Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 28
Roel returned to the cabin and warmed herself by the fire. The cold had subsided, but her unease remained, so she glanced at Kyden as he brushed off the snow and licked her lips.
“Kyden, when do you think we can go down to the village?”
“It seems possible by tomorrow.”
Her heart sank at his words.
“So, so soon?”
“The weather warmed up faster than expected.”
Had it remained cold, the snow would have frozen solid, making it difficult to clear. But with rising temperatures, the snow melted. Higher elevations like the forest would experience this first, so the snow around the village would likely have melted already.
“So, are you going down tomorrow?”
She clung to his arm. Meeting his gaze made Roel even more anxious, and she bit her lip while trembling.
Kyden nodded, not understanding her distress.
“We’re running low on food. I need to go.”
She couldn’t think of a way to stop him. Roel covered her face with her hands, sinking into despair.
“Why are you behaving like this again?”
When Kyden asked, Roel shook her head and moved away.
“I’ll prepare the meal…”
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I can move.”
She bravely responded and looked into the box of dwindling supplies. A few potatoes, some dried carrots, a wilted cabbage, a pumpkin, and a handful of grains. Bread was long gone, with only some meat and jerky remaining.
Food was running out. Kyden planned to go to the village, and the snow path was cleared. There was no stopping his decision.
She chewed over the inescapable reality, trying to steady her swirling thoughts. Today was the last day. The warm, comforting times were ending, cooling down like wood that blazes before slowly losing its flame.
Her weakening heart, her reluctance to leave, the fear, and the terror tumultuously shook her and gnawed at her mind.
“Eat more.”
“I’m fine.”
“Hurry up.”
She stared blankly at the soup he served and held her breath. The area below her chest felt bloated.
Don’t be so kind. It makes me weak. I don’t want to leave. I’m afraid to die. I don’t want to be alone.
In her life, there were few as kind as him. Memories with her father, the friend who lived next door, the man who proposed they marry when they grew up—these were memories of her childhood, now feeling like a distant past.
After her father’s death, Roel had wanted to return to her hometown but found it too far and daunting to consider seriously. Even crossing the mountain range to reach another village seemed an insurmountable challenge.
Roel forced down her soup, contemplating the foolish and weak thought of confessing everything to him and seeking forgiveness. ‘Maybe, just maybe, he would understand my situation,’ she thought, but she quickly shook her head. Only a bleak future seemed to come.
She feared he would hate her. She imagined that being abandoned by him would be unbearable, so fleeing on her own accord seemed the lesser pain. It was better to leave by her own volition than to endure his contempt.
That night, Roel clung to him again. Seeing her snuggle up like a whining child, Kyden smirked lazily, like a beast sated.
“You want to?”
With a flushed face, Roel nodded shyly. He adjusted her small frame. He indulged in the arrogant illusion that perhaps he was quite good at this. Otherwise, why would she initiate? Her furrowed brow, tightly closed eyes, and straight lips must have been out of mere shyness.
Attempting to change Roel’s timid behavior, he sat her on top of him. As Roel sat with her thighs widely parted, he rubbed her cli- with his thumb. She squeezed her legs together and hunch her shoulders.
“Sit up straight.”
“I… I can’t.”
“If you asked for it, you should at least try to endure this much.”
When he chided her, Roel tried to straighten up. Her chest fluttered like the gills of a fish in distress.
Looking down at Kyden, her eyes welled with tears. Normally murky gray, her eyes shimmered silver, gleaming with moisture.
Her gaze, filled with longing and desperation, seemed perilous. It was a mix of sadness and perhaps resentment, tightening around Kyden’s heart.
Her thin waist moved gracefully, as if riding a horse. It was starting to get wet between her legs.
While she clung to him pathetically, she avoided meeting his eyes. Her body was honest, yet her words pushed him away. It sparkled a cruel desire within him.
Kyden guided her hand to touch herself.
“You do it.”
Her hand floundered, and he deliberately teased her to see her flustered face.
He patted her backside but frowned when he saw her clumsy hand movements.
“If you don’t want to, just sleep.”
“That’s too harsh…”
Roel’s woeful expression made Kyden’s chest swell with a tight feeling. The small gestures of her clinging to him brought a sense of superiority and satisfaction.
He felt a petty thrill from her desperate, shameless longing for him.
