Chapter 31.1

The room was beautifully decorated.

Yernia had washed up after the reception and hid the glass bottle Seria had given her earlier under the bed.

Their wedding began immediately after witnessing the scuffle between Cassian and the strange woman.

She couldn’t get rid of the glass bottle so she pushed it into the corner of the bed and covered it with the bed sheet.

Yernia remembered Cassian at the wedding as she glanced around the room.

He seemed stiff at that time.

Cassian must have realized at that moment how he truly hated this marriage since he might have been so eager to get the wedding over and done with that he forgot.

Perhaps, they should drink together tonight to console each other.

They were in the same situation, after all.

“What was that earlier?”

While waiting for Cassian, Yernia set the drinks and snacks that the servants had brought them and ate them bit by bit.

Yernia was tired and bored out of her mind after the event but she wasn’t the only one who had a hard time at the reception, either.

Cassian used Yernia as an excuse to get out of the reception so that she could take a shower in the bathroom.

As she heard the sound of water, Yernia’s fingers touched her lips as she remembered Cassian’s promise to kiss the back of her hand.

His sweet kiss on her mouth came to mind, instead, and her heart thumped faster at the thought.

Why did her childhood friend kiss her when he promised to do it at the back of her hand?

Yernia shook her head, trying to understand Cassian’s intentions.

It was something that she couldn’t answer no matter how many times she thought about it.

She should stop dwelling on the past and reflect on that particular moment, altogether.

The bathroom door opened after a while.

“Did you finish washing up, Cassian? Come here. I’ve got everything ready.”

Yernia had finally calmed down.

She got exhausted waiting for him all alone in front of the drinking table so she began pouring alcohol into her glass without giving Cassian a glance.

Yernia wanted to start drinking ever since she sat in front of the table but to show loyalty to her comrade, Yernia endured and endured until Cassian came out.

She can finally eat and drink with her companion!

After a long wait, Yernia took a sip of her drink that tastes like sweet rain.

The cold alcohol seemed to pool around her chest.

Cassian has been quiet since a while ago.

It was so eerie that she couldn’t help but raise her chin to look at him.

She screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

Yernia spat the alcohol out of her mouth.

“Why did you take all of your clothes off?”

Cassian had worn a royal blue robe but he appeared almost naked due to his loose waistband.

She could see everything from his solid chest down to the chiseled wings of his pelvis.

“I’m wearing a robe.”

“I am aware that you’re wearing a robe but do you have to look like you are about to take it off?”

Yernia wondered why he even wore it in the first place if he was going to look like that.

“Should I just take it off, then?”

“No!” She shouted in response.

Casian touched his waistband as if he planned to untie it and Yernia was astonished at the subtle movement.

He continued to fiddle with his waistband as if he was agonizing over something.

What was her childhood friend thinking about?

Yernia couldn’t wrap her head around Cassian’s unexpected behavior.

He kissed her out of the blue earlier and now he wanted to take all his clothes off while he was watching?

It wasn’t the first time she had seen Cassian’s body, anyway so there was nothing to worry about.

Cassian felt strange to Yernia but her feelings were even stranger.

Why was she so surprised?

Maybe, she wasn’t used to this situation because it felt different.

It wasn’t usual to find herself in an enclosed space with her childhood friend at night.

In addition to that, they were adults for now and she even got married to him.

It shouldn’t be a problem since this was considered normal for newlyweds.

However, she was just a little surprised since she was usually the one who takes things off first and Cassian had never done this before.

Yernia shook her head to shake off the strange feeling.

“Drink this, Cassian. You must be in a bad mood today, so you should at least drink.”

Yernia poured wine into Cassian’s glass and the bottle clinked against the rim.

“I’m sorry I just feel so good.”

“Really? Well…me too.”

“What?”

“I feel good, too.”

Cassian must have told her a white lie to put her feelings into consideration.

Honestly, she couldn’t care less, but she felt a little sorry to see him say that to her.

“I have a crush on someone.” Cassian  told the strange woman who attended their wedding ceremony and it sounded like a lie.

The woman had clung to Cassian but it was a pity how he had acted so cold.

On top of that, she also said that his fate was fake.

Of course, the woman didn’t want to believe that his fate was true because of her love for Cassian.

Even Yernia could not believe it at first, but she saw her name inked on his skin.

Nobody could fake that.

Yernia concluded that Cassian must have made it up to get rid of the woman’s one-sided love.

Even Cassian’s sudden kiss during the wedding vows was convincing in its way.

Perhaps, she should get him off the hook this time.

“That’s unexpected. I thought you were going to cry because you didn’t want to.”

“Me? No. I’m alright now that I accepted our marriage.”

Was Cassian making an effort to think about how she  felt about their marriage or was that just her imagination?

Whether or not it was on purpose, Yernia still appreciated his concern.

“I’m rather glad it’s you, Cassian.”

Because if it wasn’t him, she would have to spend the first night with someone else.

It would be great if he was someone she adored, but that wasn’t the case when it comes to arrange marriages.

She was thankful that it was her childhood friend.

If her husband was a stranger,  he might have not cared much about her circumstances.