Chapter 78 - I Am Hurt

Esme paused and she sighed in relief even though she felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart. 

''I was teasing you just now, I mean it,'' He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. How can she be so relieved when he said that he did not mean it? What a ruthless girl!

Esme froze as her back slumped slightly, looking like a boulder was placed on her delicate shoulders. She felt more uncomfortable now. 

Aleister leaned closer to her as he slowly shifted a strand of her hair behind her ear, ''When I say it to you, I mean every word,'' He said, ''Don't doubt it. I have thought of every reason to not fall for you, but since I did, I am going to make you fall for me as well. No matter what it takes.'' 

Esme's fingers tightly clutched the material of her gown when his finger lingered behind her ear. She held her breath when she felt the numbness around the place where he touched.

All of a sudden, he pulled back from her and she came to her senses.. The sound of her rapidly beating heart was still alive in her ears. 

''What were you saying before?" He asked casually tilting his head back as he continued sipping his wine. 

''...Do I take his name or not?" When she was about to say 'Aiden', he interrupted her. What if he did it again? She decided to be cautious. 

''No,'' His tone was firm. 

Unreasonable. She said in her heart but Esme smiled from the outside, ''I was saying that at that time, you agreed to leave when he said,'' As he nodded, she continued, ''But didn't you find that place strange just like me? If I am not wrong, you are going there tonight.'' 

Amusement flickered in his eyes, ''You know me too well. One more reason for you to be the one I love.''

Esme choked on the air at his blatant affections that came out of nowhere, ''I am just seeing things as they are. You are think too much of me,'' She averted her gaze.

She inhaled a deep breath and she turned to look at him, ''Shall we go there?''

''I can take you there with me but what do I get in return?" He asked. 

''Why should I give something in return?" Esme blinked. 

''Because I am taking you there.''

''But...'' Esme frowned, ''You will get my appreciation,'' She said after some time. 

''With?" 

She thought about it, ''You have everything. What do you want from me...?" She paused, noticing his meaningful gaze. 

''As of now, there is nothing like that but let's leave it to future.''

''No, I am not giving you my word,'' Esme quickly said, ''What if you are unreasonable with your demands?" 

Aleister clicked his tongue, ''You are too stingy, Princess.''

That did not sound good to her ears, ''As long as it is not something unreasonable and something that I can afford, I will give it to you,'' She said.

He placed the glass of wine on the table beside the bed as he pushed himself to his feet before extending his hand towards her. 

Esme looked at him doubtfully. 

''Since you don't want to go, I will leave alone,'' He said and just as he was about to retract his hand, Esme realized that he was teleporting to that place. 

She quickly placed her palms in his. The corner of his lips tugged up and he pulled her up from the bed in one swift move and she crashed in his arms. 

''My nose hurts...'' Esme rubbed the tip of her nose which bumped into his rigid chest, turning red in an instant.

''Apologies. You move too much,'' Aleister glanced at her reddening nose as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Esme blinked, ''Didn't we disappear before by holding hands? What is this now?" She glanced at him accusingly. 

''I am rather exhausted lately. Unless I hold the person this closely, I can't use my powers to teleport,'' Saying that, he tightened his grip around her waist such that her body was entirely pressed against his. 

Esme wanted to protest and she was all set to stomp on his foot but when he said that, she paused. She recalled that he was poisoned when he went inside the illusion traps of Enchantment Forest. Was it because of that? She hesitated. 

In her moment of hesitation, she did not see the crafty smile that made its way to his face, ''I am too weak, Esme. I hope you don't fight a lot with me,'' He whispered rather pitifully. 

Hearing him speaking in such a tone for the first time, Esme said, ''Let's leave quickly then,'' She felt strange while being held in his arms like this but it was not unbearable to her. 

It was kind of....

The rest of her thoughts vanished when they disappeared from the room, appearing in the Enchantment Forest in the next second. 

Esme was still held tightly in his arms. 

She struggled to move but he whispered, ''I am quite afraid of dark, Can't we stay like this?"

''No, I am quite afraid of you. So we are not staying like this,'' Esme rolled her eyes as she pressed her finger on his chest and slowly stepped back from him. 

''Now I am hurt,'' Aleister placed his palm on his chest as he sighed dejectedly. 

Esme frowned as she turned around, ''You are too much,'' She mumbled as she picked up her gown and walked ahead.

''Too much? Why do you say so?" She tilted her head to the side to glare at him and he raised his hand to grab a few sleeping branches of the tree before she could walk into them, ''Be careful,'' He said. 

Esme looked ahead this time without responding to him. She was wearing a light-weight beige gown, unlike the other heavy ones that she wore in Castle. She could easily carry it while walking. ''Isn't this the place...?" Her footsteps came to a halt.