The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 112

CH112 Hayato

I gasped against her lips, my arms locking around her as if I could just hold her and keep her from disappearing foreverThe kiss deepened, her hands tangling in my hair, her lips feverish, like she had been waiting for this moment just as long as I had.

I kissed her back with all the raw hunger, longing I been pushing down for years.

I kicked us to the surface. The water splashed around us as we broke the surface, we gasped long enough to breathe but parted for no longer than that. She laughed, soft and watery, kissing me. "Hayato... Hayato..."

The world around us faded-there was only her. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, disbelief warring with overwhelming joy and relief.

I broke the kiss for just a moment, gasping for air, my hands cradling her face, my eyes wide as I looked at her. Soaked through as if I'd caught her dancing in the rain again.

"Haruka,' I breathed, my voice trembling with emotion. "How... how is this possible?"

She smiled, that same smile I had missed every day since she had been taken from me, and brushed a strand of wet hair from my face. "Does it matter?"

I stared at her, unable to find the words. No, it didn't matter. Not right now. All that mattered was that she was here, in my arms, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, the weight on my chest vanished.

Tsuneo

The sound of running footsteps and splashing water had drawn my attention. I turned and my heart clenched when they surfaced, still kissing, clinging to each other. My father and my mother were tangled together in the pool, holding each other like the world outside had disappeared. And for a moment, I wondered if it had.

She was alive.

It seemed impossible, but there was no doubting who that woman was. The way they reacted to each other, like magnets unwilling to be separated, had been such a large part of my childhood. I didn't know what to think. Part of me had thought that I would never see her again, that I would always just be waiting for my father to slip away from me to join her, no matter what anyone said,

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CHIE

was, kissing my father as though

I felt myself receding, reliving every moment of the past five years until I met Morgan. I remembered the way my father had crumbled after her death, how he had spiraled into grief so deep that I hadn't been sure he would ever crawl his way back out

stormed through me and I looked at Morgan, imagining what it would have been like to even

is so much stronger than I

then she smiled and

be, how ruthless, how cruel, or how vicious he was capable of being until

as he squeezed her close. I met her gaze over

I replied. We'll

and waved her hand, shooing us away, little

held my mother close, their breathing heavy and shaky, as if

well, her eyes filled with the same relief I

whispered,

garden of the Phoenix. As soon as we were far enough, I pulled her closer to me, an arm around her shoulder as I led her towards another hidden passageway that led directly to our chambers. The palace was full of these secret tunnels, winding their way through the walls, providing

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at her again. Her clothes were still drenched from when she'd been in the pool, clinging to her skin, and the chill of the stone passage

She leaned against me.

""I'm tired."

been asleep all

is not the

as we navigated the dimly lit corridor. "We'll get you cleaned up once

Her steps fell into sync with mine as we moved deeper

door that led directly into our chambers. I pushed it open the familiar warmth of our rooms

as she stepped inside, her shoulders relaxing just

door behind us, locking the passageway, and turned

get you out of those wet clothes," I said, my voice gentle as I walked toward her. Her hair was still damp, droplets of water glistening on her skin, and I couldn't help but reach out, brushing a

smiled, though it was small and

cheek.