Chapter 148: ¹⁴⁸: My Kael

Chapter 148: 1??: My Kael

"I... it is nothing like that," I replied, looking straight into his eyes. This time, I took a small step toward him as well, deliberately diminishing the distance between us.

"Oh, is it?" Kael asked, one brow lifting as he continued to look at me with those ever-cold eyes. "You used to be so brave when you claimed that you wanted to be with me." He paused before taking another step toward me.

I kept my gaze steady, refusing to budge from my place. I had already spent enough time allowing my reactions to betray me. If Kael wanted to test how easily he could make me nervous, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction anymore.

Kael chuckled softly when he noticed my stubborn expression. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, almost as though he found my attempt at composure amusing. When he opened them again, his gaze settled on me with renewed curiosity.

"Why are you so reserved with me now, Athena?" His head tilted slightly as he studied my face. "Was the carefree person you were in the beginning your true self, or is the calculating person I’m seeing right now the real you?"

His question left me momentarily speechless. "Why are you asking all these things suddenly, Kael?" I asked, unable to understand where this conversation was coming from. "Why are you asking me all these strange questions about whether I’m being real or not?"

I tried to keep my voice calm, but the uncertainty creeping into my chest made it harder than I expected. I looked at him, and a sudden sense of unease rose within me.

His expression remained completely unreadable. Those cold, stoic eyes stayed fixed on mine, yet they revealed nothing. There was no anger in them that I could clearly identify, no amusement I could hold on to, and no obvious emotion that could tell me what was actually happening inside his mind.

That was what bothered me the most, I couldn’t read him and Kael had always been difficult to read... But lately, it felt different.

He had started acting like this a long time ago. At first, I had brushed it aside, convincing myself that he must have been worried about something. Perhaps he was dealing with matters I knew nothing about, and perhaps his strange attitude had nothing to do with me.

I had deliberately refused to overthink it. After all, I wasn’t entitled to demand an explanation every time his behavior changed.

But now... Now that he was standing in front of me and directly asking whether I was being genuine with him, I couldn’t simply ignore the feeling anymore. There had to be a reason.

My fingers tightened slightly at my sides as several possibilities crossed my mind. Did Kael know something? Something I desperately didn’t want him to know? Or had he simply misunderstood me?

Maybe something I had said or done had made him suspicious. Perhaps he had noticed a change in me that I had been trying to hide, or perhaps he had been observing me more closely than I realized.

The thought made my stomach tighten. I didn’t know what the real reason behind his behavior was, but one thing had become impossible to deny.

Something was wrong, not necessarily with him. Maybe with the situation between us.

I studied his face again, searching for even the smallest clue but there was nothing, his expression remained as calm and emotionless as ever.

It frustrated me. How could someone look at another person so directly and still make it impossible to understand what they were thinking? "Kael," I finally said, quieter this time.

His eyes shifted slightly, acknowledging me without saying anything.

I hesitated for a brief moment, I considered asking him directly what had changed. I wanted to demand an explanation and force him to tell me why he had suddenly begun questioning everything about me.

But the words refused to leave my mouth. That hesitation irritated me even more. I had never been this careful around him before.

In the beginning, I had been bold enough to challenge him without thinking twice. I had spoken my mind, argued with him, questioned his decisions, and even told him exactly what I wanted.

Now, I was standing in front of him, choosing every word as though one wrong sentence could expose something I wasn’t prepared to reveal.

And perhaps Kael had noticed. Perhaps that was exactly why he was asking these questions. A faint crease appeared between my brows. There was a massive difference between the Kael I had dealt with in the beginning and the Kael standing in front of me right now.

The difference wasn’t only in the way he spoke. It was in the way he watched me, in the way he noticed every hesitation. Every moment when my confidence slipped.

"You were right." I said finally mustering the words that would help here. "I had thought it was just afternoon, and that we should simply eat lunch and chat while we were at it," My hands moved almost without my permission. My fingers trembling on their own as they rested against his cheek.

I immediately became aware of the gesture, but I didn’t pull away. "I didn’t say it outright because I just didn’t want you to think that I didn’t want you or that I disliked it when you were close to me like that."

I watched his expression carefully, searching for any sign that my words had reached him. He remained still. So I took another small step closer, determined not to let even the slightest doubt remain in his mind about the devotion I had spent so much time making him believe in.

"I wasn’t uncomfortable with you," I continued, my voice steadier now. "That’s why I didn’t tell you to stop outright."

"Is that so?" Kael’s eyes widened slightly. His hand lifted, gently covering mine where it rested against his cheek. The simple movement made my fingers turn cold against his warm skin. "Were you really not uncomfortable," he asked slowly, "or were you simply afraid to tell me what you were thinking?"

My brows drew together. "What do you mean?"

His gaze sharpened. "Were you thinking that if you told me you were uncomfortable, I might call this deal that is between us off?"

My entire body went still. For a moment, I could only stare at him. How? How had he guessed that? The thought usually crossed my mind countless times. I had always been afraid of doing anything that might make him reconsider the agreement between us.

Every word, every action, every decision; I had carefully measured them because I couldn’t afford to give him a reason to walk away. And now Kael had said exactly what I had been trying so desperately to hide.

My fingers remained motionless against his cheek. How did he know? Had I been that obvious? Had he been watching me this closely all along?

"I am not afraid!" I immediately answered, perhaps a little too quickly.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly but I didn’t stop. "I am not afraid of anything like that," I repeated, forcing confidence into my voice. "I already told you that I want to be with you."

I took another step toward him. "I told you that I would do anything. I would agree to any of your demands just to be with you..." My voice softened, but I didn’t look away. "Just to be with Kael."

I hesitated for only a fraction of a second before adding, "My Kael."

The change in his expression was immediate. A sharp breath escaped me as Kael suddenly pulled me closer, right flush into him, catching me completely off guard.

His eyes were no longer as cold as they had been moments ago. That familiar intensity had returned to them, the same intensity I remembered from the first days after he had agreed to my proposal.

I swallowed "If I can agree to those demands of yours, even when you yourself find some of them unacceptable, just to be with you..." I continued, forcing myself to keep speaking despite the sudden nervousness in my chest. "What makes you think anything you were doing earlier was making me uncomfortable?"

Kael stared at me for several seconds. There was something almost disbelieving in his expression.

"Your Kael, huh?" The way he repeated those words made my heart beat faster. His gaze remained fixed on my face as though he were trying to determine whether I actually meant what I was saying. "You’re so obsessed with me?"

I didn’t answer immediately. He continued, his voice quieter now. "So desperate to be with me?"

There was a strange disbelief beneath his words, as if he couldn’t understand how anyone could possibly feel so strongly about him. "Do you really think I’m stupid enough to believe that it’s possible for someone to be this crazy about me?"

I stared into his eyes. For once, I didn’t hesitate. "You would be stupid if you couldn’t see the intensity of the fire in my eyes to be with you, ... my Kael."