Reborn: The Tyrant's Obsession-Chapter 191: Butterflies in her stomach

Ella was momentarily entranced by that little smile on his face. She searched her memory, trying to recall the last time she saw him smile.

Looking at him, Ella remembered a particular saying—The princess has the kind of beauty that can cause a nation’s downfall.

"Is it good?"

’’Very..." Ella whipped her face away when he caught her staring at him.

Adrian pulled a chair for her and she took a seat, sulking to herself. What was so funny anyway?

"Are these not to your taste?"

The small pout disappeared from her face when she took in the sight of the variety of dishes served on the table. Ella had been on a strict diet for a while now but she did not refrain herself from eating whenever she went out.

She cleared her throat, "Thank..."

Adrian arched a brow, daring her to continue.

Ella shut her mouth and dug in but even after a few minutes, she could feel a strong gaze from across the table.

She didn’t know what was more sinful, the food, or the man staring at her like she was the entrée.

Halfway through, there was the sound of urgent footsteps.

"Second Master," Ji Yan halted in his tracks when Adrian’s cold gaze cut to him, "Miss Yu..." He bowed to the other person.

"Secretary Ji, is everything alright?" Ella asked, seeing the flustered look on Ji Yan’s face.

"Y-yes...’’ Ji Yan smiled, "All is good, Miss Yu. I am sorry to interrupt your dinner. This..."

"You guys can talk. I am almost done here," When she moved to get up, Adrian grabbed her hand. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

"Sit,’’ He dropped it like a command, showing no intention to let her leave.

"What is it?"

Seeing that his second master had no intention of keeping anything from Ella, Ji Yan spoke up, "We have managed to track down the governor. And there are some clues regarding the acting owner of the auction house."

Adrian did not say anything. Instead he tilted his face to the side and propped his forehead on his fist, his gaze landing right back on Ella who was eating without a care of the world. Her movements were slow and graceful even as she stuffed tiny bites into her mouth with impressive speed resembling a little... hamster?

Ji Yan: "_" Master, can you pay a little attention to the poor me too?

If not for risking losing his job, Ji Yan would have stomped his fit and thrown a tantrum out of frustration.

He was out here spilling some informational tea and they decided to shove dogfood down his throat. Every day he woke up, chose work, and got fed dog food. Maybe it was time to unionize.

Just when Ji Yan believed he was forgotten and forced to become a part of the backdrop, Adrian opened his mouth, ’’And?"

Just one single word yet the meaning of it was clear: This puny information better not be the only reason you interrupted our ’quality’ time.

Swallowing his invisible tears, Ji Yan opened his mouth, "The Vermilion Bird Auction House is a property that was gifted to the First Young Master by the Old Master. So, after his... tragic death, the property papers should have been in his residence or his room in the main mansion.

I had arranged for our people to look for it but they couldn’t find it."

Adrian’s expression finally shifted at this moment. He tilted his head down and his long eyelashes covered the storm brewing in the pair of onyx eyes.

Ella kept chewing, pretending not to listen though every word lodged itself into her skull like a dart. But this piece of information that came out of nowhere startled her a bit.

As the heir of the Kings, Adrian was addressed as ’Second Master’ so it was not hard to know there must have been a ’first’ too.

Yet nobody ever spoke of the man. Even in her previous life, after all the years she had lived, she had not known anything about Adrian’s parents or his elder brother. Nobody in the King Family mentioned them.

So, she had always assumed they were dead. But Ji Yan’s words revealed something she had never known.

Adrian’s elder brother was actually the legit owner of the Vermilion Bird Auction House. But with him dead, and the property papers missing, how could the auction house continue to function so smoothly?

One possibility was that there was some dirty play and somebody had taken the power into their hands. But, who could be formidable enough to get stuff out of the residence of a member of the King Family.

Unless... Adrian’s elder brother was not actually dead.

The depth in Ji Yan’s words and the solemn air in her surroundings suddenly led Ella to the realization.

But she stopped herself from speculating... just in time.

That night, Adrian accompanied her throughout the dinner, barely eating a little before he dropped her at her room.

Ella knew that he wouldn’t be staying there so she unquestioningly raised her hand to say goodbye, "Baby, take care—"

Her remaining words died in her throat when the man grabbed her fingers and pulled her palm to his mouth. Meeting her gaze, he pressed a firm kiss on her knuckles.

They stood there at the entrance of the room with her standing inside the room and him outside.

For a long time, nobody spoke. Adrian also did not let go of her hand.

Ella couldn’t quite understand what he was thinking. A faint realization occurred to her... Could he be reluctant to leave her side?

No, no, Ella, don’t be kidding! Beautiful and charming as you are, your narcissism will be the cause of your downfall.

Most mornings, Adrian was already gone before she even opened her eyes. Why would he be reluctant to leave now?

There was no way he was that attached to her. Except—

Adrian tugged her fingers gently before pulling her into his arms. One of his muscular arms wrapped around his waist while his other hand settled on her back, his huge palm cradling the back of her head.

The man was almost a foot taller than her. He had to bend while she had to stand on her tiptoes to not be completely crushed in his solid chest.

Adrian held Ella in his arms, his heart tightening just at the thought of separating from her when this was the first time she probably truly wanted him to stay.

He lowered his head and his lips grazed over the crown of her hair.

Ella could feel the wings of the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The feeling was ticklish yet intense.

He had hugged her before and she had felt the same. Yet, there was something different about this time.

As she watched him leave, it suddenly dawned on her.

The idea of trying to give their relationship a chance did not sound as bad suddenly, nor did it feel like a compromise anymore.

Worse, she’d started hoping.

’Adrian, you better not let me down.’

The next morning, Ella got up early and took a shower before she sat down to do her skincare. As usual, she pulled out her notepad and jotted a few ingredients while at it.

Just as she finished applying subtle makeup, her phone buzzed with a text from Adrian.

Adrian: [Good Morning]

"_" A good morning text from Mr. King? God, she must have lived long enough to see such a day?

No emojis, nothing, she could almost imagine him staring at his phone solemnly for a long time before typing it out.

The thought made her chuckle. Cute. Princess Adrian was so cute!

Suddenly, a flashback shot through her mind like a thunderbolt. Him. Between her legs. With his mouth doing unholy things. Totally... UNCUTE!

Ella’s face shifted colors faster than the weather of Vermilion City, turning the deepest shade of red as she shook her head intensely, to throw the visual out of her head.

Just as she typed to reply to Adrian’s text, there was a knock on the door.

When Ella opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of the person she least expected to see early in the morning.

Lilith stood at the door with an exquisite golden box in her hand. Behind her, a tall man was standing. One hand inside his pocket, the other hand holding what seemed like Lilith’s purse.

Something about him made Ella’s gut twist and unbeknownst to herself, she took a step back.

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