CHAPTER 58: ARE YOU TRYING TO MURDER YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?!

But at the same time, even though Yelena was already grinning from ear to ear, her heart bursting with joy, ready to pounce on Mika and shower his entire face with kisses like an overexcited puppy, she couldn’t just go leaping into his arms so easily.

No. No, no. She had her pride. Her dignity. She wasn’t some cheap woman who got a little happy after giving a gift and then melted like chocolate under the sun.

No!...She was Yelena, the terrifying, graceful, dignified guardian of humanity! And also the woman Mika needed to treat with utmost respect and utmost sweetness.

She expected effort. Charm...Even poetry, if possible.

So when Mika, like some dreamy prince from a romcom, extended his hand toward her and called her name with that smile that made her knees almost give out, she...resisted.

She planted her feet. Arms folded. Chin lifted. Waiting.

Waiting for him to walk over himself, whisper something sugar-sweet into her ears, maybe call her "gorgeous", "stunning" "my dazzling war goddess", something. Just standing there, satisfied with herself like she was the mastermind of the century.

This was going to be her moment...Her victory.

...Except.

...Except she forgot she had a shameless little gremlin of a daughter.

Charlotte, who had been quiet just a moment ago and should’ve stayed quiet considering how much apologizing she did earlier, suddenly perked up with an expression so devilishly gleeful that it made Yelena’s stomach drop.

"If Mama doesn’t want to do this scene..." Charlotte said sweetly, taking a single step forward with eyes glinting like a villain. "...then I guess I’ll do it instead."

"I haven’t even seen the movie but it looks romantic. And I’d love to try it out. With my beloved Mika, of course."

Yelena blinked and then blinked again.

...What.

...Her own daughter

...Her own daughter, who was literally crying into her lap like five minutes ago, just snatched her scene like a seagull stealing a hot dog from a kid.

No shame...Not even hesitation.

And as Charlotte happily skipped toward Mika, swinging her arms and smiling like she was in a musical, Yelena stood there frozen.

Betrayed...Emotionally stabbed.

This was her moment, not that cheeky child’s!

She was supposed to shine today. Not hand over the limelight like a soggy towel.

Mika was hers, well, temporarily, but still.

So right as Charlotte passed her, right as her foot came a little too close, Yelena, smiling innocently, ever so gently slid out her leg. So gracefully. So accidentally...tripped her.

Charlotte didn’t even see it coming.

"Oh, wait, no—Mikaaaaa!"

She flailed like a flying pancake, tripping forward in slow motion, stumbling dramatically with her arms pinwheeling in the air, and with the most cinematic wail, fell straight over the railing of the ship.

Seeing the girl who was happily running towards him, suddenly fall over the ship he made, Mika’s eyes went wide as plates.

"C-Charlotte?!?!"

He rushed forward, peering over the railing.

"Holy shit! Charlotte! She actually fell! How in the world did that happen?!"

He then spun around to look at the criminal of this whole matter, who looked ever so innocent.

"Yelena?! What the hell was that?! Did you trip your own daughter?!"

To this, Yelena strolled over like she had all the time in the world, patting invisible dust off her sleeve, and blinked up at him with the calmest, most infuriatingly serene face known to mankind.

"Oh, that? Not to worry. No big deal. Just a little...oopsie. She made a mistake. Happens all the time."

Mika’s eyes were bulging. "A mistake?! A mistake?! Yelena, you tripped her! I saw it, I saw it with my own two eyes! That wasn’t a banana peel! That was your foot!"

"...Ans it’s not a piece of garbage that’s falling down right now that you can just ignore, but your daughter plummeting to her grave right now!"

"Relax..." Yelena just rolled her eyes, waving her hand as if Mika was overreacting to someone dropping a spoon. "She’ll be up in a moment. I already sent a sword down there to catch her. And she’s probably coming up as we speak. She’s fine."

"What?!"

"But more importantly..." She leaned in, all smiles now, her hand looping delicately around his wrist. "This is our moment, Mika. Ours. Not Charlotte’s. She’s had plenty of moments with you, hasn’t she?"

"Every day with her morning giggles and ’Mika~’ and ’Mika!’ and ’Mikaaaaa!’ It’s exhausting, honestly...Let her cool down in the cool breeze, as this right here..." She gestured grandly at the ship’s bow. "...this is ours to recreate. Not hers."

Mika, still visibly sweating and wildly glancing toward the front of the ship, blurted out.

"But, Charlotte! She’s still falling! I can still hear the ’oooooohhh!’ echoing, like, she’s not even done falling yet! Have you really sent a sword down there to catch her!"

But Yelena wasn’t listening as she was already dragging him forward, her dress flowing beautifuly like she was in a red carpet gown and not, y’know, part of a possible murder investigation.

"Mika, focus! Don’t make me beg. Don’t let your eyes stray right now. I’m standing here, waiting, hoping, arms wide like some fragile girl, and you’re staring at a noisy daughter falling into the wind."

"But—"

She paused, narrowed her eyes, and then hit him with a look so guilt-laden it could’ve melted glaciers.

"Oh. Oh, I get it. She’s more important than cheering me up, huh? That’s what it is, right? If she’s falling off a ship, we must rescue her, but when I’m emotionally falling, it’s just...nothing. You can just stand there, let me drop like a feather in the wind..."

