# 25
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When the Duke expressed his intention to serve Ariana himf, a look of bewilderment passed through everyone's eyes. But in the end, the servants withdrew from the bathroom, and the mist-treated door was closed.
Ariana grabbed the edges of her wet dress, confused.
“What, what are you going to do?”
“Do you intend to stay this wet?”
“No, I mean, what do you intend to do here, Sir Duke...”
Since he started to pull up the sleeves of his shirt, and she saw the drops of water running down his wrist, she felt her throat getting dryer.
Because she was hugging him, his shirt was also completely soaked with water.
He clearly said that he would not return to the concert hall, unlike what happened in her previous life.
'So, does this mean we'll spend the night together?'
Despite her inner turmoil over the series of frustrating events, she never expected the opportunity to come like this.
Perhaps because of the heat of the bath, she felt her body turning red and flushed.
When he approached her and grabbed her waist, her knees began to tremble in embarrassment.
He began to undo the straps on her back, almost hugging her.
Every time his hands passed over the wet cloth, the bones in her shoulder blades trembled involuntarily.
When the ties were loosened, the ends of the wet satin fabric fell heavily onto the tile floor.
Even her dress, which was clinging to her body, began to loosen, and she clearly felt the palm of his solid hand lightly passing over her lower back.
Because of the stress, her body was constantly shaking, and her head was spinning.
The mirror that covered the entire bathroom wall added to her confusion.
Compared to him, who was still wearing his soaked uniform, what did she look like?
Fortunately, only half of her hair was wet, but being hidden behind it like this was embarrassing in another sense.
Ariana quickly took her eyes away from the mirror and fixed them on the bathtub.
'Can't I just say I can shower on my own?'
But if she said that, she might miss an opportunity like last time.
While Kenneth removed her wet socks, Ariana sat quietly on the edge of the tub.
'Please, don't feel ashamed.'
You acted like an experienced woman in such matters, so why do you feel this way now?
But because of the palm of his hand touching her knees, she felt her body trembling.
In fact, his slow, roaming gaze made her toes clench repeatedly.
When she saw his eyes, she felt a slight urge to cry.
What's embarrassing is that he hasn't done anything yet.
Ariana lowered her head deeply.
She wished she could quickly skip this moment, shower, and get straight to the point.
How long will she keep showing this embarrassing appearance?
'After he made me feel so humiliated in the pool?'
When she remembered that, she felt anger rising from the bottom of her stomach.
'I thought I had become completely obtuse.'
But humiliation is always new, hitting a person in the face the moment he thinks he has become accustomed to it. She didn't want to react, but his cruelty made her angry to tears.
Before he could remove his hands from her body, Ariana grabbed the edge of his sleeve.
She looked at him with a look of a mixture of blame and frustration.
“Aren’t we going back to the palace then…?”
“…that was the original”
Kenneth looked at her and smiled.
His smile reminded her of a face from the distant past.
“But it's okay if we do it now.”
"…! Yes!"
Suddenly, Kenneth picked her up and carried her into the bathtub.
As the warm water doused her, her tense body began to relax slightly.
But when he began to unbutton the cuffs of his shirt and vest, her tension returned.
Ariana quickly turned her head again.
They had been physically close before, but never had they seen each other naked in a place so clearly lit.
'Are we going to take a shower together then?'
His shirt slid off his well-defined shoulders, water gushed out of the tub the moment he entered, then calmed down.
His large shadow covered her body, curled up in the corner of the tub.
She swallowed, staring deliberately over his shoulder.
But, with a slightly nervous movement, he turned her head towards him.
“Why?”
“You still can't look at me?”
"no."
In fact, as he asked, Ariana couldn't look at his body directly.
His muscular body was beautiful, but it was filled with the remnants of the nightmares that night left him.
「Ariana...run away...
Scars extending from his left shoulder to his chest, and traces of bullets that resemble small volcanic craters.
Kenneth never showed any interest in these scars.
She was always the one who suffered when he saw her, and she would freeze and become negative whenever they slept together.
Kenneth sneered coldly: “That’s very good.”
“Your hesitant behavior was a little annoying.”
"I know. I know I don't deserve this."
Ariana calmed herf quietly.
'Don't suffer because of him anymore.'
Even if she regretted her foolishness in the past, she did not love him now.
'If I get Pepe, it'll all be over.'
The important thing is that you greet him enough to keep his interest without cooling off.
The further apart her knees were, the warmer the water was churning.
His breath falling on her ears and throat was hot from the steam of the bathroom. But Ariana suddenly opened her eyes to the next sensation.
"Yes…!"
Her breath stopped because of a white prick in her head.
Kenneth was doing something mysterious with his hand.
“Wait...just a moment”
Ariana whispered hesitantly, her eyes widening in confused astonishment.
She tried to fend him off, but quickly closed her mouth when her voice unintentionally escaped.
The sound echoed into the bathroom like a distant return, laden with an embarrassing dampness.
The more she tried to silence it, the clearer it became, as if the echo itf was conspiring against her.
But embarrassment quickly gave way to astonishment; Her head began to spin, and the boundaries of perception dissolved.
'This has never happened before.'
Except for that night I got pregnant, this silence has never been broken.
“My lord the duke...”
“Didn't you say earlier that you would live freely for pleasure?”
Kenneth said it coldly and sarcastic, in a tone that left her no choice.
As she became more tense, the water poured out of the basin relentlessly, as if it was sweeping away her resistance.
“I'll give you that.”
“Oh...”
“Tonight, the view from the window is also wonderful.”
* * *
Intimacy should be as clean and short as possible.
There is no point in prolonging the matter in vain. After all, when the morning comes, it will only tear the heart apart.
So, when Ariana was with Kenneth, she hoped he would act exactly like in the previous relationship.
He was using it to meet his bare minimum needs, and she was using it to reach her child.
'But what went wrong?'
Since he started in the tub, she hasn't understood anything.
She felt as if she were a child afraid of being discovered while sneaking a trifle from her mother.
As Kenneth said, the night view of the dark sea from the room window was amazing.
But for Ariana, who had to prop herf up against the windowpane, there was no room to enjoy.
How many times did her hand slip?
When she was about to slip again, a large hand grabbed her wrist.
“You need to hold on tight.”
Then, very gently, he guided her hand to rest on the glass.
Ariana looked at the glass in amazement, then quickly lowered her head.
It had been a long time since she fell into the pool and got out.
The heat was rising to her head until she felt dizzy.
She didn't know if this was a dream or reality.
But amidst this fog in her head, she wondered:
'Why would he do something so stressful?'
Isn't this what lovers do? But he doesn't love her.
“When I'm done using you, and everything goes back to its right place.”
“That kid was wrong.”
“Who would love a woman who desperately begs to live like you?”
Worse still, it makes her delusional again.
No matter how coldly she protects her heart, a physical relationship means giving a part of the heart.
No matter how much she promised her mind not to attach importance, her heart did not know what the promise was.
“Please...”
“Yes?”
“Don't do these absurd things...”
“What are these things?”
Ariana lowered her trembling head and did not answer.
'Something that is uess for having a child.'