I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 99: Respecting Boundaries

Roxanna knew it would be much easier if she just kissed Zeir by surprise. That way, she could finish her mission quickly. But... how could she do that when Zeir was always so respectful toward her?

Just like her other husbands, Zeir had suffered while the evil Roxanna was still here. She had harassed him as well, and even though he didn’t show it much, Roxanna knew it must have affected him badly.

People often took it lightly when a man was the one being harassed. Some even thought the man was "lucky" if the abuser was a beautiful woman, like the evil Roxanna.

But abuse was still abuse.

If he didn’t want it... If he didn’t like it, then he wasn’t lucky.

He was a victim.

[Maybe Zeir has trauma because of this body... that’s why he never wants to touch me for too long,] Roxanna thought. [That’s understandable.]

On the other side, Zeir felt annoyed because Roxanna was once again assuming the worst, when in reality he only wanted to respect her boundaries.

At the end of the day, both of them actually wanted the same thing: they didn’t want to remind the other person about their abusive ex-spouse.

But because of that, misunderstandings happened.

"Zeir..." Roxanna called his name again when he still didn’t answer her. Her voice softened. "I understand if you don’t want it. I—"

"I want it," Zeir cut her off quickly. He then leaned forward on his knees and stared at Roxanna seriously. "All this time, I never tried to kiss you because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable."

Roxanna froze, and her mind went blank for a second.

[So... it’s not because he hates this body...]

Honestly, Zeir did hate the evil Roxanna, and back then, he always wanted to throw up every time he saw her face. However, once a new soul entered that body, Zeir could bear the sight of her face, and after getting to know Roxanna better, he wanted nothing more than to look at her face all the time.

Roxanna’s soul had washed away all the darkness that used to cling to that body, and Zeir didn’t see that body as "hers" anymore.

It belonged to Roxanna now.

"Really?" Roxanna asked quietly, reaching out and holding his hands. "If I hold you like this... you won’t feel annoyed?"

Zeir tightened his grip gently. Then he brushed his thumb slowly over her palm, as if he wanted to soothe her. "No," he answered without hesitation. "Why would I feel annoyed with you? You didn’t do anything wrong."

He paused, then added in a softer voice, "But... it would be bad if you didn’t like it."

Roxanna immediately said with full determination, "You’re my husband, so of course you can touch me!"

Zeir blinked, then his expression turned even more serious. "I don’t think that’s enough of a reason," he said. He looked at her like he truly wanted to make sure. "Like you once told us... if you don’t like it, then it’s wrong."

"So... Roxanna..." he spoke gently. "Do you want to be touched by me?"

Roxanna pressed her lips into a thin line, then slowly nodded. "Yes... I want it."

She lowered her head, but lifted her eyes so she could still stare at him. "I also don’t mind if you want to be kissed," she added. "Do you want me to kiss you now?"

[This is so embarrassing...] Roxanna thought. [Maybe it would be easier if Zeir made the first move, but... if I don’t kiss him first, I won’t be able to finish my mission.]

After a while, Zeir finally replied, "If you don’t mind."

"I don’t mind..." Roxanna admitted. Her cheeks felt warm. "But it’s kind of embarrassing. Can you close your eyes?"

She had made the first move before, to be exact when she kissed Cyrus. So kissing Zeir first shouldn’t have been a big deal.

But for some reason, she always got nervous whenever she had to kiss another husband.

[Alright. Calm down.]

[Just take a deep breath and do it!]

Roxanna took a long, deep breath. Then, without giving herself time to hesitate, she leaned forward and kissed Zeir on the lips.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: Complete the Kiss Set!]

[Reward:

Bond Rings — Effect: Trust and cooperation increase naturally (Can be wedding rings)

+17,500 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Total Spirit Points (SP): 83,200]

[Ding! Zeir’s affection increased by 5%]

The moment she heard the system’s announcement, Roxanna immediately wanted to pull away because the mission had been completed, so that should have been enough.

But before she could retreat, Zeir suddenly held the back of her head gently, but with no space for escape, and just like that... the kiss became longer than Roxanna ever expected.

She leaned closer without even realizing it, and her hands slowly landed on his chest.

Zeir’s hand slid down from her head to the back of her neck, as if he wanted to keep her right there. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close.

[What is this?!] Roxanna screamed inside her head. [Why is he suddenly so aggressive?! I thought Zeir was passive!]

The only reason Zeir had been so passive all this time was because he was afraid Roxanna wouldn’t like being touched by him. But since she had given him permission, he no longer needed to restrain himself.

"Zeir..." Roxanna called his name when he finally let go of her lips. But before she could say anything else, he pressed his lips against hers again.

"Zeir—" Roxanna tried to pull back and even placed her palm over his mouth. However, Zeir moved her hand away and kissed her again.

"What’s wrong?" Zeir finally stopped kissing her, but his face still hovered so close to hers, so close she could still feel his breath. His eyes were soft, but his expression clearly said he wanted more.

"You don’t want to kiss me anymore?" he asked softly. "I can stop."

"It’s not like that..." Roxanna quickly turned her face away, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I still want to kiss you, but..." she hesitated, her voice dropping lower, "but we’re outside."