"KIHO, I'M not angry with you," Tilly assured her husband while they were walking in the dark hallway. Of course, they were walking while holding each other's hand. They actually didn't know where the hallway would lead them. It looked like they were in a basement. But she wasn't afraid because she was with Kiho. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But why do you look upset?" Kiho asked nervously. "You're pouting, Tilly."

She gently pinched her pouting lips. "I'm not."

"You are."

"Am not."

"You are."

"Am not."

"Okay," he gave in. "But you're jealous, aren't you?"

She stopped walking forcing him to stop as well. Then, she turned to him. "Excuse me? You think I'm being jealous?"

He nodded, his face looked as innocent as a cinnamon roll. Obviously, he was in a good mood. "Yes. This is the first time that you got jealous."

She raised a brow at that. "And you like that?"

"I'm not happy that I'm making you upset right now," he said. "But I like that you're being jealous. It makes me feel like you want me all to yourself.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I know that you love me even if you're not vocal about it, Tilly," Kiho said carefully. "But sometimes, I feel like you're putting a wall between us. Like you're telling me that you can live without me. Sometimes, I even feel like all you need is Winter. That even if I disappear from your life, you wouldn't care that much."

Okay, that made her feel very guilty.

To be honest, her original plan was to just marry Kiho and have Winter. Then, if her husband met Lucina Morganna again in that lifetime, she thought she could give him up as long as she had their son.

Eventually, her plan changed when she met the Kiho in this lifetime and realized that they could get along. And yes, she loved him. But she had her reservation because deep in her heart, she was still afraid of Lucina Morganna and her connection to Kiho in her past life.

So even if she allowed herself to love Kiho, she still held back and didn't give her heart fully to him. Yes, she knew that Kiho loved her but she was still traumatized by what happened to their marriage in her past life. She didn't want to be abandoned again.

No matter how much their relationship had changed in this lifetime, she still found it hard to overcome her trauma. She couldn't get the possibility of Kiho falling for Lucina Morganna again out of her head.

And as a result, she unconsciously put a wall around her heart.

He noticed that, huh?

"I'm sorry, Kiho," she said. Then, she let go of his hand to cup his face between her hands. "I'm just being careful because I'm afraid of getting my heart broken. And most of all, I don't want to be abandoned."

Kiho looked hurt by her confession. "Tilly, don't you trust me? Do you really think that I will abandon you?"

"It's not like that, hon," she said carefully while shaking her head. "I guess every married woman is afraid that their husband would leave them for another woman."

"Am I making you feel like I wouldn't be faithful to you forever?"

"No," she said. "That's why I'm saying sorry now. I let my fear control my feelings for you."

He leaned towards her hand on his face, then he turned his head to kiss her palm. "It's okay. All I have to do is make you feel my love for you every single day. So take your time, Tilly. I'll patiently wait for you until you give me you're ready to give me your whole heart."

"I don't deserve you, Kiho."

"That's not true," he said softly. "I belong to you, Tilly."

She smiled at his sweetness. "Gosh, I miss you. Even though you're with me now, I still miss you. I think I'm getting addicted to you."

"That's the only kind of addiction that I will tolerate," he said, then his golden eyes glimmered. "God, I miss you as well. If only this place is sanitary, I would have taken you right here, right now."

She blushed at that. Then, she playfully hit his shoulder. "Kiho, we're in a sacred place. Stop saying perverted things."

Kiho held her by the waist and pulled her closer to him. Then, he hugged her and buried his face against her neck. "Once we get home, let's make up for lost time."

Tilly smiled, but she nodded as agreement. "Okay."

***

TILLY was surprised when she saw Howard ran towards them as soon as they entered the temple's lobby.

The Holy Knights were following the High Priest closely.

"Lady Nystrom, are you okay?" Howard asked with a hint of worry in his voice. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

She was about to answer but stopped when Kiho stood protectively in front of her.

Gosh.

Tilly slightly pushed Kiho aside to properly face Howard. "Your Eminence, thank you for worrying about me. As you can see, I'm safe." She turned to her husband with a smile. "Kiho found me when I was trapped in the prayer room."

Kiho didn't smile but his eyes sparkled. Then, he gently caressed her face with the back of his hand.

"Lady Nystrom, may I know what prayer room are you talking about?"

