291 She Might Get Drunk

    biDraven/i/bb. /b

    “Tell me this, how do you think you would have felt if you had discovered I was your mate back then, when things between us were unbearable? Would you have epted me?”

    She wrinkled her nose immediately and shook her head firmly, the expression on her face so unfiltered it

    nearly dragged augh out of me.

    I couldn’t help it, so I reached out and gave her nose a quick, yful pinch. “And what does that reaction

    mean?”

    She swatted my hand away lightly, though amusement glimmered in her eyes. “It means I could never have

    dealt with a man like the past you.”

    “Oh?” I leaned back slightly, one brow arching. “And what exactly was wrong with the past me?”

    She exhaled sharply, almost as if the list was endless. “You were arrogant, overly authoritative and mean. You

    seemed determined to say hurtful things just to break me. You made me feel as though you were on a mission

    to crush every ounce of dignity I had.”

    Her words should have stung, but instead, I let a faint smile touch my lips. “That part was deliberate,” I

    admitted.

    Her eyes widened slightly, but I didn’t let her interrupt.

    “I saw how prideful and stubborn you were, and I thought the only way to bend you was to break you. I

    wanted to clip your wings before they made you reckless. But in the end, you…” I gave a low chuckle, “you

    ended up teaching me what patience truly is.”

    Her lips parted in quiet surprise, but the glint in her eyes told me she wasn’t as wounded by that truth as she

    might have been months ago.

    So I added, almost teasingly, “Do you know how many times your annoyance tempted me into killing you?”

    She burst out in a half–chuckle, half–gasp. “What? You were tempted to kill the woman you im to love?”

    I chuckled with her, shaking my head. “That was back then. Before you stopped hiding the good, the beautiful

    side of yourself from me. Before I realized just how much of a curse it would be to lose you.”

    Herughter softened into a smile, one that lit her features with warmth. I watched her quietly, feeling that strange, grounding peace that only she could draw out of me. 1

    “What baffled me more about you back then,” I said with a chuckle, “was how much you feared your family,

    but didn’t fear me.”

    The words had barely left my lips when her grin faltered. Subtle, but unmistakably, the spark dimmed from her expression as though I had plucked the wrong string on a delicate instrument.

    I cursed myself inwardly. Of all things to mention, that.

    I hadn’t meant it as a wound, more as a yful jab, but the silence that followed was sharp, and I could feel her slipping away from the warm current we had built.

    My curiosity burned, wanting to know why my observation had struck so deep, but I wasn’t foolish enough to

    press her now.

    ‘iBrilliant/i, iDraven/ii,/i‘ Rhovan said bitterly. “iYou’ve /iiruined /iiit/i.”

    So I tried to maneuver, shifting my tone back to something lighter. I leaned back a little, offering a small smile

    as if to brush it away, but the shadow on her face lingered.

    No amount of quick wit would restore what I had dented.

    I sighed softly and decided to let it go. Better to end the line of thought than to push her further into it.

    Reaching forward, I lifted her untouched ss from the table and held it out toward her. “Here,” I uttered

    gently.

    waste it.”

    Her eyes flickered to mine, hesitant, almost suspicious, but she took the ss anyway. I watched as she

    brought it to her lips, the creamy liquid brushing her mouth before she finally swallowed.

    Her eyes widened instantly. “It tastes… so creamy,” she murmured in surprise, her mannerced with

    unexpected delight. “And it’s sweet.”

    I couldn’t stop the satisfied nod that followed. “I knew you would like it.”

    A faint smile returned to her lips. “I do like it.”

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    Relief uncoiled in my chest, and I leaned a little closer, lowering my voice as though confiding a secret.

    “But be careful, Meredith. Don’t drink more than one ss at a time, otherwise…” my lips curved faintly, “you

    might get drunk.”

    Her softugh brushed against the air, soft but mischievous,pletely easing the tension I had caused

    earlier.

    She tilted the ss in her hand, the creamy liquid swirling as she lifted her gaze to mine.

    “Are you trying to get me drunk, Draven?” she teased, her tone carrying that sly edge I had grown addicted ollito. /li/ol

    My lips tugged into a slow smirk. “Would that be such a terrible thing?”

    She arched a brow at me, her silver hair catching the light as she inclined back against the sofa. “It depends.

    If it means waking up with a headache tomorrow, then yes, it would be.”

    I chuckled, low and unhurried, savoring the spark in her eyes. “If you woke up with a headache, Meredith, it

    wouldn’t be because of the drink.”

    Her lips parted, then curved into a knowing smile, a blush faintly rising in her cheeks as she tried to mask it

    with another sip from the ss. I wished I could keep that look forever.

    Meredith and I lingered there together, the silence no longer heavy butfortable, softened by the quiet

    clink of our sses and the faint sweetness on our tongues.

    Meredith sipped slowly, eyes half–focused on the rim of her ss, as though savoring more than just the

    drink. I didn’t rush her.

    Every now and then, I’d steal a nce at her, the faint glow on her cheeks, the way hershes lowered when

    she swallowed, the subtle rhythm of her breathing as it grew steadier.

    The storm between us had settled, at least for now. And for once, I allowed myself to simply sit beside her, no

    politics, no weight of crowns pressing down, just her warmth brushing against my side.

    When her ss was nearly empty, I set mine down and turned slightly, my voice calm but firm. “Give me the

    letter. I want to see what it says, and keep it with me.”

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