To My Husband's Mistress - Chapter 1 Part 5

What are the chances of surviving after falling into a winter river, especially with a knife stabbed in the chest?

For an ordinary lady, it would have been a hundred to none. However, Leticia was alive.

“Ugh, huff…!”

She instinctively flailed her arms and legs in terror as consciousness returned. Leticia’s awareness was still clinging to the bottom of the river.

The fear of sinking deeper into the winter river, with frozen limbs that wouldn’t move properly, was horrifying. It was agonizing, as if her lungs were about to burst, and everything in front of her was blurry. Whether it was the murky river water entering her eyes or perhaps the overflowing tears in her eyes, she couldn’t tell.

Please, someone save me. She desperately reached out her arm, but she already knew that there was no one to help her.

“Calm down.”

At that moment, someone gently grabbed her arm and held it. It was a firm, large, and, above all, warm hand.

Trembling, Leticia unconsciously clung to the warmth. She sobbed and begged not to be left to die.

“You won’t die.”

The arrogant voice from above sounded like a god.

“Stop crying.”

Leticia tried to obey the command as if it were an order from a god. However, the pain was too intense, and her tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

Swallowing water from the river and feeling the burning pain from her pierced chest, Leticia’s throat was as dry as if it were engulfed in flames. Yet, the most excruciating pain was in her heart.

It wasn’t just because she had almost died or because Aster Winchester had been taken away from her. It was the unbearable self-loathing for her own foolishness.

She had sacrificed what was precious to her for people who didn’t value her. Her father, her family, and even herself.

The weight of this realization was so regrettable that it felt like it would drive her insane.

“Sob, sniffle…”

Leticia cried and cried. Her breaths became shallower and shallower, until the rising anxiety choked her throat.

“This is what I get for picking up a real headache.”

The god who looked down on her pitiful state clicked his tongue. The sound that came from above was sharp and threatening.

Had she disappointed even this god? It was the moment when Leticia curled up in anticipation of the punishment that was about to come.

“Umm…!!”

A smooth and hot mucous membrane covered her lips. Startled, she tried to push away the invading tongue that forced its way into the partially open gap as if to reject it.

The sensation of digging deeper and deeper inside was surprisingly vivid. It was the first time someone had invaded her mouth so deeply.

It completely took control of Leticia’s mouth and exhaled a lazy breath.

The sweet and sticky air brushed through the cave of her mouth and seeped into the inside of her lungs. Trembling in fear, her huddled chest swelled and then released a shallow exhale.

“Yes, that’s right.”

While their lips were still entwined, a low laughter resonated sensually.

As if entranced, Leticia received the breath offered by the other, inhaling and exhaling several times. Finally, her body regained a steady rhythm of breathing.

Perhaps because of this, her blurry vision slowly returned. Leticia blinked her tear-filled eyes and looked ahead.

‘Where am I?’

Despite the dimness, she could see it was a luxurious room. Moonlight streamed through a large window, casting a soft glow over the bed.

And lying beside her was an exquisitely beautiful man.

“Wh… who…”

“Don’t open your mouth. If you don’t want to hear the sound of a crow forever in your throat.”

Even in the darkness, his blue eyes shone like a beast. As their gazes met, a shiver of eerie thrill ran through her entire body.

From his light-colored hair to his delicate and sharp facial features, to his marble-like shoulders and upper body muscles, it was a beauty that made her doubt her own eyes.

With her half-dazed mind, Leticia soon realized that she was lying in bed with a man who was almost naked.

‘This is not right.’

The first emotion that surfaced was nothing but vigilance.

She had been engaged from a young age and got married as soon as she came of age. Avoiding involvement with other men had become a kind of habit.

Reflexively, she tried to get out of his arms, but her cold arms and legs wouldn’t move as she wanted.

“What an annoying woman. You were shivering and asking to be hugged until just now.”

With one arm, the man effortlessly pulled her back towards him.

While Aster was quite well-built, this man was truly imposing. Leticia was pulled into his arms like a powerless doll.

She couldn’t even budge an inch from the grip around her waist. No, perhaps, she didn’t want to.

As she nestled into his embrace, an unknown warmth seeped through her flesh. Strangely, from the points where they touched, it felt like the pain was dissipating.

“Good girl.”

As Leticia quieted down, he turned his head and once again claimed her lips. As his breath passed several times, her burning airway and pained lungs gradually eased.

With the disappearance of pain, her eyelids grew heavy. As a small yawn close to a sigh flowed out, the man gently stroked her hair.

“It’s better to sleep now.”

Since she would probably cry again once she got up.

***

During sleep, it seemed she had shed tears.

Leticia, feeling the dampness of the pillow against her neck, opened her eyes. And she discovered herself lying in a place she had never seen before.

‘Where am I?’

As memories came flooding back, her face turned pale. Reflexively, Leticia sat up and felt her chest.

There had definitely been a knife wound, but there was nothing there now. Instead, a smooth white bandage was wrapped around her chest.

Who did this?

“Waking up and touching your chest right away. I’ve had quite a view.”

At the voice from behind her, Leticia gasped. When she turned around, she saw a man lying in the same bed as her.

The man, covering only his lower body with a precarious sheet, stretched as he woke up. His white skin and lean muscles writhed as he stretched, resembling a stretching tiger.

Avoiding a glance below where she shouldn’t look, Leticia quickly lifted her gaze.

“Are you the one… who saved me?”

Leticia, struggling to open her mouth, was taken aback. Even to her ears, the voice that came out sounded scratchy and unpleasant to her own ears.

“Yeah. I’m the one who saved you.”

The face that turned to her was familiar.

Whenever Leticia woke up crying in pain or sorrow during her sleep, this man was always there. He would tirelessly hold her in his arms and soothe her trembling body.

The vivid touch that had caressed her to sleep many times felt real. Nevertheless, Leticia believed it was a dream without any doubt.

An unrealistic fantasy that she had created to make herself feel less rejected and lonely. With the moonlight shining on him, the man was so surreal that she believed it was an illusion.

But when she saw him again under the bright sunlight, he was definitely alive and breathing.

“I’ve seen you before.”

“Well, that makes sense. Everyone knows me.”

The man smiled with an indifferent twist to his lips. He raised his lean upper body and swept his hair back.

She had seen many blondes before, but this was the first time she had seen such a beautiful color. The radiant hue beneath his hair was like the dawn breaking the sky for the very first time.

Under the bright light, his hair formed a perfect harmony with his even forehead, sculpted nose, and sensual lips.

Leticia stared blankly at his blue eyes surrounded by golden eyelashes. Then, daringly, she spoke his name.

“Forgive me for my rudeness, but are you not his Royal Highness, Imperial Prince Sionian? The miracle worker of the Westeros Empire.”

Perhaps it was her imagination, but as soon as she uttered those words, his eyebrows seemed to furrow.

But the more important question was ‘why’ this man was here.

***