The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 53: [Bonus - ] A Reconciliation

Chapter 53: [Bonus Chapter] A Reconciliation

Anna’s closed eyelids slowly fluttered as the sense of awakening emerged through her. She saw the familiar space when her eyes opened, her visual focus sharpened. She could also feel the softness of the bed and the duvet covering her.

A surge of hotness and stickiness washed over her body, with a sense of fatigue and malaise. The soreness spread through her muscles, a little ache pounded her head, and a feeling of dryness hung in her throat.

Upon waking up, the princess was confused and disoriented. She did not remember returning to the commander’s tent, so she could not comprehend why she was there.

"You’re awake."

Anna turned her head to the incoming voice. The figure of Kyren, who sat beside the bed, filled her sight. Her lips parted a bit as her eyes darted at him. Then she realised that his large, calloused hand was weighing on hers.

The princess could not say a word to him as if she had been caught for some grave and unforgivable sin. She remembered their quarrel, which had not been resolved, her objection to his order and his anger towards her. She averted her eyes as she clasped her fingers with the end of the duvet.

"Your lips are dry. Here, drink this," he said as if already knowing her thirst.

His other hand had already picked up a glass of water. Feeling the parched throat and the need to dampen the urging, Anna could not resist the offer. The commander’s hand, which held her, released the clasp and snaked to her back, supporting her body as it rose into a sitting position.

"Slowly," he advised her as she nearly chugged down the water from the glass tip brought to her lips.

She finished the whole glass in a short moment.

"More?" he asked.

She nodded.

He poured another glass of water for her. After drinking two full glasses of water, she felt much livelier. She wiped the water remnants from her lips with the back of her hand. Kyren returned the glass to the side table.

"Rafe said you’ll be thirsty when you wake up."

"What happened?" She pulled up some courage to ask.

"You have a fever again. Your temperature was high last night. Luckily, it went down this morning," he replied.

He patted her head gently as he looked at her intensely.

"You need plenty of rest to recover."

The commander turned his head to the healer, sitting in a chair a little further away, nodding off to a light doze.

"Rafe, she’s awake. Can you take a look at her?"

The sleepy healer shook his head as he heard the calling.

"Huh...What? Oh... all right."

Rafe yawned and squirmed a few times before getting up and rubbing his red eyes. He seemed to have been spending the night in the commander’s tent.

"I’ll go out and get breakfast. You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten anything since last night," Kyren said to Anna.

The commander quickly excused himself, leaving the healer to examine his patient.

Rafe wrapped his fingers around the edge of the chair, pulled it to the bedside and sat on it.

"How are you feeling, my lady?"

"I’m fine."

He smirked a little upon hearing the reply.

"How’s your heart feeling?"

Anna pursed her lips and looked down. There was no answer from her mouth to the question.

"Hmm... I’m guessing that you are sad and angry. Perhaps disappointed some more," he surmised.

She shrank and drooped her shoulders.

"I don’t know what to say," she said, "Why am I here, anyway?"

"Last night, you fell asleep before the bonfire and were burning with fever. The commander brought you back," Rafe replied.

That explained the hot sensation and the pain she was feeling right now.

"Why did he do that? I thought he hated me."

"He doesn’t hate you. He was angry. But, more than anything, he cares for you."

"Lies! He doesn’t care about me! He wants to imprison me! He treats me like some item belonging to him!" A hint of furiousness mixed with fear rose from her speech.

"That’s not true. Last night, when Eric and I told him of your condition, he stormed out of the tent to get you. He cared for you the entire night without a wink of sleep."

Anna’s eyes were still drooping and looking down.

"He didn’t eat anything too last night, you know. He was worried sick about you, and I heard him whispering his apology to you like a chant."

The princess raised her head, and her swollen eyes from crying last night fell on the healer.

"He... he did that?" she stammered.

The healer nodded.

"Yes, he did. I’ve never seen him like that, my lady."

Anna sighed and said, "He scares me, Rafe. I mean... After what happened, it feels like I don’t know him anymore. He never shouts or gets angry at me like yesterday."

"The commander might not know how to express his feelings, but he cares a lot about you. So, please be considerate to him. When he returns, I hope you can have a good talk and sort out your differences," Rafe persuaded.

"I don’t know whether he wants to talk about it. I tried to explain before, but he won’t listen." She pouted.

"Try again. I think he has calmed down and is ready to listen to you. I know I’m a bachelor and not good at marital counselling, but I believe married couples should openly talk to resolve their problems. After all, you are newlyweds and still haven’t known each other thoroughly," he advised.

Anna nodded. Rafe’s persuasion somehow lightened her heart. She, too, hoped that she could reconcile with her husband.

"Great! Now, let me quick-check on you to make sure you’ll get better soon," said Rafe.

The healer thoroughly examined her condition. After being satisfied with the outcome, he left the tent and approached Kyren, who was waiting outside.

