The System Gave Me A Yandere Husband

Chapter 35: Want Me

Eveyr was bluffing and Esme knew that. No matter how big of a monster he was, she knew he would never physically force her. He was just trying to intimidate her, pushing her to the edge to see if she would break and confess what she had read.

He brushed his lips on her cheek instead of kissing her. Esme’s breath hitched at the touch. The [Aura Mask] was completely useless against the heat radiating from his body. With that, an idea crossed her mind.

If words couldn’t shake him...then maybe desire would.

Before she could question her decision, Esme grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. She parted her lips and began to close the distance between them.

Eveyr froze, his eyes widening in shock. He immediately pulled back, putting distance between their mouths.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Esme looked at him and smirked.

"What’s wrong, Your Grace? Are you afraid of me now?"

"You are not in your right mind, Esme. You are acting on impulse. You are trying to use your body to manipulate me. You don’t know what you’re doing."

"I know exactly what I am doing," Esme whispered seductively.

She didn’t give him another chance to pull away. She tangled her fingers into his hair, and pulled him down for a passionate kiss.

Eveyr went completely rigid for a second. Then, he groaned and kissed her back with the same passion.

The kiss was intoxicating. He kissed her with such devotion that it broke all her walls. She knew this was dangerous and wrong. She knew she was kissing a monster who had torn apart the universe for her but for the first time in her life, she didn’t want to stop.

Eveyr’s hands slid to her shoulders, his thumbs gently pushing her dress down her arms. He broke the kiss only to kiss her jaw, pressing hot, open mouthed kisses on her neck and collarbone.

Esme arched her back, and moaned in pleasure. She gripped his shoulders tightly, urging him to go on. But just before his hands could reach her breasts, Eveyr suddenly stopped.

Slowly, he pulled back. He looked at her bare shoulder and pulled her dress back up. Esme looked frustrated, her vision still blurry with desire.

"Why did you stop?"

"I want you, Esme. I want you more than I want my next breath. I have wanted you for seven years," he said as he cupped her cheek. "But I will not take you like this. I know you are just giving in to the heat of the moment. I want to make you mine only when you would want to be mine."

Esme stared at him in disbelief. She could see the intense hunger in his eyes. She knew exactly how badly he wanted her. Yet, he had stopped. Even after she gave him consent, because he wanted her heart.

In her peripheral vision, the system interface blinked again.

[SYSTEM ALERT: EMOTIONAL OVERRIDE]

[Target’s Devotion has bypassed physical desire]

The awkward tension slowly left the room. They both looked around. The study was an absolute wreck. Eveyr stepped back and walked over to his chair. He sat on it and stared at the fireplace as he processed what had just happened.

Esme immediately snapped back to reality. Her lips were still swollen, her pulse still racing, but her mind had begun working again.

Eveyr is completely vulnerable right now. I can’t waste this opportunity.

She jumped off the desk and walked towards Eveyr. She stopped in front of him just for a second, surprising him, and sat on his lap. Eveyr immediately wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Tell me about the Architect," Esme whispered.

A knowing smile touched his lips.

"The Architect," he repeated. "So... you were lying in the library."

He wasn’t angry. If anything, he looked amused by her deception. The fact that she had managed to read his darkest secret and still had the courage to lie to him to his face only fed his obsession.

"It is a parasite, Esme," Eveyr explained. "It is a cosmic entity that finds dying worlds and feeds on the magic of individuals like me. For years, the crown has unknowingly provided it with host bodies to spy on my territory."

"And you killed all of them?"

He nodded.

"Because they weren’t you. The Architect thought you were just another pawn it could use to control me. It didn’t know that I had already found you."

Esme’s stomach dropped to her feet. She looked past Eveyr’s shoulder, staring blankly at the wall. Now everything was clear. All this time she thought system was the mastermind. But it was actually Eveyr who was controlling everything.

Did the system know that? Is that why it sent me here to finally stop Eveyr?

"How did you do it?" she asked. "How did you bro..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud knock at the door broke the moment.

"Your Grace!" George called out. "Forgive the intrusion, but we have received an Imperial Courier sent by the Emperor himself."

Eveyr snarled. He shifted Esme off his lap and covered her shoulders with his coat as he stood up.

Then he opened the door using his magic. A terrified young courier boy stood in the hallway, flanked by George. The boy was holding out a scroll sealed with the Emperor’s golden crest.

Eveyr walked over and snatched the scroll from his hand. He broke the seal and read it in silence.

When he finished, the paper suddenly caught fire, burning to ash in his hand. Then he turned back to Esme.

"Julian is making his next move," Eveyr said. "The Emperor has just announced week long mandatory, Hunting Retreat for the high nobility. He claims it is to soothe the tensions of my recent behaviour at the gala."

He scoffed.

"But there is a catch...the invitation especially mentions that the Duchess of Aldric must ride in the Emperor’s Vanguard carriage, alongside the royal family while I am required to ride with my guards."

Esme instinctively tightened his coat around her shoulders, her mind immediately seeing the trap.

"They are trying to separate us?" she asked.

"Yes," Eveyr nodded. "I know Julian. He is planning an assassination."