Ch. 476..480: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 476-480

Chapter 476: Reiner - Love or Pity?

“Do you know why he married you?” Rachael asked abruptly.

Because he loves me...?

“He did mention that there were various reasons. What about you? Why do you think he chose to marry me?” I asked kindly.

I could have added the ‘and not you?’ part but I didn’t. Natalia, you are growing up to be such an angel, really.

Rachael seemed a little stunned at how straightforward I was being with her. Honestly, I didn’t want her hanging around here for too long and I didn’t want her to be here when Reiner came back either.

“I guess Knight never told you anything,” Rachael said before she grinned at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked as I tried not to let her attitude get to me.

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I thought that you should know before you get any unrealistic ideas about your relationship with him. Knight didn’t marry you out of love or anything romantic like that,” Rachael said as she stared deeply into my eyes.

If she had said this to me before I married Reiner and spent time living with him, there might have been a part of me that might have been swayed by her words. However, Reiner has told me that he loves me many times by now. When he proposed to me, he told me that he loves me. During the ceremony, he told me that he loves me. He said it so many times as if he wanted to make sure that I believed him.

Sorry, dear, but I don’t believe a word that you’re saying right now. If I had to choose between believing a girl that I barely knew like her or Reiner, isn’t the choice pretty obvious? However, I was curious to hear what she had to say.

“Really? So, why did he decide to marry me then?” I asked as I cocked my head to the side innocently.

“He pitied you and couldn’t bear to watch you die. Knight is just a good guy like that,” Rachael said before she shrugged her shoulders.

“Watch me die?” I asked, very confused.

What does that even mean? I’m going to die?

“Oh right, you don’t know anything at all. So let me start from the beginning for your benefit. The company received an order from one of the clients that wanted you killed,” Rachael said before she pursed her lips and nodded at me.

“...what?” I whispered in disbelief.

Someone wanted me killed and hired King’s company to do it? Why? Who could it be?

“I guess your loving husband didn’t tell you this. Well, that’s why I’m telling it to you now. Someone wanted you dead enough to pay a high price for the company to get rid of you. Obviously, Knight was told about this. He didn’t want you to get killed so he married you so that King would be forced to follow protocols to protect you as part of his family, as Knight’s wife and his daughter-in-law,” Rachael explained before she looked at me with a look of pity.

Of course, she didn’t really pity me. It was all pretenses.

“That’s...” I murmured, still unable to believe it.

Is what she saying true?

“You still don’t get it, do you? Knight married you because he wanted to save your life. That’s all. After he’s sure that you’re safe, he’ll probably call this wedding off as if it never happened,” Rachael continued confidently.

Protocols. If I remembered correctly, Reiner did remind King of something along those lines when we broke our news to his parents that we had gotten married. So that was what he was referring to. Apparently, there’s a protocol that protects King’s immediate family from harm and Reiner married me because of that.

Well, he did tell me that he married me for various of reasons and he did tell me that he couldn’t tell me everything now. I had been waiting for him to tell me on his own terms, but I guess this lady here beat him to it. Screw the saying about how there was a right time for everything. He should have just told me something this important.

“When did this happen? When did the company receive the request from the client to get me killed?” I asked rapidly for more details.

If I can just figure out the timeline, then I would probably start to understand why Reiner was acting the way he acted and why he chose to do the things that he did.

“A few days before you two got married, I guess. It’s like I said. Knight was probably forced to make a hasty decision to marry you just to keep you from getting killed,” Rachael said as she looked at me with pity in her eyes.

I wasn’t sure how accurate Rachael’s data point was but if that was true then the timeline coincidentally aligned with the weekend date that we had planned. Perhaps that was the reason why Reiner turned up later and why he chose to take me to the beach and all that for our date. It was also so that he could propose to me and so that we could complete the necessary wedding rituals and ceremonies. I had to say that I was very impressed at how he could plan and prepare all that in such a short time.

