel like I am bullying you and I don't feel good like that."
While she said that she avoided looking into his eyes. But Aiden hooked his finger down his chin and slowly lifted her face to make her look at him. "You don't have to feel bad about anything, Moon. You never did sothing that you shouldn't do. Even today your curiosity was in place, it's my incapability that I couldn't bring myself to answer you. You were right to ask about my past because you have the right to know it all —both my past and present."
Arwen didn't know what to say. In just one blink, he wiped away all her guilt.
"Why are you so nice to ? It makes feel like we have known each other for far longer than I can rember," she said, her eyes searching his face for a hint that could prove her words to be the truth.
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