When Emmelyn woke up in the morning, she could feel her husband's body hugging her tightly, and his warm breath on her hair. She opened her eyes and tilted her head to see Mars' face.
She was wondering when did he arrive home. Must be after midnight, because Emmelyn was waiting for him long after she finished dinner.
She paced back and forth for a long time and asked Roshan dozens of times if her husband had returned or not, until finally she was too tired and fell asleep.
What kept him so long? And why didn't he send anyone to tell her that he was going to be late?
Did something bad happen in the royal palace? Or maybe something happened to Ellena?
By the way, how was that wench doing?
Thinking about Ellena, Emmelyn couldn't help but grit her teeth. She hated that woman with all her heart. She thought Ellena was responsible for her brother's death because Ellena brought Killian to the capital, where he ended up dying.
Obviously, Ellena planned something with Killian, or maybe she uttered some lies to the man that made Killian come to Draec and pretended not to know Emmelyn.
Whatever it was that she planned, didn't work out well because, at the last moment, Killian decided to save Emmelyn from suspicion by taking all the blame and accepting death as the punishment.
So many questions were raging in Emmelyn's mind. She wanted to know what happened after Ellena tried to kill herself.
Too bad the sword didn't hit anything vital so she still survived. By the way, Mars went to the palace to meet his father the king. They must be talking about what happened in this castle yesterday, about Killian, and Emmelyn.
She wondered what the king might think about them? Also... Mars said he would tell his parents about his marriage to Emmelyn. Did he manage to tell them?
What did they think about it? Were they mad...? Or did they accept it?
Gosh... Emmelyn's mind became a web filled with so many thoughts entangled with one another.
What happened in the royal palace? Why did Mars come home really late? He was never like this before. The only time he came home late and didn't send news was when he wanted to give her a surprise by getting her wagons filled with Wintermere flowers in winter.
It was such a sweet gesture that Emmelyn immediately forgave him. So, what happened this time? She was wondering.
Emmelyn looked at her husband's handsome face and saw he was still asleep. It was also quite unusual, because at this hour, normally he would already wake up and go out to train his men, before coming back to have breakfast together with her.
He looked so tired. Emmelyn raised her hand and touched his hair gently, careful not to wake him up. It looked like he did really need rest.
She snuggled more closely to his chest and hugged his waist. If he was really tired, then she would let him sleep longer and keep him company.
However, just then, Mars opened his eyes. He didn't have a good sleep and, even though he was so tired, was easily woken up by the slightest movement. The man looked at Emmelyn's face who tilted her face to see him as she felt him move. Their eyes locked.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Mars greeted her with a smile. "How was your sleep last night?"
He decided to look fine and not let Emmelyn suspect anything bad happened at the royal palace. Damn.
Emmelyn pursed her lips when she heard his question. How could she sleep well last night knowing he was out and didn't give him any news. She was so worried.
"I was waiting for you for hours," she complained. "Why did you come home late? What time did you arrive?"
"I am very sorry, there are several important things that I had to do. I forgot to send word," Mars replied dotingly. "I will make it up to you today by not going anywhere. What do you think?"
Emmelyn's eyes suddenly glint in happiness. If Mars really would make up to her by staying home with her all day, she would love it!
Yesterday, after he left for the royal palace, Emmelyn felt so lonely and sad. She had Mrs. Adler to keep her company while she visited her brother's body and mourned for him, but she still felt really empty and lonely.
She wished Mars was there with her and consoled her. She wished she could share her grief with her husband and just cried for hours without reservation.
She couldn't do that in front of other people. He was the only person she was comfortable being herself. Oh, how she wished she could stay with him all the time.
As Emmelyn was nearing the later stage of the second trimester of her pregnancy, she was feeling more vulnerable and clingy to her husband. This was something that she didn't like and couldn't get used to.
Being in this situation made her feel weak and helpless. Killian's death made things even worse for her. Now, Emmelyn just felt like she wanted to curl up in bed all day and did nothing.
"Do you promise?" she asked him. "Promise that you will make it up to me?"
Mars nodded. "I promise. I don't feel like going anywhere today and just stay with you."
Emmelyn hit his chest with her small hands and pursed her lips again. "I was so worried last night. I thought something bad happened to you. I had decided to go to the royal palace to find you if you didn't come home by midnight.... but I fell asleep."
"You did?" Mars looked at Emmelyn deeply. He touched her hair and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then, he closed his eyes and kissed her lips tenderly.
When their lips parted, he smiled faintly while touching his nose to hers affectionately.
"You must not do that next time. Don't think about going to the palace without invitation or without me. It's better if you just stay here and rest," he said to her dotingly.