Chapter 771 - The Question

When Theodore's lips touched hers for the second time of the night, Lucy felt as if a wave of emotions pass through her. She felt anxious, nervous, excitement building up in her nerves that turned her whole body alive with the slightest movement of friction that took place between them.

With her lips parted, Theodore's tongue sneaked into hers, probing and playing with it. Her body had started to heat up with him on top of her, and she couldn't resist circling her hands around his neck and weaving her fingers through the back of his head. She felt him capture her bottom lip, softly biting into it, and she whimpered into the kiss.

Theodore kissed her as if she was the most precious thing to him. He had treasured her for years, and he continued to do so while stealing her breath now. He sucked her lips, and somewhere in between, he felt Lucy bite into his lips, sucking the faint taste of blood from him.

He trailed kisses down her jaw and neck, nibbling and nipping the skin there. His hand traced the curve of her body with the nightgown that she wore. One of his hands settled on her waist. When he pulled away to look at Lucy, he noticed her eyes that looked slightly dilated and her lips parted.

He picked one of Lucy's hands and kissed her wrist, pressing his warm lips on her skin. The lone gesture was enough to melt Lucy's heart, and she saw the heated gaze in his eyes.

"I love you, Lucy," confessed Theodore. "I don't know when I fell in love with you, but I do know I love you. So much that I doubt I can bear it if you aren't next to me. I promise to never hurt you, to love and cherish you until the end. So don't leave."

Lucy realized she hadn't told Theodore about what she was going to do with the mansion. She put her arms around him to hug him. Closing her eyes, she whispered back to him, "And I love you. You are the only person who has been able to hold my heart."

Theodore was glad to hear it, knowing it wasn't just some fleeting emotions that would one day die.

"I am glad to hear that. So much glad," responded Theodore, hugging her back. He turned to his back so that he wouldn't weigh on Lucy, and she pulled back to look at him with a blush on her cheeks.

Theodore picked up her hand to kiss them, a warm smile on his lips, and Lucy returned the smile.

"I don't want to have more regrets than I already have," said Lucy. In the past, there had been misunderstanding from both their sides and now that it was clear, she didn't want to waste more time. She laid her head on Theodore's arm while resting on her side so that she could look into his eyes. "I will be going to the mansion only for some time. No matter how long it will be...in the end I will return to you, Theo."

Lucy's gaze was soft, her words sweet.

She leaned closer before pecking his lips.

Theodore, who held Lucy's fingers with his own, played with them back and forth. He kissed her back with a smile that broadened on his lips.

"What is it?" asked Lucy.

"I am happy that you are here. I don't know what I would have done without you," he replied to her.

Smiling, Lucy said, "Isn't that what I am supposed to say. My parents, my grandparents, my so called husband...I don't know if they ever saw me as a person." It was Theodore who had come to her at midnight, bringing her meals so that she wouldn't starve.

"You took care of me, but I was mean to you," her eyes lowered from him.

"You didn't know back then. You had the right to do it," Theodore brought her closer in his arms, placing his chin on top of hers. He brushed the back of her hair through his fingers, weaving it carefully.

Like a rabbit, Lucy got closer to Theodore's chest before letting her head rest. They had only kissed and spent time together, and she was more than content with it. She felt safe and protected in Theodore's company as if no one would ever come to harm her again.

"Did you sleep?" questioned Theodore when Lucy hadn't moved nor said another word.

"No," whispered Lucy.

"Lucy," Theodore called her name, and Lucy hummed before craning her neck up to meet Theodore's eyes.

"Hm?" she wondered if there was something important that he wanted to tell her.

Theodore sat up on the bed, and Lucy followed his suit. She saw him take both her hands in his, and he said, "Marry me, Lucy."

Lucy's eyes widened at Theodore's words. If it was possible, one could have heard her heart making incoherent noises.

"I know you have been married before and you might have some unpleasant memories from that, but I promise to erase those things that have pained you and to re-write them with the new ones. To give you the life you deserve," said Theodore looking in her eyes without blinking. "I would never want to defile you the way I did to others because you are different and special. Right now, you are the most important person to me and you deserve to be treated with love and respect."

Lucy wondered if he was telling about him not going further than the kisses they shared because he didn't want to treat her like the rest of the women he slept with before.

"I am not as pure as you think I am," responded Lucy, staring at their hands.

"Your heart and mind is pure, Lucy, and that is what matters. In my eyes, you will always remain that girl who liked to run in the corridors barefoot. Someone who was brave to wander out of the castle alone without the guards and the person with whom I shared blood from the flask," stated Theodore.