A regrettable mistake

The next morning, Lilith's eyes moved and she tried opening them. She felt something heavy rested on her belly and could even feel the cold air brushing her shoulder. She finally opened her eyes and saw Apollyon's bare arm resting over her. She tilted her head and saw him lying too close to her, without clothes.
Panic surged through her as her eyes widened in shock. Memories of the previous night came flooding back in a disorienting rush. She quickly glanced down at herself and noticed that while her main dress was gone, her chemise was still intact.
"Did I–" she shook her head and recalled everything from last night. Lilith did give permission for whatever happened last night and she enjoyed every feeling she experienced at that moment.
As Lilith processed the situation, she carefully lifted Apollyon's hand, gently pushing it away to avoid waking him. She sat up slowly, her heart pounding, and scanned the room. Her dress lay crumpled on the other side of the bed alongside Apollyon's clothes. She placed her hands over her face, regret washing over her like a cold wave.
"How could I let this happen? I'm not even in love with him," she murmured, parting her fingers to peek through the gaps. She gazed at Apollyon's sleeping face, a mixture of guilt and confusion churning inside her.
Lowering her hands, her eyes fell on the nail marks etched into his back. The sight made her gulp; she remembered how she had clung to him in the throes of passion, her nails digging into his skin.
"How am I going to face him?" she whispered, slipping out of bed as quietly as she could. As she stood, a wave of dizziness hit her, her head feeling unnaturally heavy despite having consumed nothing harmful.
"That wine," she mumbled, realization dawning on her. Someone must have spiked their drinks with a powerful intoxicant, possibly an aphrodisiac. It wasn't just her—Apollyon had been equally out of his senses.
But one thing stood out clearly in her mind: the intensity of Apollyon's desire for her had been genuine. Despite the circumstances, he had wanted her deeply and he was restraining himself hard just because Lilith didn't want it.
'What if you don't love me anymore? I'll be all alone. If I give you my heart, there's no guarantee, you'll love me the same way as you do now if for some reason this blood bond breaks,' Lilith said in her mind.
She lowered her face in sadness when heard Apollyon's growl in her sleep. Turning around, she found he was awake and was pressing his forehead.
"Apollyon," Lilith called out his name.
He opened his eyes with furrows and was shocked to see her only in a chemise. He was quick to cover her with the silk sheets, only to find that he was naked, not completely, thankfully. But why?
Lilith gazed at him with tenderness and managed a small smile. Apollyon rubbed his temples, the throbbing pain in his head clouding his memories. But then, like a movie, the events of the previous night began to replay in his mind. He recalled the red marks on Lilith's skin, evidence of his uncontrollable desire for her.
"Did it happen? The last step?" Lilith asked hesitantly, unable to recall that part of the night.
"It didn't," Apollyon reassured her. "I stopped because you fell asleep in the middle."
Lilith heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Let's forget what happened last night. Someone mixed aphrodisiacs in our drinks, and we lost control of ourselves," she said.
That statement hurt Apollyon. "You want me to forget what happened last night?" he asked, eyebrows arching in disbelief, his grip on her arms loosening.
"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Lilith replied, her tone steady.
"Are you serious, Lilith? I love you. Everything that happened last night was real for me," Apollyon said, his voice tinged with frustration.
"It was under the influence of some aphrodisiacs," Lilith stated, trying to remain logical.
"So what? It only heightened our senses for each other. It made us feel vulnerable in each other's arms and allowed us to give in to our true feelings," Apollyon explained passionately.
"You know that I don't love you yet," Lilith remarked, her words cutting deep.
"Don't you remember what you said last night?" Apollyon inquired, desperation creeping into his voice.
"Whatever I might have told you, it was probably under the influence of the aphrodisiacs," Lilith affirmed, her voice steady but her eyes betraying a hint of sadness.
Apollyon looked away, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips. He began to move away from the bed when Lilith's next words stopped him in his tracks. "It's regrettable what happened last night." Apollyon clenched his fists, his heart aching with a mix of anger and sorrow. Without giving her a second glance, he left the bedchamber. As he pushed open the door, his eyes fell upon the servants waiting outside.
"Prepare the bathhouse," Apollyon commanded, his voice cold and authoritative.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the servant responded quickly, hurrying to comply.
Sometime later, Apollyon found himself in the huge pool of water, his muscles slowly relaxing in the hot bath. The warmth soothed his body, but his mind was a storm of conflicting emotions.
He couldn't shake the sting of Lilith's words. As he reclined in the warm water, trying to find solace in the bathhouse, the reality of her rejection gnawed at him.
Apollyon loved Lilith deeply, and to him, everything that had transpired between them the previous night had been genuine and profound. But for Lilith, it seemed like a regrettable mistake.
The regret in her tone had infuriated him. In a surge of frustration and hurt, he clenched his fist and struck the water's surface with force. The impact sent ripples across the pool, splashing water around him, yet he sank deeper into the hot embrace of the bath, seeking both physical and emotional release.
"Why do you have to hurt me like this?" he muttered bitterly under his breath, his voice echoing in the spacious bathhouse. "How could you consider all this to be unreal?"
Apollyon closed his eyes, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging within him. The warmth of the water enveloped him, but inside, he felt cold and vulnerable. He had opened his heart to
Lilith. It was a blow to his pride and his love for her, leaving him uncertain and deeply wounded.