Pain shot through my lower lip, and I realized that I had been chewing on it as my mind processed what was going on. Reiner looked worried about something that I couldn’t understand while we were together at the beach during our date and that was probably because he was worried about my safety. All along, he was worried about me, and I didn’t have a clue of what was going on at all. While I was selfishly getting him to do various stupid things for me like putting sunscreen on me, playing with me in the water, reading some books that he probably wasn’t at all interested in, he had been trying to save my life.

Chapter 477: Reiner - Who to Trust

Reiner was always thinking of me and doing his best to protect me. How could I be so ignorant and stupid?!

Reiner, when will you come back? I want to see you so badly right now...

Rachael was still going off about something that I couldn’t quite understand but I knew that it wasn’t something good. By that time, I no longer heard a word that left her lips. My mind was already made up as to what I wanted to believe, and I couldn’t control how I was feeling.

“Thank you so much, Rachael! Thank you...really. Thank you so so much!” I cried out as I got up from my seat and ran to her side.

Before she could snap out of her shock, I had thrown my arms around her body and was hugging her tightly. Tears stung my eyes and when I closed them, the warm wetness of my tears traced lines down my cheeks. I hugged her tighter to me while her arms started to push me away from her body. That only made me try to hold on tighter to her.

“Thank you...thank you so much, Rachael. Thank you for telling me all this...” I kept on saying as a mix of happiness and relief flooded every cell of my body.

When Reiner mentioned that he had something that he would tell me someday soon, I had dreamt up many nightmarish scenarios. I also thought that it would be something that may put our relationship under risk or something that may force us to part ways. Never did I think that it would be a reason that would bring him to me and keep us together.

Finally, I understood what was going on and it was all because of her. Despite her not-so-well intentions of trying to stir up trouble between Reiner and me, what she told me finally made me understand Reiner so much more. I felt so relieved that everything was starting to make sense to me now.

“What are you doing?! Let go of me. Stop this now!” Rachael screamed quite loudly.

Her hand wrenched mine away from her body. She was so strong, and she managed to overpower me so easily. After successfully pulling me away from her body, she looked at me with utter shock on her face and I couldn’t blame her for her reaction. It was quite obvious that the reaction that I had wasn’t what she had in mind when she turned up here to break the news to me.

“Thank you, Rachael. I’m so happy right now...” I said as I continued to sob before I raised my hand to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes.

“Have you gone out of your mind?!” she yelled right into my face.

Still sobbing and not quite knowing how to explain what was going through my head to her in words, I just shook my head slightly from side to side. Rachael was mortified as she continued to stare at me while I struggled to balance between sobbing and giggling in delight. When I managed to control myself, I headed back to my sofa and took a seat. Rachael returned to her seat as well and I could feel her eyes on me as she waited for my much-needed explanation.

‘I want you to remember that no matter what other people say or tell you, I love you. I really love you,’

That was what Reiner told me after he told me that he had many reasons for marrying me and some of those were selfish reasons of his own. I chose to believe him, and I didn’t mind at all that he had other reasons besides love. As long as there was love, I couldn’t care less about his other reasons.

“Actually, when Knight asked me to marry him, he told me that he had many selfish reasons for doing so. Of course, he hasn’t gotten around to telling me what some of those reasons are, but he did tell me that he loves me. He told me that no matter what other people might say to me, he wanted me to believe that he really loves me and that is exactly what I’m going to do. I want to believe that Knight loves me,” I explained patiently.

We’ve been through so much together and I started to appreciate all the pain and tears that I went through now. It all made me stronger, and it made the bond that I shared with Reiner that much stronger as well.

“Was that why you were laughing and crying like a fool?” Rachael snapped.

“Yes. I’m so in love with him that I’ll probably believe every single thing that he tells me,” I replied before I started giggling again.

I didn’t expect Rachael or anyone to understand me and it wasn’t my responsibility to make sure that they understood. I understand everything now. Now all I need to do is wait for Reiner to come back home.

Rachael looked at me stunned and speechless while all I could do was smile kindly at her. One day, I hope that she finds the one for her too.

