Chapter 71
The desire to look at her own body during the bath had been sparked by the earlier sight of Aldrick’s body that afternoon.
Unlike his frame, defined by firm lines, the body reflected in the clean mirror showed soft curves.
Rosetta had been her first child, so the changes weren’t drastic, but after breastfeeding for a year, her once-rounded b*****s had lost some fullness, and her stomach bore the faint marks of stretching—unlike Aldrick’s body, which remained perfectly toned and smooth.
She didn’t truly believe it, but… what if Aldrick had lost interest in her because of how her body had changed?
It wasn’t an absurd thought. In fact, it was a common one. Violet remembered countless stories of men who cheated on their wives after childbirth.
Wasn’t she herself living proof of such betrayal?
Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind—Aldrick, in love with some nameless woman. Even imagining it made her blood run cold with disgust.
No, no.
Thinking such things without any proof wouldn’t help. She already knew from bitter experience three years ago how foolish it was to act based on assumptions.
Perhaps Aldrick was simply waiting for her permission.
She vaguely recalled a time when he had behaved similarly—then, too, he’d refrained from touching her, even in response to her teasing complaints.
Either way, this kind of foolishness had to stop. Staring at her naked body in the mirror without shame. What was she doing?
Just as Violet regained her composure and hurriedly reached for the cloth to cover herself—
“……!”
She felt her heart drop to the floor for the first time in a long while. So startled, she couldn’t even scream.
There, reflected silently in the mirror, stood Aldrick by the doorway, his eyes locked on her, burning with an intense green flame.
A tense silence stretched between them.
A moment later, Aldrick quietly stepped into the room and shut the door firmly behind him.
In the small room, a taut tension settled between the two, close yet distant.
***
“What… are you doing right now?”
Aldrick spoke in a low voice. It wavered slightly, as if he were restraining anger.
Frozen in place from embarrassment, Violet couldn’t move. She kept her gaze on his reflection in the mirror, caught in a whirlwind of thoughts.
She had to cover herself…
All she needed to do was pull the cloth over her shoulder, and she would be protected from that devouring gaze.
But another part of her resisted.
Wasn’t this exactly what she’d wanted? Aldrick’s desire, burning and undeniable.
The hungry look licking at her exposed body through the parted cloth was clearly full of raw longing. And she didn’t dislike it.
Compelled by impulse, Violet slowly turned around.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
As she turned, Aldrick stepped closer and asked in a low, bitten-off voice. His eyes were now fixed on her face, his expression unreadable but tinged with something fierce.
Their gazes met briefly, then his eyes dropped—then snapped back up, as if shaken awake. His green eyes, darker than usual, trembled violently.
“Hah…”
As if angry at his own helplessness, he looked up at the ceiling with a frustrated breath.
“Do you know what kind of resolve I… No, this is just… You really have a way of driving people insane.”
He muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists, pacing restlessly with incoherent words.
“You’re not going to explain why you’re standing there like that?”
Finally, regaining some composure, Aldrick barely looked at her anymore.
Violet, before answering, quietly wrapped the cloth around her body again, overcome with embarrassment. She had seen enough of his reaction.
“Yeah, cover up. No… don’t cover. No, do. For my sake, please cover up. No, don’t! Damn it!”
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