Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 22
‘I’m struggling…’
The oppressive heaviness and overwhelming sensation continued. How much would it take to satisfy him? He was like a ferocious, starving beast, biting at Roel’s slender neck, squeezing her chest, and lifting her waist.
Her whole body felt as if it was being devoured by him.
Roel endured until the beast’s hunger was satiated. But the greedy creature never seemed satisfied, even as she lay exhausted and collapsed. He kept holding her limp body, continuing his movements.
“Haa.”
With a long sigh, he seemed to savor the climax, yet appeared unsatisfied.
She’s fainted again. He knew it should end, but he lingered inside her, enjoying the residual warmth in the moist heat.
He had forgotten the warning about finishing inside again. It was already a mistake made. So what was the point in being cautious now? Thinking he was uncharacteristically reckless, he pulled her limp body close.
Covered with the blanket, the night felt surprisingly warm despite the winter.
* * *
The blizzard raged on. The wind, which had been quiet until early dawn, grew fierce by the afternoon.
The angry wind pounding on the cabin made Roel curl up small under the blanket. Kyden added more wood to the fire, raising the chilly indoor temperature, then quickly returned to bed, sliding under the blanket.
Roel awkwardly made room, and he naturally pulled her into his embrace.
“It’s much better now.”
Coming from the cold into the warm blanket, Kyden shivered and murmured. Roel bowed her head silently, her ears turning red unexpectedly.
To be snuggling under the blanket while the blizzard intensified outside felt like losing touch with reality, as if falling into a fantastical dream.
It reminded her of her childhood. Like a bear hibernating through the winter, those were the days of just eating and sleeping at home, unaware of cold, hunger, or loneliness. Just getting immersed in warm memories.
With Kyden’s large size, she felt no chill within his embrace. The strong arms wrapped around her increasingly offered comfort. She can’t believe she found solace in such a fierce snowstorm. It was because he was so large and warm.
She leaned against him, watching his reactions cautiously. The sound of a heartbeat was audible. It seemed to be his own. The pulse thumping in her chest resonated up to her neck and ears.
Roel nestled her face into his broad chest, pulling out a concern that nagged at her like a splinter under her fingernail.
“….Don’t go out today.”
“Of course.”
“No, I mean don’t go out until the snow completely stops. It’s dangerous.”
Kyden looked down at her, puzzled.
“That means we’ll have to stay longer.”
“That’s okay.”
“You were crying because you wanted to go back home, weren’t you?”
Yesterday, fear had consumed her, and her emotions had overwhelmed her into darkness and tears. But now her thoughts had settled back into a calmer, more rational state.
She decided to deceive him just like before when she pretended she had injured her ankle to stay in the cabin.
“….I don’t really want to go back.”
She murmured just loud enough to be heard. She wondered how to excuse it so he wouldn’t find it strange.
She remembered seeing him in the village and decided to pretend that leaving was her choice, not because she was fleeing from having killed someone.
“You saw me in the village…”
He hadn’t talked to the villagers, but he had seen her struggling with heavy laundry and groceries, which could suggest her difficult life.
Even if not, her face was always filled with worries.
“Living in the village wasn’t great.”
“Yeah.”
Kyden pulled Roel, who had moved away, closer. Closing any gap between them for warmth.
“My parents passed away early, so I lived with my uncle’s family. It wasn’t good. I was mistreated.”
“I see.”
His indifferent response prompted Roel to emphasize her point.
“If I go back, I’ll just be burdened with housework, or worse, sold to some strange man.”
“Strange man?”
“Hetter, the one who works at the inn. I heard they were planning to sell me to that guy.”
Kyden’s eyebrows knitted together. Who was Hetter again? He recalled a negligent employee whistling and loafing around the inn. Would that guy even have the money for such a thing?
Doubt was his first reaction, followed by an inexplicable irritation. What right did such an unworthy man have to start a family?
Although Kyden, being a fugitive, shouldn’t be one to talk, he was confident he was better than the sleazy Hetter. At least, he was capable of ensuring his wife wouldn’t starve.
“So you ran away because of that? Good for you.”
“…”
“But no, leaving home in such winter is dangerous. You should have waited until spring.”
He assumed Roel had run away on her own accord, and she let him continue believing that.
“But what if I was sold before then? I had to run away quickly.”
“And you almost died doing so. Did you try asking anyone else for help?”
He asked, looking down at her slender, pale neck.