"Why didn’t you come in?" asked the healer as he saw the grand duke holding a tray of food and drink.

"I want to. But I heard you were talking," he answered.

Rafe looked up at the towering commander with a crease on his forehead.

"Let me ask you something. Why were you behaving like that last night?"

The commander looked at the food tray he held as if being scolded by the healer.

"I don’t know."

"I understand you were not happy that someone took a fancy to your wife. But, seriously... You went berserk whenever something occurred to her as if you were possessed. Don’t you think this is weird? Everyone is getting curious about your relationship with her."

The words thrown by the healer seemed more like nagging. Kyren took a while before answering.

"Rafe, I know you have a lot to say, but please, let me attend to Anna first and get back to you."

The healer exhaled in defeat.

"You’re right."

"We’ll talk later."

"Commander, wait!" Rafe almost shouted, calling the commander, when a thought crossed his mind.

The grand duke’s steps halted.

"What now? The porridge might get cold soon!" he grumbled.

"Listen... The lady is already scared of you. She thinks you’re going to imprison her. You won’t do that, would you?" the healer asked with a slight worry on his face.

"I won’t," he said, his tone reassuring, "It was just blurted out of anger. You don’t have to worry about it. I am not that inhuman."

Rafe let out a small sigh of relief. The answer lifted the tension in his shoulders. The healer then bowed to the commander before retreating, allowing Kyren to attend to his wife.

The commander balanced the tray in his hands as he stepped to the bed. The aroma of porridge and fresh milk wafted in the air. He moved the empty glass and placed the tray on the table.

The hungry princess took a peek at the food. Her empty stomach growled loudly as she whiffed the savoury scent of the porridge into her nose. She blushed over the involuntary sound.

"Let’s eat. You’re already starving."

"I can eat by myself. You should go and get some rest. Rafe said you didn’t get any sleep last night," Anna replied slowly.

"I’m not tired at all. You eat first," he demanded.

"Then, you eat too." He shook his head.

"I’m not hungry yet. Besides, there’s medicine in the porridge for your fever. It would help if you eat well to get better quickly," said Kyren.

"Then, let me hold the bowl. I can manage."

"Are you forgetting something, Anna?"

His deep blue eyes stared intensely at her, causing her to tremble slightly. She wondered what fault she had committed this time for him to give her an incomprehensible gaze.

"What?"

"I never let you eat by yourself whenever you’re sick. My hand always feed you. So, today, please let me do that again," he requested.

A sudden urge of emotion wrapped her heart upon the plea. The rush of blood filled her cheeks, and she felt a lump form in her throat as her chest tightened. She knew the tears were coming.

Kyren had always been there for her when she needed him the most. He was always caring, attentive to her every need and protective. Despite his firmness, the man had always paid attention to his responsibilities.

The grand duke had always been perfect.

A perfect leader, a perfect warrior and a perfect husband. Yet somehow, the overbearing reaction from his uncontrolled emotion terrified her.

Anna’s eyes welled up with tears, and she blinked them away, trying to keep them from spilling over. Her breathing became shallow and ragged, and she felt her body shake.

"I’m sorry!" her voice barely above a whisper.

"I didn’t mean to go against you. Please don’t lock me up! I don’t want to live in confinement!"

She buried her face in her hands, trying to shield herself from his stare.

Kyren rose from his seat and came to bed. He sat close to Anna and pulled her body to his ample chest. His strong arms encircled her, bringing a sense of comfort and safety. He could feel the slight warmth from her body and smell the scent of ripened apples as he bowed and tucked his nose into her loose hair.

"You’re not at fault! I am. I’m the one who’s supposed to apologise to you," he said.

They held each other in that moment, savouring the closeness and connection.

Kyren pulled away from the hug and clasped her hand.

"Forgive me, Anna! I broke my promise and hurt you. I made you hate me by shouting at you like a madman. I never want to imprison you. I didn’t mean what I said. Forgive me!"

"I don’t hate you, Kyren! I didn’t mean what I said, either. You’re the most important person in my life. You’re the only one I have," she sobbed.

The weight of her emotion lifted as she let out her feelings. He wiped her rolling tears with his long fingers.

"Don’t cry. I hate to see you crying. It hurts me every time you shed tears. So, please don’t."

Kyren bent down and laid his forehead on hers. He closed his eyes and whispered, "You’re my wife, Anna. My only woman. I can’t bear losing you."

Anna’s tears kept trickling down.

"I can’t lose you, either! I know I’m weak and stupid and cling desperately to you. So teach me, Kyren! Teach me to be a better wife for you!" she cried.

"You’re not stupid! You’re precious to me, so you can cling to me as much as you want. I don’t mind, and Anna..." He drew back as he paused his sentences.

The princess looked up at him with her wet face.

"Humm..."

"Let’s work this out together. Teach me to be a good husband for you, too!"

She nodded as another trickle of tears fell down her cheek.

Kyren sealed her lips with a warm kiss, marking the end of the couple’s fight.

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