Chapter 80 It's Okay, My Love for You Is Enough
Magnus led the way with the room key, with Juniper following behind.
Once they reached their room, they discovered it was a themed love suite.
Noticing the waterbed, Juniper suggested, "I can sleep on the couch."
The bed would be left for Magnus.
Without a word, Magnus just glanced at her clothes, which were soaked through, "Go take a hot shower first."
The facilities in the small inn were subpar.
Feeling dizzy, Juniper rushed through her shower and as she was about to wrap herself in a towel and step out, a sharp pain hit her chest.
She couldn't suppress the cough, "Cough, cough..."
A trace of blood stained her cough.
Seeing the stark red against the white basin, her pupils shrank in shock.
Lifting her gaze to the mirror, she noticed her complexion was as pale as a ghost.
She seemed like a figure on the brink of death.
Hearing the severe coughing inside, Magnus knocked on the bathroom door.
He called out, "Disposable towels are outside."
"Oh, got it," she managed to respond.
Juniper quickly turned on the tap to rinse away the blood.
Her face felt uncomfortably hot. She scooped several handfuls of cold water and splashed them onto her face until she felt a bit better.
She walked out of the bathroom in a daze.
Handing her a towel, Magnus said, "Dry your hair off."
Her hair was still dripping wet.
When she took the towel, her fingertips accidentally brushed his.
Feeling the unusual iciness of her touch, concern flickered across Magnus's face, "Are you feeling alright?"
"No, I'm fine," she lied.
As soon as she spoke, a warm and dry slender hand had already reached for her forehead.
Her forehead was burning hot.
"You've got a fever," he stated.
Juniper touched her own forehead as well, her voice hoarse, "It's nothing. I probably just caught a cold from the rain. A good night's sleep should do the trick."
The man commanded, "Go dry your hair."
By the time she came out of the bathroom with the hairdryer, Magnus had disappeared.
About five minutes passed.
The man returned with a thermometer and a box of medicine in his hand.
He handed Juniper the thermometer, "Take your temperature."
His concise three words felt like an order.
But Juniper just stared at him, stunned.
This was the first time he had shown concern for her since they reunited.
A wave of heartache surged in her chest.
Her eyes began to well up with heat threatening to spill over.
She slowly reached out, took the thermometer, and said in a raspy voice, "Thank you."
The man placed the box of fever-reducing medicine on the table.
"Take the medicine."
After saying that, he turned to head to the bathroom to freshen up.
Suddenly, a pair of delicate arms wrapped around him from behind, holding him tightly.
The embrace was so unexpected that he was caught off guard, completely frozen in place.
"Juniper?"
"Don't push me away, just hold me for a bit, I'm sorry."
She clung to him with force, her face buried in his back, tears cascading freely.
'Magnus, I'm dying. Every time I see you, it's one less time I'll have,' she thought to herself.
The number of times she allowed herself to hold him close like this was now tragically limited.
Six years ago, such embraces were so commonplace to them that they barely mattered.
But now, for Juniper, this embrace had become so precious it pained her heart.
The priest had told her to let go of her attachments.
But how could she? She just couldn't let go.
"Magnus, hold me, okay?"
All she wanted was a greedy longing for an embrace. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?
Magnus did not respond. His arms remained at his sides, and he did not push her away.
It seemed as if he was silently enduring the torment.
Juniper was pushing him again.
An embrace wasn't much, but she didn't understand that to him, as Juniper, her request held weight. If he succumbed to the warmth, he would crave more.
He didn't want to fall back into the quagmire of betrayal once more.
Anyone could betray him except for Juniper.
Because she was the one who had once broken through the high walls he had built around his heart, and he had completely opened up his world to her.
She was the one who had locked that door shut with her own hands.
Magnus didn't want to open that door for anyone ever again.
"Juniper, let go."
His cold words did not deter her.
Juniper moved in front of him, looking up with tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, and kissed him passionately.
"You promised me a trip to Seaview, and we never made it," she said. "You always prided yourself on keeping your word. Shouldn't you make up for what you didn't accomplish, Magnus?"
The pronounced Adam's apple of the man she addressed bobbed in his throat. "Juniper, stop pushing me," he said, his voice strained.
She watched the movement in his neck, knowing all too well that it signaled his feelings stirring.
She cracked a wry smile and teased, "How am I pushing you when you clearly feel something too?"
The man furrowed his brows and was about to retort, but her hands were already gripping the collar of his shirt, pulling his head down to meet her rising lips with a fierce kiss—an act of desperation.
Amidst the fervent kiss, Juniper gasped, "Magnus, do you still love me?"
"You know the answer, yet you still ask," he replied resignedly.
She just smiled, not seeming to care too much.
The room was dimly lit, and she looked up at his silhouette as if trying to imprint his image in her mind for eternity.
Tears rolled down into her hairline as she whispered, "It's okay, my love for you is enough."
Her voice was so soft that he almost thought she hadn't spoken.
Juniper didn't give him a chance to push her away. she kissed him with all her emotion, with undeterred intensity.
She felt him stiffen for a moment before using the opportunity to push him onto the waterbed behind them.
As she leaned into his embrace, they both fell onto the bed with a heavy thud.
Juniper's tears kept flowing, yet her lips curled into a smile as she looked at him. Tonight, just for this night, and after that, he wouldn't have to see her ever again.
She planned to meet with Jennifer over the weekend, and afterward, she would go to the X City court to confess everything from six years ago, including her false testimony against Magnus, manipulating facts at the behest of Alexander.
Afterward, Magnus, the talented Law student from Imperial Capital University, would stand untainted before everyone.
She had fallen in love with him when he was beyond reproach. She couldn't let her love cast a lifelong shadow on him.
It was her fault, making him feel that their so-called 'forever' was so insignificant.
"Magnus, I'm sorry," she said once more, with tearful eyes. She apologized both for the impulsive feelings from her youth and for her reckless love.
They were worlds apart from the beginning.
If it weren't for her, if it weren't for Alexander, Magnus would have never been dragged through the mud of that filthy ordeal.
The Magnus she loved was always innocent.
Juniper's gaze was tender and passionate, almost scorchingly so, as if her love could burn them both.
The man suddenly flipped over, pinning her beneath him.
With one hand, he seized her slender wrists, raised them, and secured them above her head.
His gaze was heavy and fixed on her face, "This is what you wanted, no regrets."
Without giving her a moment to catch her breath, he leaned down and boldly claimed her lips.
His fingers, defined and long, threaded through her thick hair, grabbing the back of her head with assertive strength.
On the wall above, the dim shadows cast by the confined light overlapped, ebbing and flowing.
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