Chapter 251
The woman’s heartbeat gradually settled into a steady rhythm. The calm rhythm and her soft breathing echoed gently in his arms.
Rubens couldn’t initially understand how Macy found comfort in just a simple piece of cloth, but bit by bit, he began to grasp why.
He had to rely on senses other than sight to gauge Macy’s state, which made him naturally cautious in his movements.
After dozens of moments debating whether to quietly lift the cloth, as Macy nestled deeper into his embrace in her sleep, Rubens finally raised the cloth upward.
Macy was dressed in clothes that revealed the contours of her body and lay peacefully asleep.
‘Ha, this is making me crazy.’
At first, Macy seemed tense, but gradually she adapted, and now she could fall asleep even in this situation.
Rubens, on the other hand, couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment.
If his focus wavered even slightly, he feared he might inadvertently touch her.
“First off, Duke, don’t even twitch a finger during Name treatment with Macy.”
Anna gave Rubens some warnings about the treatment sessions with Macy.
“Why?”
“Right now, Macy is on high alert for every little movement you make. If she senses you’re about to pounce, she’ll have a seizure immediately.”
“I have no intention of holding Macy like that anymore—”
“Even if you don’t think that way, Duke! You’ve done it before!”
“……”
Rubens recalled how just touching her face had triggered seizures and hyperventilation. Those memories still lingered in his mind like scars.
“You said you’d do anything to save Macy, even if it meant things couldn’t go back to the way they were.”
That was true. To save Macy, some things simply couldn’t be helped.
“And don’t let her catch on that you still have feelings. Just say you found her because of the Name treatment. Honestly, Macy would feel uncomfortable if she heard you regretted it.”
“Got it……”
Anna dismissed it as discomfort, but in truth, Macy probably found it more terrifying.
Even at the Bayatten mansion, whenever Rubens was kind, Macy’s face would contort.
She didn’t want Rubens’ love.
While he reminisced about happier times and longed for her, she fed her hatred, remembering only the misery.
Though the blood that once flowed so freely had stopped, it had congealed solidly, leaving no room for Eren to break through her defenses.
So Rubens insisted their interactions were purely for the Name treatment—nothing more, no lingering feelings.
He had no intention to hurt her and acted as if they had no relationship at all.
As a result, even though Macy was close, he couldn’t touch her freely or breathe in her scent deeply.
Except for moments when Macy was sound asleep like this, his vision was blocked and he couldn’t look at her as much as he wanted.
‘Ha, what kind of torture is this?’
At first, just holding her hand felt good enough—why had it come to this?
Sighing, he looked down and saw Macy, who still somehow seemed youthful despite having given birth..
Her delicate cheeks, her finely shaped features, and the soft breath escaping between her full lips.
Her rounded shoulders and plump chest pressed against his like cream melting into cream—an intoxicating sight that made his mouth dry involuntarily.
Carefully, Rubens wrapped his arms around Macy’s waist and gently stroked her slender back.
Her fragile, thin body caused a sharp ache somewhere in his heart.
His light touches, like fleeting caresses, made Macy rub her face against the arm he rested on.
He wanted desperately to kiss those lips, to swallow the sweet moisture. It was a thirst like being stranded in the middle of a desert.
‘Maybe if I sneak a kiss, she won’t notice. Who knows if an opportunity like this will come again…’
He circled her lips in hesitation, but in the end, Rubens didn’t dare kiss her.
He pictured Macy opening her eyes the moment his lips touched hers, having a seizure—a terrifying vision he couldn’t shake.
“Thank you for today.”
“……”
“Why?”
“Aren’t you bothered at all?”
“Huh?”
But seeing Macy look so calm all of a sudden sparked a surge of frustration in him.
‘Here I am, burning up with worry, and now I’m starting to understand.’
Somewhere along the way, Macy had come to see Rubens as nothing more than a Name treatment subject.
Even with the trial approaching, she remained so.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.