Chapter 96
But Fay caught his hand in both of hers and flipped it over without warning. As his palm faced upward, Alnazir instinctively flinched and tried to pull away.
“Stay still. I’m not going to do anything strange.”
Her soothing tone made him relax. He let the tension drain from his arm.
Fay drew his hand closer to her and slowly lowered her head. He watched her carefully. Just as her small pink head obscured his view—
Smack.
Something soft pressed against his palm.
Alnazir stared in shock at the crown of her pink hair. He had certainly wanted to reconcile. He had wanted to touch her again, that much he’d always known.
But he had never once wished for her to touch him. Much less to kiss the very palm she had feared.
Touching her had always felt good. But being touched—
That, too, felt unexpectedly good.
Strange.
Well then. The problem between them must be resolved.
“You seem fine now.”
He tried to settle his heart with that thought.
But something deep inside him churned. His chest tightened.
Why was his heart reacting like this? A swelling sensation rose up, difficult to name, making it hard to breathe.
“Alnazir?”
Fay called his name, as he struggled with the unfamiliar feeling. Her tone sounded worried. The simple way she said it sent another wave through him.
“Did you… not like that? The kiss on your palm?”
He hadn’t said he disliked it. He hadn’t disliked it at all. He couldn’t understand why she would think that.
“Look at you,” Fay murmured, wiping something from his cheek.
It was only then that he realized he had been crying.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just… I wanted to see if it was okay…”
Flustered, Fay cupped his face in both hands and gently brushed away the tears that continued to fall, one by one.
A moment too late, Alnazir realized what was happening. He stared blankly at her hands as they busily wiped his cheeks.
He had cried. Quite a bit, judging by her reaction.
And yet he had no idea why.
He knew humans cried when they were deeply wronged. Or overwhelmed with fear. Neither applied. And certainly not because he disliked her kiss.
If anything…
His eyes moved slowly before settling on Fay, the same girl who had once treated him like something terrifying and ran from him.
Only then did he realize how much it had hurt him. The sadness had burst out now that things were finally mending.
“Fay… you won’t be afraid of me or reject me anymore, right?”
How convenient it was to be able to speak. And how troublesome.
He had once been a simple being with just curiosity, boredom, anger. That was all.
But after meeting Fay, he had become something else entirely. Something tangled and complex, struggling to find words for feelings he had never known.
“I won’t disappoint you again. So… don’t hate me.”
“Uh…”
“And keep touching me.”
Fay blinked, confused.
“Like just now. I want you to touch me more.”
She stared at him in disbelief before breaking into laughter.
“Don’t laugh. Promise me.”
“I’m sorry. But this is your fault. You’re finally acting like a familiar.”
In truth, he looked less like a familiar and more like a man on the verge of being dumped, clutching at a witch’s cloak.
She swallowed that thought and gently stroked his damp cheek.
His reddened nose. His flushed cheeks. The way his eyes and lips drooped. The gold in his eyes trembled faintly. There was nothing ‘bad boy’ about him.
“This is my first time seeing a man cry because he likes me. I might actually be into that…”
Murmuring, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“What does that mean? Does that mean you won’t hate me anymore?”
Alnazir pressed urgently for an answer. Fay hummed deliberately—long and drawn out.
“Fay.”
“Well… I’ll decide after I confirm a few things.”
“Confirm?”
Whatever it was, hurry up. He reached for her waist, unable to wait.
Smack.
She slapped the back of his hand sharply. After hitting him, she peeked at his reaction.
The smug, wicked man from before was nowhere to be seen. Even after being smacked, he didn’t protest. He simply endured it, careful not to upset her.
Satisfied, Fay gently pushed his hand lower, away from her waist.
“Today, only I’m allowed to touch you.”
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