Before Alex knew it, he was already on the bed, lying next to her. Her arm was wrapped around his waist as she lay on her side, with her injured leg on top of him, pinning him down well and truly.
Alex stared up the ceiling as he thought about what just happened. This little lamb actually tamed him just like that. She even made him lie next to her like this, almost as if she had turned him into her obedient pillow! What was going on? When did he become this considerate towards this little fruit? When did a kiss start to affect him like this?
Alex thought hard about this. He looked back on his reactions since the moment he found out that she was missing and he surprised himself. For the first time, he experienced how it felt to become desperate, to not be in control, almost going insane from his rage. He experienced the kind of emotions he thought he never possessed. All of these feelings were completely new to him.
A quiet sigh left Alex's lips as he lifted his arm and placed it on his forehead. He didn't think that these emotions were awakened by his little lamb but that she had somehow placed them inside him without him knowing it. The worst thing was that these new emotions were dangerous to have, at least for someone like him.
"Alex…" Abi's voice pulled him back from his thoughts and the man immediately turned to look at her.
His brows abruptly knotted in displeasure. "You're still awake? I told you to –"
"But I just woke up not long ago!" she cut through his words, pursing her lips. "I will sleep once my body needs it. Besides… I'm afraid you'll ditch me once I close my eyes."
"I won't leave you, Abigail." He enunciated every word. His mood shifted again. His gentle voice and expressions disappeared and the usual moody Alex returned.
"Were you the one playing that flute?" she asked when he looked away from her and stared up at the ceiling again.
"No, it wasn't me," he answered. For some reason, there was an undercurrent in his voice that she couldn't comprehend.
"I see… If not for that person, I think I never would have found my way out –"
"How did you manage to evade those traps?" he cut her off this time. He sounded like he didn't like what she just said.
"I used stones. I threw them in the dark and listened to the sound they made to avoid the traps. And then… I heard that melodic sound. I followed it and that's how I accidentally found the secret passage."
"You heard the sound while you were still inside the dungeon?" Alex was surprised. The part of the dungeon where the traps were laid down was far away from that exit where Zeke played the flute. How could she hear it?
"Mm. My hearing is my superpower. I can hear things that most people can't." She smiled at him, like she was boasting about her gifted talent. "Hmm… if it wasn't you, then who was it? Ah, could that person be my guardian angel?!"
Alexander suddenly emitted an ice cold aura before he glared at her.
He cupped her face and moved his face close to hers. "He's not your guardian angel, little fruit," he said, sternly and unhappily. "Instead of just playing that damned flute, he should've just entered from that exit and opened that damn secret door to save you! That punk, I really want to skin him alive."
Alex gritted his teeth. He couldn't understand why Zeke didn't just go in to get her instead of just playing the flute but then again, Alex couldn't deny the fact that Zeke still saved Abigail, not him, so he really couldn't complain when he himself could do nothing.
But what he did confused Alex. Alex knew what Zeke wanted but he contradicted everything with his actions and did the complete opposite of what Alex expected him to do.
"Now sleep, little fruit." Alex put his palm over her eyes to force her to close them. However, once again, he didn't expect what the little lamb did next.
She stretched out her hand and touched his face. "Alex, thank you for being there when I came out."
She smiled sincerely at him and Alex slowly removed his hand from her eyes.
"You knew I was there?" he asked, surprised.
"Mm. I heard you call out my name. I knew you were looking for me. I thought that you were waiting for me outside the entire time so I didn't give up until the end." Her face beamed even brighter but Alex's face seemed to have stiffened.
"Abigail… you know that this happened to you because of me, right?" he said. His voice became cold again. Since he found her, Alex thought that this little lamb's attitude towards him would change from now on. He even thought that she would be traumatized and would finally quit once she woke up. But she didn't. She was right there, lying on his bed, smiling at him and thanking him.
"I know. But you were also the reason I got out of there. I didn't give up because I wanted to prove to you that I could handle the hell you spoke of," she said seriously.
Then in the next second, she looked up at him with her big round eyes, blinked a few times before she asked, "Didn't I do well?" in a tone akin to a little child showing their parents that they could ride a bike without training wheels for the first time and looking for their praise.
Alex looked at her expression with incredulous eyes. Was this little fruit actually asking to be given a pat on the head for a job well done? Before he could say or do anything, she spoke again.
"But what I still don't know is why. Was it because... they don't like me? Are you this country's crown prince?" she asked, her big eyes looking expectant as she waited for his reply.
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