Chapter 495 I Made Breakfast for You
Azure Palace
Ethan and Ashley were left embarrassed after being 'interrupted,' with Ashley unable to lift her head from shame.
Seeing her discomfort, Ethan flashed a mischievous smile. "Pearl, don't be embarrassed. That was your future mother-in-law—you'll be seeing more of her!"
Ashley glared at him. "This is all your fault. Now I've made a terrible first impression."
Ethan's eyes lit up. "So you're admitting my mother will be your mother-in-law someday?"
Only then did Ashley realize what she'd implied, her face growing even redder. "What future mother-in-law? Have I agreed to marry you? That was my first time meeting her, and she caught us... I'll never be able to face her again!"
Despite the attraction she felt toward him, Ashley remained aware of their vastly different stations—he a prince, she a commoner. The thought filled her with melancholy.
Ethan cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Pearl, my mother is wonderful. Don't worry about it."
Ashley glared at him. "Could you stop kissing me whenever you feel like it?"
How annoying! And it always made her heart race uncontrollably.
Ethan wasn't deterred. "You'll get used to it. It's getting late—let me carry you to bed."
Before Ashley could refuse, he'd already lifted her into his arms. She gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around him.
Ethan gently placed her on the bed and tucked her in.
"Your Highness, thank you. It's late; you should go rest too."
Ethan murmured in agreement—then promptly lay down beside her.
"You can't be serious! You're sleeping here again?" Ashley exclaimed.
"I'm particular about beds," Ethan replied. "I can't sleep well in the guest room. This bed is plenty big—we can each take half. Don't worry, I won't try anything."
"You scoundrel!" Ashley said.
She attempted to get up and move to the guest room herself, but Ethan caught her hand while turning off the light with his other. "Stop fussing. I'm genuinely tired. Pearl, I promise—without your consent, I won't do anything you don't like."
Ashley studied him for a moment before huffing, "What nonsense about not sleeping well—you just want to share a bed with me..."
She continued scolding him, but Ethan didn't argue back. His lips curved into a slight smile as he drifted to sleep listening to her complaints.
This only irritated Ashley more. How could he fall asleep while she was still berating him?
He was truly shameless!
After venting for a while, Ashley's throat grew dry. She struggled to get up and went to the table for water.
Meanwhile, Ethan was trapped in a nightmare. In his dream, a woman whose face he couldn't quite make out was falling into the sea before his eyes. Though he couldn't see her features, he felt as if he were losing the most precious person in his life—the pain was nearly unbearable.
"Don't go." he murmured.
Ashley, mid-sip, heard him. "What did you say?"
"Please... don't leave me."
Though he couldn't see the person's face in his dream, the fear of loss felt remarkably real, as if it wasn't just a dream.
Ashley noticed Ethan's furrowed brow and gently smoothed it with her fingertip. "Your Highness, are you having a nightmare?"
Her gentle voice and the warmth of her touch seemed to soothe him. Gradually, his expression relaxed.
"I thought princes had no worries," she whispered. "Yet you have nightmares too. Sleep well now."
Ashley returned to bed, covering herself with the blanket. They lay three inches apart.
Just as she was drifting off, she heard Ethan's sleep-talk, "Ashley... Ashley..."
Ashley was suddenly wide awake.
He was calling for... Ashley? Was he calling for her?
Since changing her name to Pearl, only Atticus, her children, and she herself knew her original name was Ashley.
She had assumed that she and Ethan were once married but had a loveless relationship—or perhaps she had loved him while he had married her purely for political gain.
But hearing him call her name in his sleep made her heart race. If he didn't love her, why would he call her name in his dreams?
What was their real history together?
Ashley's head ached from trying to piece it all together. She lay awake, watching Ethan's face until dawn.
The next morning at seven, Ethan woke to find the space beside him empty.
He bolted upright in panic. "Pearl! Pearl!"
He leapt from the bed, not even stopping to put on slippers, and rushed to find her.
For a moment, Ethan felt as if he'd lost something irreplaceable, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat with anxiety.
"Have any of you seen Pearl?" he demanded frantically of the servants. "She's not fully recovered yet! Who took her away?"
The maids, startled by his intensity, trembled as they pointed toward the kitchen.
Ethan instinctively ran in that direction.
There he found an elegant woman in a white dress covered by an apron. Her long hair was casually tied up, giving her a special kind of beauty.
She was focused on cooking but turned when she heard footsteps. "Oh, Your Highness, you're awake? I've made breakfast—it's almost ready."
Ethan's heart pounded wildly.
In that moment, he seemed to hear a familiar voice echo in his mind: "Darling, you're awake. I've made breakfast—come eat."
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