Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 344: Not another rejection

The night that was the beginning of all her nightmares, ’’You call me princess but you act like one, never listening to people, never caring about anyone and worrying everyone all the time..’’ Esme’s eyes reddened and she turned her face to the side, unable to bear the sight of his still body.

If not for his even breathing, the turmoil in her heart would have long transformed into something worse.

Esme pushed herself to her feet and turned to leave when fingers wrapped around her wrist lightly, making her halt in her tracks.

Her eyes widened. She turned around only to find Aleister who was now gazing at her.

While Esme stood there in a daze, Aleister moved. He sat up on the bed and gently tugged her closer, making her sit on his lap.

Esme snapped back to her senses and immediately moved to stand up, ’’You are not well. You...’’

’’I can never be so weak that I can’t hold you,’’ he pulled her closer to himself.

Although his voice was hoarse but his words were filled with unwavering confidence.

As Aleister buried his face in Esme’s neck, she ran her fingers through his hair, ’’Rowan has regained consciousness and his health is better than ever..."

Esme hesitated for a moment before she added, "He fainted when he opened his eyes and saw me because he thought I did some black magic on him to revive him and torture him,’’ Esme’s lips twitched slightly when she spoke about that.

During the time she was in Daven’s castle, the powers of a mer were awakening inside her and unintentionally, Rowan had become a victim of her newly awakening powers. Although he was a powerful knight but magic was not something he could compete with regardless of how skilled he was. Hence, her powers had left some lingering fear in him and he remained wary of her.

Aleister stifled his laughter as he shifted his face to a more comfortable position, burying it even deeper in Esme’s neck.

Esme wrapped an arm around his back and scurried closer to him, ’’I know you want to laugh. You can do that,’’ when he chuckled softly, she pinched his back even though she believed that it did not cause him any pain given the way he laughed harder.

’’I am glad that he is awake,’’ Aleister whispered once he stopped laughing.

Esme nodded. She had no idea about the things that had transpired with Rowan and by the time she came to know about it, Aleister’s life was in danger so she did not even have the time to think about it.

’’Do you blame me?"

’’For doing what you did?" Esme paused her movements.

’’Yes.’’

Esme continued raking her fingers through his hair, ’’No. I would have done the same,’’ Even though she was scared and even though she would rather have Aleister unharmed but would it be Aleister anymore if he was not wilful, if he did not act like he did not care about the world while having the softest heart? Would he still be the man she irrevocably fell in love with?

"Do you blame me for other things?" His hands slowly wrapped around Esme’s waist as he pressed a soft kiss on her neck.

Esme paused, ’’I never did. I will never do that.’’

Her response had him lifting his head to look at her. There was a hint of astonishment in his eyes.

Although no explicit words were exchanged between them, both of them were of what Aleister was talking about when he asked that question.

Esme looked into his eyes, ’’I believe in fate. You might not believe in it but I do,’’ she lowered her head, ’’What happened with my mother might be a part of her fate or a cruel play of destiny. My heart has sought her presence throughout the years as I grew up. After my Aunt told me about my mother’s sufferings and the possibility that she might still be alive, I felt renewed hope. My heart was in chaos. I wanted to find her and make it up to her by giving her everything she had lost in her life. I wanted to be a good daughter to her.

Never once did I feel calm when I thought of the woman who gave birth to me until I got to know everything about her.

I realized she was not as miserable, not as pathetic as I thought she was. She was just like me, living and embracing her life through all its ups and downs. She lived through the days of happiness, she experienced true love and motherhood. She faced battles and grief.’’

Esme would not say that there was not a lingering bitterness in her when she saw her father standing alone, forlorn.

A woman who came all the way to meet her lover was gone even before she could catch a last glimpse of his face. What could be more tragic than that? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But at the end of the day, Anastasia Reis was loved, adored, and always remembered. Wherever she was, she must be like a star, shining despite the darkness enshrouding the sky.

Even though her absence made Rezeph desolate but her memories were enough to put every broken piece of his heart together and heal it.

Esme had seen it in the way her father talked about her mother. The adoration, the worship, and the happiness in his voice every time he remembered some incident about her.

Esme cupped Aleister’s face and kissed his forehead, ’’When I discovered that my father was occupied with you when my mother was going through torture, I felt sad. But I never once blamed you, Al. I felt sad because why do I have to lose a loved one to find another?"

If her father was not with Aleister, then maybe her mother would still be alive.

If the young Aleister had not been saved by Rezeph back then, she might never have met him.

Fate could be cruel.

And all of that was just left for her to wonder because things that were bound to happen had happened.

Esme was troubled over everything she lost but she felt grateful for finding Aleister. And that feeling had perplexed her back then.

But when Aleister was in danger, that was all it took for her to realize that while the past mattered to her, he was a part of her present.

And there was no point thinking about what should have been or could have been.

Esme kissed Aleister’s lips, ’’A world without you is a world I would rather not see.’’

Aleister raked his fingers through her hair and tilted her chin up before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

As their lips parted, Esme leaned into his arms and buried her face in his neck as she panted softly, ’’Al..’’

Aleister stroked her back gently, ’’Yes, my dear moon?"

’’Marry me, will you?"

Aleister’s movements halted, his heart skipping a beat.

’’Do you not want to?" Esme pulled back to look at him when she did not get a response from him.

’’You want me to marry you?"

Esme nodded, a complicated expression passing through her eyes as she looked at him, ’’In the future, I want you to be responsible for me. Even if you ride a horse, I want you to remember that if you fall and die then there is someone you should be answerable to before you can die.’’

’’My dear moon, I won’t die if I fall from a horse. And how can a dying man be held answerable?" the corners of his eyes crinkled as he barely restrained his laughter.

Esme narrowed her eyes, ’’I want to keep you to myself. I want you to be my husband. Being your lover does not satiate me anymore,’’ she got on her knees and moved forward gently till she was straddling him, the layer of clothes being the only barrier between them, "I will not take another rejection this time," she whispered, remembering the last time she asked him to marry her back in the Daven’s castle.

Esme could hear the sharp and shaky intake of his breath as he squeezed her waist in his rough palm.

’’I have become greedy, Al. I want everything that you can offer me," she said softly.

’’I am yours, princess,’’ Aleister whispered, his fingers tugging at the lace of the gown that fell apart within the next instant, cascading down like lotus petals, ’’I have always been.’’

And those were the only affirmations that Esme needed before she gripped his hair and captured his lips.

As all the curtains of barriers fell, their intimacy ignited a passion that made the moon blush with desire.