Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 74: Love Language

Chapter 74: Love Language

"Let me go."

I was practically willing to tumble down the stairs by now, so I pushed back harder than necessary.

Any more time with this guy, and it’ll suck my remaining self-respect away.

"Eli." He looked serious. If I took my time to look, maybe I’d see the exhaustion on his face. But that’s a big if. Currently, I have no time to sightsee when all I want is to headbutt the guy.

"Shhh!"

"Don’t, Lucian. Keep whatever you want to say to yourself. If we’re to keep this professional relationship going, I need you to shut your trap."

I had to warn him because words mattered to me, sometimes even more than actions.

Shitty "love" language, if you ask me.

There wasn’t even any love here, but if he said something that would further damage me, it wouldn’t be easy to perform the besotted wife act.

And even if I’m pissed as hell, there’s no way I would renege on the agreement, primarily since I’ve known that he was an asshole from the start.

"So what?" He said out of nowhere.

"?"

I couldn’t follow his line of questioning. Does he think I’m overreacting??

My brows furrowed, ready to explain to him how regular people have emotions.

And maybe, if he paused before speaking, he’d encounter fewer problems in life.

But Lucian interjected before I could give him a piece of my mind.

"So, what if you’re burdensome? I don’t see a problem in that."

"Do you have to keep on pointing it out?! I already know I’m burdensome." I puffed out angrily. This guy passed all the psychiatric exams. Why the hell was he like this?

"Yes, because you’re not getting it."

"How am I not getting it when you keep drilling it on me?!" I screeched as I struggled to swing both legs to one side.

I’m just going to escape by myself.

"Clearly, you don’t. Why does it matter if you’re the biggest burden the Earth has ever seen?"

What the hell was he talking about?

"In the end, you’re still my burden to carry. I was wrong to tell you to stop being burdensome when there was no need to do that. I’m sorry."

I’m just blanking out by now because I’m not really absorbing what he’s saying.

Lucian just cupped my head, his hands holding my face.

"But what you need to know is that it doesn’t matter how big of a shit storm you make. Or how much baggage you’re planning on dumping."

"Provided you’re dumping it on me."

I don’t know what part of that triggered it, but my eyes just gave up trying to hold it together.

And Lucian tried wiping my "eye sweat" with his thumbs.

Nothing about that should touch any heartstrings because, in the end, he still called me a burden. All he was saying was that he was expecting it.

"What kind of guy would say such a thing?!"

"The kind of guy who’s insane enough to ask for more trouble just to keep his wife."

"You! You are mean! I don’t like you!" Now, I just sound like a whining child, but I can’t see with all this water, and my breathing has turned erratic.

"You don’t have to like me to stay with me."

"Be angry, scream, or even curse. Just don’t run away where I can’t find you."

"Have you gone insane?!" I said in between sniffles.

"Pretty sure. I’d have to be insane to have gotten used to having you around."

"And I am a creature of habit, so you’re stuck with me."

Does he think he sounds cool when he says shit like this?

Yes, yes, he does.

It’s aggravating how even my brain has turned against me.

"This doesn’t change the fact that you’re insensitive! And, and very annoying!" I hiccuped in anger.

"How was I supposed to know you’d be bothered by something like that?"

"Only you wouldn’t be bothered by something like that! Us normal people would recoil from such a thing." I smacked his shoulders for good measure.

"Being bothered by that statement to this extent wasn’t just an insult to you, but to me as well."

"Are you trying to make excuses for yourself now?!"

"If I wanted to make excuses, I could’ve started with that and saved us both this trouble."

"But if we’re going all out, then you should also understand your mistakes."

This crazy ass bastard!

"Am I so weak to be easily taken down by mere burdens? Or am I incapable in your eyes?"

"Or was it that I’ve gotten myself fooled into a marriage without knowing what I was getting into from the beginning?"

I blinked at him, trying to see whether he was just shitting me by making things up.

"However you look at it, you’re saying I’m either incompetent or gullible."

"Aren’t you just overreaching? I get it already!" I tried to use my hand to silence his mouth from saying more cringeworthy (swoon-worthy) things, only to be licked by his wicked tongue.

"Now, you’re reacting? Weren’t you overreaching by running away from home? Did you think I wouldn’t notice?"

Technically, I assumed he wouldn’t notice because I was really doing him a favor by ticking all his initial requirements.

"I was making an effort to give you a good working environment. You call that running away, but I call that convenience. You always grumbled about work distractions, after all."

"Working conditions, my ass. My productivity went down trying to figure out how you’re getting your meals." He said as he flicked my forehead.

"Ouch!"

"You’re being very mean to someone who’s allegedly trying to apologize!"

"Mean? I haven’t even begun."

"An autopsy of your body would show croissants and coffee. Do you think that’s proper?"

That was, admittedly, unhealthy. But food is food.

"I ate. Nanny fed me, and I learned to cook!" I suddenly remembered my new skill and was proud to shove it in his face.

"Oh? So, what have you been cooking? And who’s been eating them?"

Odd. I shivered at how he asked the last question.

"Why would I tell you?!"

"My dear wife, it seems like you still don’t understand your situation."

He tugged at me again, his face inching closer, so I panicked and fessed up. "Eggs! Auntie Lin taught me how. My family has been eating them."

"So, I can cook now. I’ll be able to eat."

Lucian just laughed like he’d given up, only to rest his head on my shoulder.

"Here I was, thinking of preparing steak and eggs for you." He sounded regretful, and my brain was equally in pain for missing out on steak made by Lucian.

I drooled a bit, unable to help myself.

"Maybe I can just cook the egg, and you can make the steak?" I asked hesitantly while being a bit hopeful.

"Hmmm...that should work."

He made himself comfortable; he just maintained his position, and I even thought he’d fallen asleep.

"We’ll cook later. So just come home with me."

I’d love to say more about this experience, but that was just how one glutton was tricked into house arrest, but that’s for much later.

"But for now, we’ll get you something to snack on. And baby, you need to stop crying because you look like you’re being abused."

"But I am being abused!" I wiggled in indignation.

"Yes, yes, how very unfortunate for you." Lucian just kissed the corners of my eyes while patting me on the head.

"Now, give me a proper kiss before we leave."

I stared at the guy, unmoving.

Don’t tell me he’s really waiting for one.

Uh-huh. He even lifted a brow to ask for one.

My heart raced as he waited for me to move. It didn’t take forever, but it sure felt that way. And being waited on like this for a kiss was novel. We’ve shared many and more intimate things, but nothing felt more nerve-wracking than to give him a kiss that he’s asked for.

But I did it. I kissed him on his cheek because that was all that I could muster before I self-combusted.

"What a stingy wife." He said before playfully biting on my neck, which jolted me in surprise.

"!"

"Now let’s go, we don’t have much time." He patted both of our clothes as I stood there wondering if all this was all right.