His Demoness

43 ⚔️ Honest Feelings

Xiaoyu was awake.

She wasn't just awake, she was finally herself. Her eyes that were clouded before, now danced with life and fire. By some means, she had broken out of the trance from the Puppet Curse that was placed on her, through her own will.

When their eyes met, there was a pull between them that both of them couldn't deny. It was like a tingling jolt of electricity, and the air around them pulsated with it.

The time that they spent being separated felt like eternity to Zhijian. An ache had built up in his chest, threatening to overspill. He took a step towards Xiaoyu and reached for her hand, but she retreated from him quickly, turning on her heels in a hurried attempt to flee.

"Wait!" He chased after her, fearing that he might lose her again. "Stop!"

She didn't stop, and he heard her frightened voice. "Stay away!"

They broke into a clearing, the pale moon illuminating her slender figure as she fled from him. She was running as quickly as she could, but he was faster. He closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds.

"Xiaoyu!"

"Don't! Leave me be!"

Her stubborn refusal to stop bewildered him. When he finally caught up to her, he grabbed her arm and swung her around to look at him. He glimpsed fear in her eyes before she buried her face in her hands and hid from him.

Zhijian was confused. "Why are you running away from me?" he demanded. "Look at me, I'm not hurt."

He gave her all the time she needed to calm down. Slowly, she lifted her face away from her hands and glanced up at him.

"It's not possible," she gasped in disbelief and clutched at her throat. "My voice... How is it that my ability isn't working on you?"

She stumbled backwards in shock, but he tightened his grip on her and pulled her towards him in an embrace. No matter how much she struggled against him, his arms tightened around her. He wasn't going to let her slip away from his fingers again.

"Let me go."

"No."

Under the heavy weight of his stare, she winced and quickly averted her eyes. The sight of her refusing to look at him hurt him a little.

"Please don't look at me like that," she pleaded.

A frown flickered across his face. "Tell me about it," he said quietly. "How do I look at you?"

"Like–" she swallowed hard. "Like you care about me." Taking a deep breath, her bottom lip quivered slightly. "You don't know how much it hurts to know that you will never feel the same way as I do."

His breath stalled. Wait, did she mean what he thought she was implying?

His eyes softened and his voice dropped to a low whisper. "What makes you think I don't have feelings for you?"

"I– wait, what?"

Surprise flashed in her wide eyes, but he continued his confession. "The past month without you by my side was a torture. You're all that I think about everyday. Hearing the news of your death devastated me. But seeing you alive? You've made it impossible for me to stay away from you."

"B-but–" she stammered. "You hate me."

Zhijian flinched at her words. "At first, I did. But after getting to know you, I finally understand. Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. What happened to you is the perfect example of that. I may have been a fool to believe the rumours but over time, the goodness of your heart won me over."

Hearing his honest thoughts about her, her cheeks flushed red instantly. "You don't have to do this. The soulmate bond... I've already severed it. You're not bound to me anymore."

He sighed softly, bringing his hand to her chin and tilting her face upwards. "What must I do to get through your thick skull and make you understand me?"

But he already knew that there was only one way to do it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhijian lowered his head and kissed her.

Her body froze. With his hands grasping her small shoulders, he felt her tremble. Her lips were soft, warm and felt overwhelmingly right against his, her hands were gripping his arms for support as she grew weak at his touch.

Kissing her felt good. He wanted more, but he feared that he might push her too far.

With great reluctance, he broke the kiss but didn't pull away from her. He rested his forehead against hers, staring deep into her mesmerising eyes that were like autumn leaves in a pond.

"It doesn't matter if we don't have the soulmate bond," Zhijian said. His finger brushed across her rosy cheek. "I've fallen in love with you unconditionally and irrevocably."

"I don't deserve it." Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. "I don't deserve your love."

He smiled at her. "You don't have a choice."

She swallowed thickly. "But–"

"What you said to me earlier... You like me too, don't you?" When her face flushed red, a grin immediately broke out on his face. "Then there's no problem, right?"

He took her face in his hands, as if she was delicate as a flower. As the wind ruffled their hair and clothes, he pulled her closer to his body fearing that she might be cold. He brushed her raven locks back from her cheeks and pressed another gentle kiss on her lips.

"Promise me," Zhijian said. "Promise me that you won't run away from me again."

Her resistance crumbled. A bead of tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his fingertip. He saw how her beautiful eyes wavered with emotions, how she bit her bottom lip.

And he fought the urge to kiss her again.

He waited for her reply. No matter how long she would take, he was willing to wait and listen to her. Especially to that beautiful voice of hers. Her ability might not have affected him the same way it did for others, but he was, nonetheless, enraptured. After all, who could resist such a captivating, sweet soul like her? 

When she finally gave him her answer, his heart burst with joy.

"I promise."

A/N: Woohoo!!! The moment which you guys have been waiting for is here! I hope this scene was worth the long wait! 🤭🥰

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