"You confuse sotis." Arwen suddenly spoke softly, searching for sothing in his eyes. "The things happening between us are too confusing. I don't know how should I take it."
"Am I making it unbearable for you? Are you uncomfortable?" Aiden knew he had been losing his control around her too often. He knew that it might scare her away, but he couldn't help it. Maybe he underestimated the effect she had on him or overestimated his self-control because there seems no way he could hold back.
Arwen might have been unsure of many things, but she was very sure that she wasn't uncomfortable with any of them —neither with him nor the proximity they shared, and definitely not the kisses they have co to share so far. "Not uncomfortable, but it often overwhelms . Your words sound more and more like promises and I don't know if it's overreading them."
"It's not making you uncomfortable, Moon, and that's all that matters," Aiden smiled as her words washed his worries away. Cupping the side of her face, he added, "It's still too early, and I won't ask you to believe just yet. Give it ti. The overwhelming feelings will wear off, and you will realize you never misread anything."
Arwen leaned in to his touch subconsciously. Looking into his eyes, she nodded. "Fine. I will let ti decide it for ," she said, her voice a tone softer as she t Aiden's gaze. After a brief pause, she asked, "But before that there is sothing that I have been aning to ask all this while. Why did you marry ?
What do you expect from … and this marriage of ours?"
"Everything," Aiden said, without any hesitation.
The word landed heavily between them. Arwen's breath hitched as she tried to process its aning. "Everything?" she echoed, a note of uncertainty in her voice.
Aiden nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. "Yes, everything," he repeated, his tone ca steady but not overwhelming. "I thought I made this very clear on the day when we signed the certificate. I want all of you —your heart, your trust, your passion. And I will give you the sa. Nothing less."
Taking a step closer, he lowered his voice as he continued, "I know this might not be easy, and if you need ti to accept it, take all the ti you need. But know this —there would be no pretend play between us, Moon. No hiding. What we have will be real, raw and undeniable."
Arwen felt her heart race. The intensity of his words was overwhelming, but then the gentleness with which he spoke cald her nerves. For the first ti in her life, she felt the depths of soone's intentions —which was firm, but not forceful.
Swallowing the lump she felt in her throat, she pushed him slightly and sidestepped before turning away from him. "Has it always been like that? Your thoughts towards ?"
Once again, Aiden didn't hesitate. "Always," he said simply, making Arwen turn back to face him.
She opened her mouth to say sothing but then closed it without, not finding anything quite appropriate. She had always thought of asking him what he wanted from the deal of marriage they had made, but she never realized that when she would get the answer from him, she would be left nothing but speechless.
"I never thought to keep us a secret. But I do need so ti. Before letting the world know about us, I want to tell my parents about it. But even before that, I want to confirm sothing with you." Arwen spoke, adding, "I don't doubt your words, but I want to ask again. Is that really that you want?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because I rember you saying that there has always been one woman in your heart —the muse of all your emotions. If it's her you want, you can't possibly have . Neither can I promise you all that you have asked for. If I give you my heart, trust and my passion, I just don't want these three things back.
I also want sothing else —sothing that's even greater than those three," she said, and Aiden raised a brow at her.
"And what is that?" Aiden asked, intrigued. As long as she asks for it, she would have it —even if it was his life she asked for.
Arwen stepped closer, locking her gaze with Aiden. "I want you … and your fidelity," she began, her voice firm yet laced with vulnerability. "I know loyalty is tough to promise but it's what matters most to now. If I am giving you everything, I wouldn't tolerate the thought of you even thinking about soone else. I just couldn't."
Her words hung between them, a little heavy with unspoken fears. What if he couldn't give her what she was asking for? The uncertainty gnawed at her — what if the woman who once held his heart was too hard for him to forget? Wouldn't she lose the chance she might have had with him?
Yet, after everything she had endured, she wasn't willing to gamble her heart on soone who couldn't give her everything in return.
Before Arwen could dwell over it further, Aiden pulled her close, tilting her chin so their eyes t. She hadn't realized she had been avoiding his gaze until now.
'As always, so brave in her words, yet unsure in her heart,' Aiden thought to himself as he internally shook his head. If this had been the past, he might have teased her, flicked her forehead for even daring to think he wouldn't accept such an easy request. But knowing that she had forgotten him, he couldn't bring himself to tease her.
The weight of forgotten mories still stung deeply, but if she was by his side for the future, he could bear it.
"Moon," Aiden began, his voice steady and reassuring, "fidelity is not tough to promise —it's basic. If a man can't even offer his loyalty to his woman, how could he ever be worthy of her?" He gave her a gentle smile while his thumb moved to brush her cheek. Aiden said, "If that's the one thing you want from , Arwen, you don't need to worry. It's already yours."
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