I Tamed the Monstrous Prince - Chapter 71
“Human life is so tenacious…” A familiar voice reached my ears. “Wake up.” Please, just let it end. I convulsed in the dark water. “Stop struggling, just stop thrashing, damn it!” The voice called to me again, this time more urgent, more rapid. “Ren, wake up.” That voice pulled me up.
“Gasp… gasp…” My eyes flew open, and I gasped for air. A stinging saltiness stung my eyes. It didn’t take long to realize it was sweat dripping from my forehead. But it still didn’t feel real. I breathed slowly. Relief washed over me only when the inhaled air passed through my lungs and the exhaled breath escaped. Pent-up breaths burst forth, ragged gasps escaping like a flood breaking through an old dam.
“Ha… gasp…” I instinctively clutched my chest. Of course, my body was dry. “Ren.” Then I saw Cesar’s eyes gazing at me.
“Ce…sar?” I was still disoriented, unable to distinguish dream from reality. “Uh… uh…” My consciousness was hazy, and my mouth uttered only senseless, airy sounds. Déjà vu. Yes, this had happened before. Again? Another drowning dream. What was this dream? What kind of dream was so vivid? “…This… this is a dream?” This couldn’t be a dream. It was impossible. Something this agonizing couldn’t be just a dream. It shouldn’t be. A chill gripped me, and I trembled.
Cesar quickly pulled me into his embrace. Somehow, the gesture brought immense comfort. And that was it. The tears that had been welling up now turned into sobs. “I… I was scared…” I confessed to Cesar, sniffling, even though he wouldn’t understand. It was perhaps cowardly and cruel. I knew I shouldn’t be doing this. Guilt pricked at my heart. But I had to say something to overcome the fear that was suffocating me. “I was so scared…”
“Yes.” Cesar nodded slowly, as if he understood everything. And so, I burrowed deeper into his embrace and wept uncontrollably. “What is this dream? Why is this happening? What’s happening to me…?”
Questions, anxiety, unease, and the accompanying fear—all these emotions swirled within me, creating a massive vortex. It felt like the torrent was relentlessly eroding my insides. My tear-stained eyes were a mess. I knew I must look awful, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t bear it otherwise. I babbled incoherently, words that barely resembled language, half sobs, half lamentations, all of them pathetic.
Even as I was falling apart, Cesar silently listened, and said, “It’s okay.” He gently stroked my back as I spoke. I knew he was mimicking me, just as I had done for him once. “Yes.”
“It’s okay.” But his embrace was so warm, so reassuring, that I couldn’t help but cling to him. His higher-than-normal body temperature was incredibly comforting.
We held each other for a long time, finding solace in the embrace. After I’d poured out my heart, my eyes began to dry. The sobs subsided. An awkward silence settled around us. I broke the silence.
“Um… you know…”
“Yes.” Cesar’s hand continued to stroke my back, making my now-dry eyes feel strangely self-conscious. I searched for a chance to tell him I was alright, that I’d just been momentarily shaken by a bad dream. “Um, so…” I was about to tell him I was fine. I pulled away slightly. There was now enough space between our faces to fit a lemon. Our eyes met. Cesar’s eyes seemed unusually dark today. “Uh…”
I don’t know why I flustered then. Perhaps I was embarrassed by my childish behavior. I was vulnerable, softened. And perhaps that was why I was so easily overtaken by Cesar’s innocent action. Slowly, Cesar’s face drew closer. An involuntary sound escaped my lips. “Uh, huh?” I squeezed my eyes shut. My heart pounded as if I had just run a sprint. I felt his face approaching.