“Thank you for coming to see me today. I’m not sure if Knight had the time to catch up with you but if you want, you can always drop by anytime,” I said, and surprisingly, I meant it.

I knew how hard it was to give up on someone that you really love so I could more than understand what Rachael was going through. It may have been because of her honestly and basic trickery that I started to develop a liking towards her. If she is precious to Knight as his little sister, then she should be precious to me to. I liked her, she was simple to deal with unlike the other women that I have had to deal with in the past.

“Bye! Don’t speed on the road!” I called out after her when Rachael suddenly grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the room.

There she goes. Waltzing in and out of the mansion like a cyclone. Maybe I’ll keep an eye out for hot and decent guys for her. Playing the matchmaker would be a fun pastime for me.

Chapter 478: Reiner - Telling Him About Her

With Rachael gone and now that I had sorted out my feelings about Reiner, the only thing that bothered me was the unchangeable fact that someone wanted me dead. The ill wish left a very bad taste in my mouth, and I shivered just at the thought of it. Who wanted to get rid of me? And why?

If I asked Reiner, would he know? Would he tell me?

...

I returned to help Queen work on her garden after that and she bombarded me with questions about what Rachael talked to me about. Queen was seriously into gossip although I could sense that she was genuinely worried about me as well.

“Nothing much. She told me that Knight didn’t marry me because he loved me,” I said before I flashed Queen a smile.

“Oh...and you said?” she asked as her hands stopped midair during her effort to cut a stem.

“I told her that Knight loves me because he told me so. I’ve decided to believe his words and that was that,” I replied, concisely.

“Wow...Knight actually said that? I’m impressed!” Queen exclaimed as her eyes widened.

“He says it quite often now...please don’t tell him that I told you,” I whispered as if telling her the world’s deepest and darkest secret.

“Oh wow...of course, I won’t say a thing...” Queen replied with a mischievous look on her face.

Just like Queen was worried for me, I couldn’t help but worry about Rachael. All in all, none of this was her fault. If anything, she was a very big victim in all of this mess. She fell in love with Reiner, and I could understand that. If I were her, I’ll probably be madly in love with him too. Then he broke his engagement with her not once but twice. The second time, he broke it off with her and married me immediately after. Either that, or he didn’t even bother to tell her about it before he married me. Reiner was horrible at managing a girl’s feelings!

“Umm...I’m not sure how to put this but...what about Rachael? Is she, ok?” I asked softly.

Queen looked at me for a moment and I could tell that she understood what I meant. She looked away for moment as if to think before her eyes returned to me.

“She will move on. She has to. Rachael is a strong girl and I love her like she’s one of my own. It’s unfortunate about what happened, and I feel extremely guilty for what Knight has done. Breaking off the engagement twice and all that but I guess it was better for everyone that he didn’t go ahead and married her as planned,” Queen said patiently before sighing softly.

“How so?” I asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? Knight doesn’t love Rachael in that way. It’s unfortunate for her but I’m glad that my son married the woman that he loves,” Queen said before she smiled at me and placed a hand firmly on my shoulder.

“I feel a bit bad for her...” I confessed softly as I glanced down at my feet.

“Don’t. Rachael is proud and she doesn’t need your sympathy. She’ll move on and I’m sure that she’ll find the right man for her sooner or later,” Queen said comfortingly.

“I hope so,” I replied.

...

As promised, Reiner returned in time for dinner. After spending almost an hour just pacing around in front of the entrance, Reiner finally returned. I ran up to the side of his car like a dog that had been anxiously waiting for its owner to come home from work. When Reiner got out of the car, I was already there by his side.

“Welcome home!” I cried out happily as I wrapped my arms around him.

“You look too happy. Did something happen while I was gone?” Reiner asked as he also hugged me in return.

Oh...how did he pick up on that so fast?

“Let’s talk about it over dinner,” I suggested before I beamed him another bright smile.

Reiner seemed curious but he did let me lead him to the dining room without asking any further questions. Food was already prepared and laid out on the table for us by the time that we seated ourselves at our usual seat at the dining table.