Mika blinked, flustered. "Wha...Yelena, that’s not even the same category of falling—"

But she cut him off again, even more wounded now, with a hand dramatically placed against her chest.

"You know what? Maybe you should go save her. Maybe you should leap into the open sky with your shirt open and your hair blowing in the wind, grab her midair like some hero from a sappy romance movie! And leave me here. Alone. Cold. Abandoned on the front of a ship where love was supposed to bloom, and now it’s just...rust."

Mika was speechless.

Utterly defeated.

Backed into a corner.

And even now he could still hear Charlotte screaming "Mikaaaaa, help me!" from what sounded so far down.

But still, he knew that he couldn’t go and save with Yelena right in front of him, so with a stiff, guilty smile and visible mental agony, he turned slowly back to Yelena and muttered.

"You’re right. She’s fine. Charlotte’s a big girl. She...doesn’t need saving. She’s probably...doing tricks in the wind or something."

"That’s the spirit." Yelena purred, tugging him to the bow again. "Let her toughen up. Builds character. Now hold my waist and don’t look back, unless you want me to trip you next."

Mika stared at her, completely at a loss for words.

He blinked a few times, then rubbed his face in disbelief...Was she serious?

He knew he always called Charlotte crazy, and she really was, but right now, he was starting to think Yelena might’ve just taken that crown from her daughter.

Maybe it wasn’t Charlotte that was crazy...maybe it ran in the family.

He then let out a quiet chuckle, half-amused, half-terrified, and muttered under his breath. "God, I’m surrounded by lunatics..."

Still, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched Yelena saunter confidently to the very tip of the ship, standing right at the bow like she belonged there.

She looked back at him expectantly, arms slightly lifted like she was waiting to be claimed. He sighed, shook his head again, and took a step forward.

And just like she asked, he pressed himself right up against her from behind.

Their bodies fit snugly together, her back flush against his chest, her soft curves molding against him in all the right ways.

He felt the fullness of her hips and the softness of her plump butt press against him, and he swore under his breath at the intense stimulation as his hands instinctively moved around her waist.

His fingers skimmed the fabric of her clothes before settling, firm and certain, around her middle and the moment he held her like that, Yelena let out a quiet, satisfied hum.

She smiled wide, eyes fluttering shut for a second as she then slowly extended her arms outward, just like that scene. And in a strange, ridiculous twist, the chaos from before, the betrayal, the near-murder of her daughter, all of it, suddenly faded.

It was like a switch had flipped.

Now the world felt still, even as the sword-ship soared through thick clouds, gliding across a dreamscape of mist and light.

A ship made of blades carving through heaven itself.

Their silhouettes framed perfectly at the front, the man holding the woman like a promise, like an oath. A declaration that nothing would happen to her, not while he was there. Not while he held her this tight.

Yelena also smiled so brightly it almost hurt. She wished she had a camera, anything to freeze this ridiculous, perfect moment in time.

But even without one, the feeling was enough.

And then, just as she felt like she was reliving that moment in the movie with her beloved boy, Mika leaned closer, his lips near her ear, voice teasing.

"You know, Yelena, for a reenactment of the past, this doesn’t exactly match the original." He murmured. "Back then, you were the one behind me, and I was the one doing the pose."

In response, Yelena peeked back at him with a cheeky grin, arms still spread wide. "That’s only because you were tiny back then. A little squirt."

He groaned in offence, but she continued, clearly enjoying herself.

"We tried doing it the ’original’ way, remember? But you couldn’t even reach my waist. Your little baby hands would just hug my thighs...and your face would smoosh right into my butt."

She giggled like she was reliving it all.

"You were clinging to me like you were trying to climb a mountain. And I still remember how much it tickled when your rubbing your face against my butt in a effort to climb on top of me! I had to elbow you off before I fell over laughing!"

"Please stop." He covered his face with one hand and groaned louder.

But she wasn’t done.

"That’s when I decided I’d go in front. It made more sense. But look at you now..." She turned slightly, looking up at him with a strange, proud fondness in her eyes. "You’ve grown up so much. You’re even taller than me now."

Mika blinked.

"And your hands..." She added, her voice dipping. "They used to be like little breadsticks. And now...you’re holding me so tightly I don’t think I could get away even if I wanted to." She gave him a soft smile. "You’ve really become a man, Mika."

She gazed up at him with that maternal pride shining through her usual teasing.

"The little boy who used to cling to me is now someone strong. Handsome. And so utterly reliable, unlike my daughter who seems to have only regressed as she’s aged."

Mika looked back at her, lips parting to speak. "And you’ve become—"

"Don’t you dare say I’ve become old." Yelena cut in immediately, narrowing her eyes.

Mika blinked, then broke into a grin. "Not at all."

And with a confident voice, he said.

"You’ve only become more beautiful. Honestly. You were always stunning back then, but now...it’s like time made you even more breathtaking."

Yelena blinked, stunned into silence. Of all people, she never expected him to say something like that.

The boy she remembered was all protests, cheeky comebacks, and grumbled arguments, never compliments, let alone one so disarmingly sincere.

For a second, she couldn’t even form a response.

Mika, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with himself. In his mind, this was step one of his plan to win her over and was basically done to see how she would react to such a comment, and move according to how she reacted in response...

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Spicy NSFW illustrations for Yelena and Charlotte have been uploaded in the discord...Check them out!

discord.gg/xG8T8BQ7KM