I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke

“I’m so glad you’re in no condition to bear my child.” 

Evelyn doubted her ears.

 

It was a rather rude and outrageous statement to come from her husband’s mouth.

 

Besides, it wasn’t the right time for such a conversation.

 

Darkness hung like a veil over the couple’s bedroom.

 

Their bodies were still hot against each other. He was still hot against her body, and he was lusting after her so fiercely.

 “They say it’s much harder than you imagine to carry a child in your belly and pull it out.” 

He lowered his lips to trace the line of her slender body, then lifted his head as if to gauge her reaction, pressing his body against hers.

 “So, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you won’t have to suffer needlessly for your noisy, fiddly things.” 

Her heart sank. Evelyn felt the blood drain from her body at his words.

 

‘Pulling out, the thing…’

 

Evelyn consciously suppressed the hand that reached for her stomach.

 

Her heart sank with pity for the life that must have struggled inside her.

 

‘But I mustn’t show your weakness here.’

 

Her husband was a perceptive man.

 

‘If he finds out I’m pregnant, there’s no chance of keeping the child.’

 

Hardening her resolve, she stopped wrapping her arms around her lower belly and reached up to gently ruffle his hair.

 “Don’t worry about it, Kalian, for there is no way in hell that will happen. Only a woman divinely ordained can conceive your child.” 

Orpheus, the family that helped the Cardassian Empire unify the continent.

 

It was said that the gods would decide the fate of any descendant of the family who bore the mark of the Guardian.

 

So, without the use of a special spell, she could not have conceived Kalian’s child. No, she could not.

 “You don’t look happy.” 

Evelyn was jolted out of her reverie by the gravelly voice.

 

Her husband’s large, gnarled hand cupped her cheek as she remembered.

 

It was hot and affectionate, caressing her bony cheek, melting her frozen heart with tension.

 “I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

With a gorgeous smile, he kissed every inch of Evelyn’s sweaty face before meeting her gaze.

 “But I’ve heard that if you do it wrong, you could get very sick after childbirth, or even die.” 

His sweet voice melted her frozen heart.

 

Even as her breath tightened, Evelyn wanted to cry a little, just to lean against that arrogant kindness.

 “I’m not angry, I’m just…” 

Closing her eyes to hide the redness at the corners of her eyes, Evelyn opened them to feel his breath on the nape of her neck.

 “I’m just a little upset.” 

She ran her fingertips down his naked body, perfect as a statue in a temple.

 “Because no matter how hard it is, any woman would want to have a child with her beloved husband.” 

A loving husband.

 

Her stomach twisted and her mouth tasted like salt water as she spoke those noble, faithful words.

 

It was inevitable.

 

They had never been a loving couple, at least not in this life.

 

Evelyn needed the power to uncover the truth of her disastrous past, and Kalian, tormented by the curse that had fallen upon his family, needed her healing powers.

 

Falling in love with him was never part of her plan.

 

‘No, maybe it was never possible not to love him…’

 

Letting out a long, low sigh, she wrapped her arms around Kalian’s neck and pulled him gently to her.

 

His lips came up in response, licking the surface of her lips gently.

 

Her lips, chapped from a long day of lovemaking, were moist as petals in the rain.

 “Ah…” 

With a faint sigh, a thick tongue darted between her parted lips.

 

The tongue, embedded so deeply that it made her nauseous, lapped at the delicate mucous membranes and saliva in her mouth, relentlessly probing and exploring, as if carving its own mark.

 “Mmm.” 

Her breath deepened. Cold, cold, the slimy sound of the tongue stroking the inside of her mouth, wetting her eardrums.

 

Unable to resist the rush of passion, Evelyn tightened her arms around his neck, and he wrapped them tightly around her waist.

 

Their bodies pressed tightly together, and his lips, hungry for hers, gradually moved downward.

 

From earlobe to nape, neckline to hipbone.

 

Further down, past her voluptuous mounds and long-fanned navel.

 “Hmmm.” 

Her lower stomach tightened. Evelyn’s breath pushed to the limit as she gripped the sheets to hold back the sticky caress.

 “Evelyn.” 

He whispered low. The way he pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but ended up not, fueled her doubts.

 

‘It’s weird… Was it just me, or did his face look unusually dark today after all these years?’

 

Propping herself up on the bed with one elbow, Evelyn reached out with her other hand and stroked Kalian’s sunken cheek.

 

The feel of the smooth skin and the strong, masculine line of his jaw was hot against her palm.

 

She pushed down the rising tension and opened her lips calmly.

 “Kalian, you have something you need to tell me.” 

He nodded, his face hardening as if he could no longer hide it.

 

There was something almost regretful in his face as he met her gaze and finally spilled the beans.

 “They say the oracle has come down.” 

And then he said,

“Deborah. Saint of the Empire.” 

Ah, Evelyn sighed briefly.

 

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut, and a sense of déjà vu washed over her. Evelyn thought back to a moment in her past, back from the threshold of death.

 

…Then again, it had never been in her plans to love him this much.

 

At least not in this life.