My Secret Flower - Episode 16

A thick tongue invaded my mouth, probing and thrusting, thoroughly exploring every corner. My breath grew ragged, and a soft moan escaped my lips involuntarily. His hand, roaming down my back, found the ties of my dress and loosened them. The dress, which had been clinging to my body, now hung loosely, making it easier to breathe than before.

After the wet, lingering kiss, I expected him to caress me as he had yesterday, but I was wrong. He grabbed my thighs and pulled me down, my back hitting the sofa as I ended up in an ambiguously reclined position.

“Ash…?”

“I need to check your condition first.”

Then he lifted my legs. The situation was simply embarrassing.

His hazel eyes rolled upward, meeting my gaze.

I’d felt it since yesterday, but seeing him in this moment, I was certain he wasn’t just a gentle partner. Usually, he was like a docile lamb, but when aroused, he was like a beast in heat.

People say that when you’re in love, you become possessed by a hungry beast. He must be in that state. But he wouldn’t harm me. Rather, I thought it was because he felt sexually attracted to me and couldn’t control his boiling desires.

It was quite gratifying to prove that I was attractive as a woman.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

But something felt off now. His eyes were clearly ready to devour me, but there was an atmosphere of facing some great conflict.

Wondering if there was a problem, I asked cautiously, and he sighed deeply in self-deprecation before sitting me up straight. I didn’t understand the reason for his actions, so I just widened my eyes and tilted my head.

“Ash?”

“I feel like I want to grab yesterday’s me by the collar and slam him. I also realized that Lishua feels less pain than others.”

“What does that mean? Me?”

“You don’t feel it? It should be quite stinging.”

He looked at me pitifully and grumbled. I could feel that my lower area was a little swollen, but it didn’t hurt. Muscle pain was making things harder for me.

‘Maybe the muscle pain is masking the pain in my swollen lower body.’

More than that, I didn’t expect him to stop so easily. He really wasn’t going to continue, putting my underwear and shorts back on and even tightening the loosened dress ties again. He was clumsy since he hadn’t done it before.

“Um… I’m really not that sore. It’s not serious.”

“I’ve heard that women are more delicate than flowers. I never imagined it would be like this. It’s my ignorance, so who can I blame? I’m sorry, Lishua. I have no excuse even if you curse me.”

I didn’t know how swollen I was for him to act like this. It wasn’t like I was bleeding profusely.

“It makes me sad when Ash says that. We spent the night together yesterday with mutual consent, so it’s not all Ash’s fault.”

“…I’ll get some medicine. And while I’m at it, I’ll get an aphrodisiac mixed with painkillers.”

He smiled faintly and kissed my cheek. I wondered how I would persuade him if he said he would never spend the night with me again. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was thinking that.

A sigh of relief escaped me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him and giving him a short kiss.

“Don’t worry so much, because it doesn’t really hurt. I felt good yesterday too. Honestly, it was a little painful, but it was good. Anything with you is good.”

“I’m glad you say that. I will never make this mistake again. Can you believe me?”

“Of course. If I don’t trust you, who will I trust?”

It was a shame, but it wasn’t the only day, so I could easily shake it off. Once we were married, it would be an important event every night.

I felt a strong desire to write our names side by side on the marriage certificate as soon as possible, even if it was a simplified ceremony. My father had already held grand weddings for his two daughters, so if I said I would have a simplified ceremony, he would probably allow me to do as I pleased. Since all the Count’s estate would become mine anyway, I didn’t want to waste money on a grand affair.

“Ash, would it be okay if we had a simple wedding?”

“I don’t mind. I will follow whatever Lishua wants.”

I would have to discuss that with my father when he returned. When would he be back? I hoped he would come back soon.

That evening, when it was time for dinner, Evelyn was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Evelyn?”

“She seems to still be asleep.”

“Still?”

“That is… she missed the Countess and kept crying, then fell asleep a little while ago.”

Only then did I feel sorry for being so inconsiderate. Evelyn also had many memories of her mother in this mansion and had followed her so much. I should have been there with her, but I felt bad for leaving her alone.

“Okay. If she wakes up at night, prepare some simple food for her.”

“Yes, Miss.”

I had never seen Evelyn, who I had always thought of as strong and resilient, shed tears. She had seemed so normal earlier that I hadn’t expected it.

