Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 362: Our Real Selves
“Stop talking nonsense, Dahlia,” Bradon warned.
“Then, why don’t you answer my question? I asked you if Anthony told you about this place,” I asked him again, although I knew pretty well that he wouldn’t answer my question.
After all, Bradon never answered any questions that I asked him about Anthony. It was like Anthony was a topic that was off-limits between us, and asking and talking about him became taboo. Bradon stared at me in silence as if he was deciding what he wanted to do to me. For a moment, I was truly convinced that he was going to lift me up and carry me over his shoulders like a sack of cargo, and my body stiffened just at the thought.
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Bradon replied so softly that at first, I wasn’t sure if I had imagined it all.
“What did you just say?” I asked while focusing my attention entirely on him.
Bradon seemed to hesitate to say anything more and I could feel my frustration rising up uncontrollably in my chest. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
“He didn’t tell you anything?” I asked blankly.
“That’s right, Anthony didn’t tell me anything about this place,” Bradon said softly, as if revealing a very important secret. Even though he spoke so softly, it felt like I heard him loud and clear this time around, but the meaning behind his words wouldn’t sink into my skull. It just didn’t make sense at all. If Anthony and I were the only ones who knew about this place and neither of us told him about it, then how did Bradon manage to find out about this place?
It felt like my mind was busy running around in circles, failing to find the answers that I was looking for. My frustration quickly turned into anger as I stared deeply into his beautiful eyes. The sincerity that I felt in the depth of his eyes gave me pause, and for a moment I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel or react. Something deep inside of me, an instinct and a gut feeling that I wanted to follow, told me that I should trust him and that he was telling me the truth. However, the truth that he was telling me seemed to be messing around with my mind because it felt like he was telling me that the impossible was true.
“I honestly didn’t think that this place would be so important to you,” Bradon said a little wistfully, as if he was recalling some memories of his own.
“Of course, this place is...” I replied before I realized what I was about to say out loud. Thankfully, I managed to catch myself in time before I totally spilled it out that this place was important to me because this is where I shared my first kiss with Anthony.
“No, never mind that. You better tell me how you found out about this place,” I said as I folded my arms over my chest defensively.
“You must hold such fond memories of this place. Shall we continue to make more memories?” Bradon suggested before his lips curved into a smile that made my heart skip a wild beat in my chest. I stared directly into his eyes as I felt my lips go dry and I was at a loss for words. He kept on staring at me as he closed the very little distance that laid between us. When I took a step back, I felt the hardness of the stone wall behind my back, and I knew that I had nowhere left to retreat. My gaze dropped from his eyes to his beautiful, slightly parted lips.
Who are you, really?
I felt like I was seeing Bradon for the very first time, or perhaps that was what it felt like for me to see him for himself. What surprised me so much was that I did not feel like he was a stranger to me. My unanswered question hung around us like a ghost that refused to go away. I was beyond confused, but more than that, I was suspicious. Before I knew it, a thought planted itself in the depth of my mind, and even though it was hard for me to believe, I couldn’t think of any other explanation that would make sense. The explanation was very simple, and yet it was very complicated and felt almost impossible at the very same time. In the end, I could only come up with one explanation for how Bradon knew about this place under the bridge without being told by either Anthony or myself.
“Bradon...” I whispered his name as my eyes narrowed when I felt like I had finally grasped the truth.
“Leya...” he called my name sweetly as his face approached mine. All the words that I wanted to say got stuck in my throat as his lips slowly came towards mine. I knew that he was about to kiss me, but my body did not put up any resistance, as if I was simply waiting for him to capture my lips with his own. My eyes slowly drifted closed as I readied myself to receive his punishing kiss. To my utter surprise, his soft and warm lips gently pressed themselves against mine. For a brief moment, the kiss felt so innocent, as if his lips were exploring mine for the very first time. The unexpected gentleness of his kiss stirred up a feeling inside of me that I couldn’t quite understand as I found myself both surrendering my lips to him and yearning for more at the very same time. As his lips slowly moved on mine, savoring the moment slowly because it felt so precious, I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes, and it felt like I was ready to start crying all anew.
If I had any doubts or uncertainties, all of them evaporated when his lips captured mine in that sweet and gentle kiss. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation and pleasure of his kiss as my lips began moving against his, while my mind recalled the sweet kiss that I supposedly shared with Anthony back then when we came to this place.
–To be continued...
