Pherenike - Chapter 18

She wanted to lock him away forever, even if she knew how much Deucalion would detest such a fate. Yet she would still do it if it meant his safety.

Perhaps her deal with Actor wasn’t so different, even if Deucalion found it abhorrent. Pherenike was desperate only for his wholeness.

“Damn, you need to fix that stubbornness.”

“Ung.”

As soon as her hand dropped, Deucalion swiftly embraced her by the waist as if he had been waiting for it.

“You respond so well, though.”

Getting lifted in the air, she impulsively wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her as if it were second nature, his silver hair cascading over her. His tongue slid into her mouth.

It was irritable yet affectionate, sweet yet vengeful. Everything about him was clumsier than the Deucalion she remembered. That clumsiness slightly pained her.

Deucalion at this time thought the most obscene thing they could do was to kiss. Even while holding her and kissing her sweetly all night, he never dared to lift her dress.

Now they were already several years past their 16th birthday.

If it weren’t for her forced engagement to Actor, they would have married as they came of age, as initially promised by his mother and her father.

If they had, they should have been old enough to be parents by now. Instead, it wasn’t until much later in a foreign land that they were wed and spent their wedding night. They always yearned for each other, but never crossed the line.

It was as if a better time awaited them. As if they were waiting for the perfect moment.

But such a time never came. Not until their deaths.

Everything was foolish. All promises for the next time were futile.

Even on that night beyond the Palliuron Mountains, as Deucalion promised he would be back after a few days as he left for Lykke, those days would never come.

It seemed all sweet things in life were just preludes to bitterness. Happiness awakened sorrow. Love was the seed of tears.

Pherenike clung to him, biting his lower lip to open his mouth again and dug into his mouth. Soon they were both breathless. Sensing her breathlessness, Deucalion pulled away, but she tenaciously held on to him. His steps that had halted in the middle of the room impatiently moved towards the bed.

A burning thirst surged within her. She longed for him.

For Deucalion to be her Deucalion, even though he was not her man, as he had delved into her countless times. She wanted to capture the moment, to see the face of the man she loved most. She wanted to be crushed under the weight of her husband. Pherenike scoffed at herself; she didn’t want to give her first to Actor.

If Deucalion knew her thoughts, he would surely despise her. The woman he cherished most, casually speaking of being with him one last time before giving herself to another man.

The rough breath scattered near his lips. The long chain scraped against the marble as it followed them.

She fell onto the bed.

“I waited patiently, now answer me.”

“…”

“You promised to tell me.”

Pherenike lay loosely on the bed, looking up at the man climbing over her with an angry face. He wanted her, but there was no sign of lust. Deucalion was simply blocking her escape.

His cold hand gently brushed her cheek.

“Actor Nikandros doesn’t want your earnest pleas.”

“…”

“Pherenike, he wants you.”

It was the first time he mentioned Actor’s intentions. What she realized only on the brink of death, her husband had known all along.

She gazed into his eyes quietly. Under the sunlight, his eyes that shone like olivine were like moss under the shade.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t even want you to know. I let you believe he didn’t, like he didn’t exist.”

“You should have kept it that way.”

She replied indifferently. Deucalion clenched his teeth, suppressing his anger.

“But he does want you.”

“…”

“Don’t take Actor’s hand. Don’t let me be that damned excuse.”

“Do you…”

“…”

“Do you not want me?”

He suddenly looked at her, slightly incredulous.

But Pherenike couldn’t show any interest in Actor’s feelings. To her, before becoming a tool in her plan, he wasn’t even worth a passing thought. Like an object whether in her grasp or not.

Apart from wanting to kill Actor Nikandros, how could she attach any thought to that hateful name? Feelings? Did he even have something like feelings in the first place? Actor wanted her body.

He wanted her, not caring that she loved another. He bought a woman with his brother’s life.