“I’m a failure as a friend. I’ve received so much comfort from Evelyn until now.”

I sighed deeply, leaned back against the dining chair, and mumbled dejectedly. Ash sat next to me and patted my shoulder comfortingly.

“Originally, the stronger a person is, the less they want to be seen crying. It would have been better for her to be alone. It would have been a time for her to pour out all the sadness she had kept inside without any hesitation.”

“…Do you think so?”

“If she wanted your comfort, she would have shown you her tears. Just hold her hand and give her a light hug as usual when you see her tomorrow.”

Even though we had known each other for so long, there were still things I didn’t know. Listening to Ash, I thought it was a plausible story.

“Is that how it is for Ash too? Do you choose where you cry?”

“I don’t remember crying except when my mother passed away. I didn’t have time to cry. But.”

He seemed to be lost in old thoughts for a moment, then looked at me again, slowly fluttering his eyelashes as he carefully reached out to me. His large hand gently cupped my cheek and caressed it softly.

“Sometimes I think I want to lean on your lap and be comforted. You are the only person in this world with whom I can comfortably let go.”

I thought my heart might explode and die. It felt like a wolf who had deliberately appeared to seduce me had disguised himself as a human. A hot flame deeply embedded in his calm hazel eyes swallowed my eyes and heart whole.

‘Now I understand why people go crazy in love and do things they can’t understand.’

That must have been why Evelyn’s sister, Lady Brayton, was able to give up all her wealth and honor for love. I felt like I could do anything for this love. I wasn’t afraid of any obstacles.

“I can lend it to you anytime. If you want to cry, lean on my lap and cry. I’ll lean on your shoulder when I want to cry too.”

“As much as you want.”

Just being together made me feel secure. Ash said he would use a separate room from me during Evelyn’s stay to be considerate of her, so I had been spending all day with Evelyn since that day.

“Still, that guy seems to have some sense. I like that he’s surprisingly nice. I feel like I’ve become a bad person who unnecessarily broke up two affectionate people.”

Even though Evelyn grumbled, the way she looked at Ash was a little softer than on the first day. But she still suspected Ash’s identity.

“Lishua, are you really not going to ask? You should know for sure where he came from, right?”

“If he was really a bad person, Father wouldn’t have accepted him. And everyone has a secret they don’t want to tell anyone. You also secretly dated that guy for a short time in the past, right? Don’t you remember saying you were too embarrassed to complain to anyone?”

“Ah. I have nothing to say when you give me that example.”

There was a handsome young nobleman who stirred the hearts of many young ladies during our reckless teenage years, and Evelyn had also fallen deeply in love with him.

[Lishua! Lishua, please, please help me, okay? Just this once. Please. Huh? I won’t ask you for anything like this again. I promise!]

The thing she came to me, holding my hands tightly and asking for, was to embroider a handkerchief to give to that young nobleman as a gift.

One of the three things Evelyn hated most was embroidery. She said that sitting still and doing something didn’t suit her personality, and that she felt like she would get boils on her butt.

[…Why don’t you take this opportunity to learn embroidery properly again?]

[I will learn. I’ll definitely learn. But if I start learning now, it’ll be too late. How do I know who will take him? That young nobleman said he wanted a handkerchief with pretty embroidery. So, the young ladies are all buying new materials.]

She begged so annoyingly that I agreed. I also wanted to repay Evelyn for taking care of me all this time. I embroidered a flower with that young nobleman’s name on a new handkerchief fabric, and I made two by embroidering a butterfly on another handkerchief.

The young nobleman, who was fascinated by the embroidery, had a secret affair with Evelyn. But it turned out that he was two-timing another young lady, and she was deeply hurt.

I recently heard that that young nobleman’s womanizing was still the same, so I became more convinced that people can’t be fixed. Also, the fact that innate character doesn’t change easily.

“Still, make sure you know where he’s from before you get married. It could harm the family, right? If there’s a problem with his background, you can have time to clean it up.”

“Okay. I will.”

He had lost his parents and only had a younger brother who he had cut ties with, so I vaguely answered and moved on, thinking what problem could there be with the background of a man who was left alone.

However, five days later, an unexpected guest visited, and I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Support My Secret Flower