She turned to the High Priest to answer him. "Your Eminence, I was at the prayer room where Miss Lilly and the other priestesses brought me to a while ago. The one with the statues of the Four Ancient Beasts."

"That's the problem, Lady Nystrom," Howard said. "As soon as the earthquake began, I looked for you with my Holy Knights. Miss Lilly said that you were in that prayer room so we hurried over to save you. But we didn't find you there."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't leave that prayer room, Your Eminence," she said, then she turned to Kiho. "Hon, how did you find me?"

"I'm not sure. I just followed my gut feel," Kiho said, then he turned to the High Priest. "But Your Eminence, I'm sure that the room where I found my wife is a prayer room."

"That's strange," the High Priest said. "We searched every prayer room in the temple but we didn't find you."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. Then, she looked for the hallway where Kiho and her came from. She realized that it was the same direction where the prayer room that she remembered was located. But the High Priest was saying that they didn't find her anywhere.

Was I transported into a different place when I met the fossi– I mean, the Red Phoenix.

But if Kiho found her, maybe Wixx brought her back to the first prayer room where she had been to.

"But I guess it's more important that you're safe, Lady Nystrom," Howard said.

She smiled and nodded. "Your Eminence, is everyone safe as well?"

"Yes," the High Priest said. "Everyone has been evacuated safely. It's not safe to stay inside the building after an earthquake so we should evacuate as well."

She was about to answer politely but suddenly, she felt dizzy.

Kiho seemed to have been watching her closely because as soon as she staggered, he was already behind her. He held her shoulders and let her lean against his chest. "Honey, I'll carry you. Is that okay?"

"Yes, please," Tilly said while nodding her head. "I feel tired."

"Lady Nystrom, you may go home with your husband for today," Howard said. "We can restart tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Eminence," Tilly and Kiho said at the same time.

***

"AN ISLAND in the East that worships the sun?"

Tilly nodded at Kiho's question. She was sitting on his lap while her husband was sitting on the chair behind the mahogany table. They were both looking at the giant map laid on it. Right now, they were in the study of the mansion. "Yes, that's what Wixx said."

���'Wixx?'"

"That's the name of the Red Phoenix," she explained. "But in my head, I secretly call him 'fossil.'"

Kiho laughed softly at that. Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently bit her shoulder. "That's cute."

"Hon, I think looking at the empire's map is useless," she said with a pout. "He didn't tell me the island's name."

"I think the Red Phoenix didn't tell you the name because he doesn't know it as well."

"Well, you have a point," she said, then she turned to him. "I'm glad that you're not being jealous of Wixx. Usually, you frown as soon as I mention another man's name."

"I'm not that petty to get jealous of a human bird."

She laughed aloud.

And then she felt, uh, horny.

The next thing she knew, she was already kissing Kiho while grinding herself against him. Kiho's hand slid under her night gown while the other started to cup her breast.

"Oh, please!"

Tilly was surprised when she heard another voice even though it was only her and her husband inside the study. But she was even more surprised when she suddenly found herself being carried by Kiho. She wrapped her arms around his neck even though she knew that he wouldn't drop her.

"Show yourself," Kiho said in a commanding voice.

A few moments later, a reddish light appeared in front of them. Then, it started to take the form of a human. Until finally, a young man with caramel brown hair, light brown eyes, and pale skin stood before her.

"Oh, god. My eyes," the young boy said. Then, he acted like he wanted to vomit. "I want to throw up."

She blushed when she realized that this strange young boy saw her making out with Kiho. Out of embarrassment, she buried her face against Kiho's neck and squealed. "Pervert! Why are you watching a married couple's intimate moment?!"

"Don't worry, honey," her husband assured her. "I'll kill him–"

"Oh, shut up," the young boy said. "I'm not here to spy on you. I was just sent here by my Lord Wixx to guide you in finding him."

"Who are you?" Kiho asked sternly. "How can we trust you?"

"Lady Nystrom has already met me at the temple," the young boy said. "I go by the name 'Sentinel.'"

Tilly gasped, then she raised her head to look at the young boy. "You are Sentinel?"

"Yes. But please excuse me for a while," Sentinel said while slowly disappearing. "I need to cleanse my eyes first."

***

PS: You may send gifts if you can. Thank you~

***

[NOTE: Please ADD my story in your LIBRARY so you can be notified when I post an update. Thank you! :>]