"It IS NOT funny!!" Emmelyn hissed. She wanted to hit Mars more and scold him, but she was worried that Harlow would wake up. So, she could only pout and lay down her body with her back facing him.
The husband moved closer until their body touched and then he wrapped his arms around Emmelyn's waist and hugged her lovingly. He kissed her nape and buried his head there.
This was where he wanted to be. By her side.
"I am sorry, honey..." he whispered. "I thought you would understand immediately. I was teasing you because I was stupid. You should have known that I will never find another woman. To me, you are the one and only."
Emmelyn still pouted. She was so upset because she thought her husband slept with another woman. What made her feel worse was that she was not allowed to be angry even if it did happen.
How could she blame him if he really found a woman to comfort him in bed during the most difficult time in his life, and he thought his wife died? He was not cheating. He was also a normal man with healthy sexual needs.
This made Emmelyn resent herself for leaving. Even though, at the same time, it was also not her fault. This was the worst feeling in the world, when we couldn't find something or someone to blame for a situation. There was helplessness to it.
Because Emmelyn still didn't say anything, Mars continued to coax her. He massaged her arms gently while talking sweetly in her ear. "Do you want me to swear an oath to you now? I will do it. Please look at me, so I can say my oath properly."
Emmelyn furrowed her brows and finally turned around. She stared at her husband with narrowed eyes. "Huh? What are you doing?"
Mars sat up straight and raised one hand to his chest. His face was solemn when he uttered his vow. "I, Mars Strongmoor, the husband of Emmelyn Rosehill Strongmoor. Today, I vow to only touch one woman in my entire life, and she is my wife. If I break my oath, I will suffer a horrible disease and die a painful de—"
Emmelyn suddenly jumped at Mars and covered his mouth. She sounded so worried when she spoke, "Stop! Stoppp... Why are you doing this?"
Mars looked at her deeply and replied. "I never touched any woman but my mother for 27 years and I was doing fine. I can go back to it easily, curse or no curse. The only woman I want to touch, be with, and make love with is you. As long as I have you, I don't need anyone else."
He added, "I don't need to touch other women for whatever reason. That way, you will know that, to me, there has never been and there will never be anyone but you."
"You're crazy..." Emmelyn muttered. "No men in their right mind will want to go back to being cursed. Crazy..."
She was right. Mars lived for 27 years of his life being isolated from the females around him. He couldn't touch them because they would die.
For so long, he could only imagine what life was like to be on the other side. How would it feel to touch a woman, fall in love, and build a family with her?
After he was freed from the curse, Mars had enjoyed living like any other man. He didn't have to keep avoiding women. He didn't need to tiptoe, and he could experience the joy of sex and even produce a beautiful child together with his wife.
But now, he said he didn't mind going back to his old life? Was he out of his mind?
"Yes, I am crazy. Don't you know, I am crazy about you?" Mars took Emmelyn's hands and clasped them with his. "I am crazy madly deeply in love with you. When you were gone, I didn't want to continue living. My life was meaningless. If it wasn't for Harlow, I wouldn't be here now."
Emmelyn's mouth agape when she heard his statement. She didn't realize this man was very serious with his words. She thought he was just trying to coax her, doing damage control after his stupid joke just now.
But he was sincerely saying he didn't feel the need to touch any other women just to show that he was loyal to her?
"Y-you don't have to make such a vow..." she muttered. "What if I died first? You really need to get a new wife to take care of you and Harlow. I promise I will not be mad. Well... how can I be? I would be dead by then and I wouldn't care anyway."
"No, even if you died first, I will not get a new wife," Mars said firmly. "I will only wait until Harlow becomes an adult, find her a good husband, and then I will take my life so I can be with you."
Emmelyn shook her head. "This is not healthy. You sound like an obsessed man."
"I am obsessed with you," Mars said again.
At this, Emmelyn was finally at a loss for words. She didn't know when her husband became so good with words to coax her.
"So... do you believe me that I would never be with any other woman, but you?" Mars asked Emmelyn gently. "I just need you to trust me and give me a chance to make you happy."
Emmelyn lowered her gaze to hide her reddened cheeks. Dammit. This man was crazy in love with her and he was not ashamed to admit it. So, how could she stay mad at him?
"Fine..." Emmelyn finally said with an almost inaudible voice. "I believe you..."
Her heart fluttered and she decided to forget about his teasing earlier that made her feel upset. What happened to her anyway? She used to have a sense of humor. Last year, she would have found his teasing funny.
Emmelyn felt embarrassed by her uptightness. Maybe she had changed because of the prolonged suffering that she endured.
Gosh... she didn't want to change like that. Their life together would be bland without humor. She also didn't want her husband to tiptoe around her just because he was worried that she would feel upset easily.
Emmelyn pressed her chest and took a deep breath. She realized she was too uptight lately. She needed to be more relaxed.
They had gone through the worst part of their relationship and hit rock bottom. Surely, from here on, everything would be better.
"I love you," Mars smiled broadly and hugged her tightly. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."
Emmelyn felt her body melt in his embrace. His warm embrace filled her heart with warm and fuzzy feelings. His strong arms around her body were like the walls that protect her. She felt safe.
She felt saved, protected, and loved.
It was such a good feeling. Emmelyn whispered, "I love you too."
She looked up and kissed him again. Mars was very happy because Emmelyn forgave him so quickly and now she was willing to kiss him again.
As the kiss became heated, something hard suddenly poked Emmelyn's thigh. This reminded her that she was so close to letting her husband sleep with blue balls tonight, because of his teasing earlier.
Well.. since she was no longer upset, maybe she needed to do something about it, she thought to herself.
Emmelyn was not so heartless to turn him on and leave Mars to deal with it himself.
.
.
***********
Finally, we will have snusnu again in the next chapter. Ahahahhaa. I am finishing the chapter and will publish it soon.
PS: Thank you so much, DespinaNY for gifting TWO DRAGONS to "The Cursed Prince" today.. You are wonderful and I am grateful for your support. xx