There was another pause before Darius continued, “I didn’t want my mother and sister to live with grudge and resentment in their hearts like mine. I promised myself on that day that I’ll protect them no matter what happened, and the emotional damage such knowledge would inflict on them would be too much to bear.”

He sighed, “It wasn’t easy to see Nasser as if nothing happened, acting like I don’t know everything that truly happened. I was able to handle it for some time, but I tend to snap every so often like how I did during dinner. But Freya and Mother… Both of them are too fragile for this, and I don’t want them to suffer like how I am right now…”

Xenia closed her eyes, her own tears starting to well up as she listened. This was too much to bear. It was too painful for her just to hear how much pain Darius had to handle all on his own.

“And now, I don’t know what to do with Freya. I already noticed how infatuated she was with Gilas as time went on, so I intentionally sent her to Mount Sorel to train and learn more while also separating her from him,” Darius rambled on.

“I thought she would get over him as time went on, but seeing how her eyes gleamed a while ago when Elder Nasser brought up the proposal of an arranged marriage, I…”

“Hmm… You should talk to the Queen Mother about this,” Xenia advised, hoping that it would be enough. “I think it’s finally time for them to know the truth. Freya isn’t a child anymore. She’s a grown woman now, and I believe that she’s stronger and more mature than all of you might think.”

She then explained, “This way, you can save Freya from Elder Nasser’s greed, as well as shield the Queen Mother from his proposals. I’m sure the old man knows about Freya’s feelings for his son, and he was indeed using it against you for his plans.”

She inwardly clicked her tongue as she waited for his response. Darius shouldn’t have to do things alone like this. The support of one’s family was the best solution in all trials and struggles… That was how she and her siblings grew up, after all.

“I don’t know where to begin, Xen,” Darius confessed.

Xenia quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as she put on a brave front. She didn’t want Darius to see her crying for him. Right now, she should act as his emotional support, allowing him to show his weakness to him with the assurance that she wouldn’t break.

“If you’ll allow me, I’ll help you open up to them,” Xenia wholeheartedly offered. “I know it can be hard, but don’t you think that they also deserve to know of this? They’re your family, someone who also truly cares about you and your father, Darius.”

There was another deafening silence between them. Both of them basked in the quiet between them, their deep breaths being the only things audible in the air around them.

After a few moments, Xenia’s body suddenly stiffened when she felt Darius’s nose nuzzling against her bosom. She held her breath, and she could already feel her heart pounding loudly against her ribcage. From that alone, Darius was surely able to hear it.

“Your heart is beating fast, my love… Just like mine…” Darius whispered before he started kissing her bosoms, grazing his teeth and suckling on one of her nipples beneath the fabric of her thin nightgown.

Xenia gasped as she felt a bolt of electricity surge within her body. Indeed, her heart was beating fast, and her body was already aching for more of what he was doing.

She let out a soft moan at what Darius was doing. She had her clothes on, but it still felt as if she was bare against that warm breath of his.

Likewise, her moan didn’t escape Darius’s notice as his movements became even more aggressive. She had just given him her go signal with how her body reacted, and no words were needed as he went in and helped himself to her bounty.

‘There’s no turning back now,’ Xenia inwardly thought.

She was aware of the consequences of entering a wolf’s den like this. It wasn’t like Darius hadn’t warned her numerous times before. Unlike then, however, it didn’t bother her anymore.

Her body was reacting exactly because she wanted to embrace the unexplainable feeling Darius was making her feel. It felt good, and she knew she shouldn’t be wary of it anymore. As of this moment, she was ready to give her all to Darius. No more hesitation… No more second thoughts…

This was it. Xenia wanted to share everything with him, even his pain and sorrows. She wanted to be with him like this. She desperately wanted to be beside him.

She didn’t know when it all started, but it all just unfolded before her until it was already too late for her to stop. Before she knew it, all of her hesitations had left her, now overpowered by her driven desire to be with him.

Having had a taste, Darius moved up, licking her bare skin as he went up to her neck. Brushing against her clavicle, his hot breath taunted the bare skin on her neck, giving her more of his marks as she let it all happen.

“You smell so good,” he feverishly whispered as he trailed up towards her jawline until he finally reached her lips. “And taste so… so…”

Not letting any more time slip from his hands, Darius pushed his tongue deep into her mouth, lapping her up like he was thirsty to taste her in every corner. He took her moans into his mouth as the kiss deepened.

“Mphmmm…”

Xenia felt like she was drowning in how intense he was kissing her. Her heart pounded with desperate passion as her arms clung to his neck, wrapping herself to him tightly as she returned his passion tenfold.

Even now, his tongue tasted so good inside her mouth and made her melt as he kept on probing her deeper. Already, she could feel something tightening up in her stomach as her body writhed against him. She passionately returned those hot kisses, enjoying herself in the process as she loved the sensation of his lips against hers.

Soon enough, the kiss broke as Xenia gasped for air. Darius had finally released her lips only to sprinkle small kisses on the tip of her chin as he slowly descended back down to her neck, lingering on her clavicle for a while. His ragged breaths, along with the moist feeling of his tongue against her skin made the hairs on her back stand on their end.

“I want you, my love. I want you so badly that I feel like I’m losing myself already because of it,” Darius murmured against her skin.

Instead of answering with words, Xenia pulled Darius’s head into hers and crushed her lips hungrily and ravenously against his. She was going for it, being herself, showing him in action how much she crave and desire him just as much. She didn’t care anymore.