Page 36 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate?
I scrunched my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
He brushed a hand through his short red hair. “You told me we’ll talk aboutusin a different place and time. That talk didn’t happen. I’m still waiting for it. So I took the matter into my own hands, and here we are.”
Right,I did say those words to stop him from saying something that could get the two of us in trouble. So many things were happening at the same time that I was losing track.
“What did you need clarification on?” I kept my voice neutral, looking him straight in the eye.
“What?” He huffed in frustration. “Aren’t we lovers now? We kissed, we had amazing sex, and we kissed again after.” He grabbed my shoulders. “Why did you stop me from proclaiming it to everyone?”
I should have done more research about this topic, especially if the cultures were different frommyworld. Having sex didn’tautomatically put you in a relationship. But what if that were the case here?
“Amos.” Placing both of my hands on the sides of his face, he froze, while his pupils dilated and focused on mine. “I apologize for neglecting you these past few days. It was rude of me, and I promise I will not do that again.”
Amos smiled sweetly, moving closer as if he wanted to kiss me, but I stopped him by holding his face away.
“The kisses were wonderful, and the sex was amazing, I agree.” He looked smug as he heard my words, but he didn’t hear everything yet. “But we can’t be lovers.”
His eyes bugged out of their sockets. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
How could I explain it in a way he would understand? Or how a person of this realm would?
There was that tired old reason. “You’re the heir of Viscount Drakon.” His eyebrows furrowed together, and I could see the gears turning in his head. “I’m the daughter of Baron Havenglow. I don’t know what your father has planned for you, as is the same for my family. We can’t move against their wishes.”
“Then we can only declare our marriage,” he concluded. It made sense. It might even be a good move for our families politically.
But I shouldn’t get married in this state.
“We shouldn’t be hasty, especially without knowing what their intentions are.” Oh, god. I just thought of something I could add, but it was scummy.
I would hate myself for bringing this up.
It had to be done. “And I recently found out that Duke Caenum wants to propose a marriage between me and his son.”
Amos looked like he wanted to maim someone as his fingers tightened on my shoulders. I knew his anger wasn't meant forme, but his reaction still surprised me, my heart hammering against my ribs. Why was he so affected by this?
“Between the Viscount and the Duke, my family might find it a better option to accept the Duke,” I continued as his mood transformed from anger to genuine panic. “We can’t continue like this. We have two options.
“One, we forget that anything happened. It was as if we hadn’t met here at this school. This will be our last interaction.”
He pressed his forehead against mine while I dropped my hands from his jaw. “I can’t do that, Bea.”
I expected that answer, even though I wished he had accepted it to make things easier for us both. “Or two, we keep this quiet, accept that there’s nothing we can do right now, and continue with a new understanding: we can’t be lovers exclusively, because that will arouse suspicion. That last part is non-negotiable to me.”
Being told that I couldn’t beonly hisshould make any man run away, right? That had always been my experience inmyworld. Some would pretend and try the open relationship agreement, but they would quickly realize they didn’t like the idea of their nympho girlfriend getting her needs met by other guys.
It was the same for Amos. He studied me, eyes narrowed, fingers trembling on my shoulders, mouth set in a grim line. “Can I think about it?” he finally asked, letting me go. “I will seek you out later and give you my answer.”
I nodded as I looked around, my heart picking up speed. “Take your time. Don’t rush it.” Take as much time as you need, because I knew how difficult it was to deal with a noble’s child, if only for their social standing. Take months to decide while I was free to deal with one guy less.
Remember, Bea, if you needed sex, maybe pick a commoner next time who knew how to cast a contraceptive spell, because pregnancy was another problem I didn’t need.
Amos brushed away my hair and kissed my forehead, unlocking the door behind us. “This has been a very enlightening conversation. Let’s talk again soon.”
I left the room first, and the hallway was still empty. Walking towards the classroom where I should have been, my mind reeled back to that slight moment where I was sure the shadows in the room moved. We were alone there; there couldn’t have been anyone else, or Amos wouldn’t have chosen that room in the first place, right?
My paranoia needed to be curbed, clearly.
External magic was the catch-all term for a type of magic that didn’t deal with the Elements, the Divine, or Recovery magic. Displacement magic — like switching one entity with another, teleportation, or manipulating a space — was one kind. Illusion magic was another. Creation magic was an advanced form of this, too.
