CHAPTER 471: FUELED BY PRESSURE

Arabella needed no sleep and reassured her husband every time he gave her one of those concern-filled looks as they both dressed up for the day.

Once they were done and ready to go their separate ways, Silas held onto her and brought her closer, refusing to let go.

"I promise you, I am and will be more than fine," she smiled, playfully swaying her head from left to right.

"It’s not that," he shook his head, "Well, yes. I am still worried but that’s not the only thing I have in mind,"

"Out with it then!" she poked at his chest teasingly, "Or are you going to make me beg?"

As soon as she had uttered those words, regret settled in upon seeing the grin it yielded across his features.

"No, you beg me just enough without me even trying," he chuckled.

"That’s not fair," she pouted and leaped in her spot like a child.

Silas let go of her to reach the inside pocket of his vest, before pulling a folded piece of paper out.

Arabella took it the instant he extended it her way.

Her eyes narrowed then gradually widened the longer they followed those lines.

Her mouth opened too but for a good while, not a peep came through. That was until she finished reading its content.

"Is this the...?" she whispered, a smile on the verge of cracking.

"Phase three," he nodded with pride, "Technically this is for our delayed honeymoon, but it can serve for both occasions,"

"But...," her expression dimmed, "What about the ongoing search for Allegra?"

Silas cupped her cheeks before speaking, "The resort belongs to the family. We can go there whenever we feel like it. Yes, right now, we are busy with this affair but when the sky clears out... We will be good to go,"

"What sort of resort is it?" she chirped, bouncing to the tip of her toes then back flat on her feet.

"Actually," he folded the paper then placed it back in her palm, "I gave you this information because I am dying to hear what you find on the matter. There is plenty written about it and I am sure you will rejoice at the read,"

In response, Arabella hummed in agreement and held the page near her heart, but as she drew away, a strong hand pulled her back into the embrace.

"Not so fast, my love," he gently tapped the tip of her nose, "There is one more thing I’d like to bring to your attention,"

From underneath his vest, he unstrapped the small dagger that was latched to his belt, "You forgot this,"

He held her dagger up near her face.

Instinctively, her eyes darted towards the corner where Silas had tossed it upon ripping the weapon out of her hand earlier that same morning.

"Oh dear... It seems I did," she turned back and gazed at it as though marveling at its beauty for the first time.

Her hand slowly extended to grab the dagger, but the vampire pulled it away, "I will only return it to you under one unnegotiable condition," he glared her in the eyes without blinking.

Arabella stood quiet and waited with her heart in her throat for this condition to come.

"You never! And I mean never do something like what you did this morning ever again!" his voice wasn’t cold by any means but there was no friskiness in his tone either, "Can we agree upon that?" he added, "I gave it to you for self protection should an ordeal arise in my absence and not so that you cut your own flesh with it,"

It didn’t send shivers down her spine per se, but those words along with the look in his eyes sure left a strong impression.

"Understood," she nodded, "I apologize. I still don’t know what came over me this morning," his chest seemed like the most interesting thing to stare at all of the sudden, "There were so many voices blaring in my mind, so many things to think about that I just wanted it all to stop... I wanted to feel something different, something good,"

"Pain?" his eyebrow rose.

"No... I barely even felt the cut. Actually, I craved exactly what I asked for," she murmured, twiddling her thumbs together.

"I am starting to notice a pattern," Silas sighed.

That had the merit of ensuring eye contact between them again.

"You crave intimacy when under pressure fueled by negative feelings,"

Her heart sank to her heels and knocked at the very bottom in order to touch the floor. The expression on her face was the last of her worries, but whatever it looked like, clearly, it left her husband very different.

He placed the dagger down to cup her cheeks again, "I am not hinting at anything with this. Please don’t worry yourself with it. I was merely making an observation," he kissed her forehead.

Silas left her no time to ponder things and immediately spoke again, "What will you be doing today? Aside from preparing the departure of the prince,"

"Well..." she trailed off, rummaging for the answer through her brain, "I thought I had more time to prepare for that, but I’ll get started the earliest I can and then after, I’d like to spend some more time in the map room,"

"That sounds like a plan," he nodded, "I will inquire about the time of their departure before leaving the manor. If they plan on leaving in an hour or two then what’s the point in leaving, then rushing back?"

"Fair enough," she picked up the dagger from the table and smiled meekly, "I can’t wait to start reading about the resort. I am so curious now that you’ve planted the chip in my head about it,"

They split up in the hallway, her smile vanishing the instant they turned their backs to each other.

To crave intimacy when fueled by negative feelings... That did not sound good at all. It was yet an extra weight on her platter to carry.