“So, what happened while I was gone?” Reiner asked.

“I was in the garden with Queen...” I started.

“And...?” Reiner prompted for me to get to the point.

“And...a maid came to tell me that Rachael was here to see me,” I said as I tried my best to read Reiner’s reaction.

“Why did she come to see you?” Reiner asked.

He didn’t seem shocked that Rachael came to see me, but I had to say that he didn’t seem pleased or surprised about it.

“She...came to congratulate me on our wedding...” I said as I tried to figure out how to tell Reiner the rest of it.

“She came to congratulate you on our wedding when I was conveniently not present?” Reiner asked and I could tell that he was more than suspicious.

I gulped down some water to clear my throat while my mind raced on how to break the news to him. It would probably not have any negative impact on me, but I was certain that Rachael might get into trouble for what she had done if I didn’t put the right spin on this. Why am I trying so hard to protect her?

Perhaps without realizing it, I had started to feel slightly guilty about taking Reiner away from her. Although it wasn’t like she had him in the first place. I sighed softly to myself as I wondered how to put this in a diplomatic way.

“Actually, she also came to tell me that there was something that you had been keeping from me. She told me all about how someone had ordered to have me killed and how you married me so that I could benefit from the protocol stating that King’s immediate family would receive protection no matter what. She told me that you married me just to keep me safe...and that you didn’t really love me or anything like that. Of course, I didn’t believe what she said about you not loving me. Ok? I didn’t believe that part at all,” I explained as I tried to pick my words carefully.

Chapter 479: Reiner - Share His Burdens

“Is that so?” Reiner asked softly.

“Yes...so...umm...it’s all ok now. I just wanted to tell you everything so that you wouldn’t have to worry if you found out about her visit afterwards,” I said with a small smile.

“What else did she say?” he asked further.

So far, Reiner hadn’t commented on anything, and it was hard for me to judge what he was thinking or feeling and that made me a little uncomfortable. There didn’t seem to be any other option but to continue pressing ahead.

“Nothing much really. I guess my reactions freaked her out and she couldn’t wait to get back home after that...” I said before laughing a little.

Reiner seemed a little surprise that I could laugh about something like this. He probably thought that I would be mad when I found out about what he had been hiding from me. I didn’t like the fact that he hid things from me, but I had made up my mind to be more understanding about it, so I wasn’t really angry. It didn’t sit well with me that Reiner had to suffer so much all alone just to keep me happy in my ignorant little bubble.

"I think that I kind of understand why you didn’t want to tell me about it. You probably didn’t want me to worry about it. I get that but I still would have preferred for you to tell me..." I said honestly.

"There was no need for you to know because there wasn’t anything that you could do about it even if you knew. You would get scared, and you would have worried endlessly about something that you couldn’t control. I thought that it would be better if you didn’t know about it," Reiner explained solemnly.

"When were you planning to tell me about it? You were planning to tell me, right?" I asked.

"I was going to tell you about it after we got married but then you seemed too happy with everything and we were busy. I guess that I’ve been putting if off. It’s unfortunate that you had to hear it from Rachael. I didn’t tell her about it, but she probably heard it through someone else," Reiner said and he did sound regretful.

"It does scare me, and it does make me worry to know that someone wants me dead bad enough to hire the company to handle it. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything to anyone to be the target of such ridicule," I said before I sighed heavily.

Reiner still seemed worried about that topic and the fact that he didn’t volunteer any information about the person who targeted me probably meant that he either didn’t know or it was against protocol for him to tell me. As for me, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out or not. What good would it do for me to find out except ease me of my curiosity?

"R...I know this might sound like a very selfish request but...we’re married now so I don’t want us to keep secrets from each other. If it’s possible, from now on, I want you to tell me everything," I pleaded desperately with the hope that he would understand.

"Even if knowing the truth won’t help you and will just hurt you?" Reiner asked as if to make sure that I knew what I was getting myself into.

"Yes. I’m not asking this simply because I’m curious or that I think that I have the right to know. The bigger issue is that I don’t want you to carry the burden alone when I’m completely clueless and carefree. I don’t want you to suffer alone anymore..." I said as I stared into his beautiful blue eyes.

When I thought of how carefree and gleeful, I acted when we went to the beach together on our date, I was consumed with guilt. Unknowingly, I had left Reiner to worry about the whole situation alone while I was the only one who fully enjoyed our date. Not to talk about the fact that I had him do so many things for me too. Never in my life did I want that to ever repeat itself again.

"All that stuff they say about sharing burdens, I don’t really buy. I would rather suffer and think about it all alone than to let you suffer with me if it doesn’t really help..." Reiner said sternly.

"But I don’t want to feel useless all the time and I don’t want you to worry alone..." I continued to plead my case.

Reiner stared deeply into my eyes before he was the first one to look away.

"Fine. I’ll try harder to tell you things from now on..." Reiner finally conceded before he heaved another sigh.

"I was so happy when Rachael told me," I confessed softly.

Reiner’s attention immediately returned to me as his blue eyes focused on my face. I decided to continue with what I was saying now that I had his undivided attention.

"Actually, I was so happy about it that I couldn’t really control myself and ended up hugging Rachael while thanking her non-stop for telling me. That was probably what freaked her out. She escaped shortly after that...haha!" I continued with my confession before laughing when I thought of the look on Rachael’s face.

Things probably didn’t quite go as she had expected when she decided to visit me.

"Why were you so happy about it?" Reiner asked with a confused look on his face.

"Maybe I thought that you were hiding something more terrible from me, so I was relieved that you were simply hiding it because you were worried about me. Of course, I truly appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. You always keep me safe and you take care of me so well..." I said before I started blushing a little.

"I see..." Reiner said and he was probably willing to leave it at that.

"Having someone target my life isn’t great news but it did help you decide to marry me so in a strange and twisted way, I am quite thankful that it happened. Although maybe you would have given in and married me later on anyways..." I said.

Chapter 480: Reiner - Love and Desire

"I wouldn’t be too confident..." Reiner muttered.

I got up from my seat and walked over to his side before I bent down and hugged his neck from behind. His soft red hair brushed against the side of my face as I leaned down and pressed my face against his.

"I love you so much...you know that, right?" I asked before I smiled in bliss.

I could smell him, and his body felt so warm in my embrace. Once again, I felt extremely lucky that he was by my side.

"I do. Should we have dinner with Rachael to clear things up. Would that make you feel better?" Reiner replied clearly before asking some very surprising questions.

"You mean dinner with the three of us?" I asked to make sure that I understood him correctly.

"That’s right. Rachael is very close to my family. That means that you won’t be able to avoid her forever. If it’ll make things easier for you, I can clear things up with her just like what you wanted. I also don’t want her bothering you behind my back again either," Reiner proposed logically.

My blinked my eyes rapidly in surprise as I tried to digest his words. Honestly, his proposal made a lot of sense and I hadn’t thought that he would go that far to ease my mind. However, things are sure going to be awkward when we have that dinner.

"Maybe we should give it a try. I know that she is someone important to you. If possible, I don’t want to ruin the relationship that you two have. Of course, as long as you two don’t get romantically involved," I said before ending on a sharp note.

Reiner shook his head as if he found what I just said extremely ridiculous.

"Don’t get jealous of the wrong person. I have my ex-lovers on this island, but Rachael isn’t one of them," Reiner said and he seemed quite amused.

"Would you mind sending over a presentation of the profiles of your ex just so that I can keep track?" I asked sarcastically.

"You sound too much like my secretary..." he teased.

"That’s because I am your secretary..." I muttered in reply.

Despite my joke, I had completely no interest in his past relationships. I was more concern on the future of ours.

“I don’t know about that. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea...” I mumbled as I started to really doubt if it’s a good idea.

“If it’ll make you feel more at ease about her, then I think it’s a good idea,” Reiner said seriously.

“I don’t know. I don’t deal very well with heart broken girls,” I replied before grinning his way.

“She’s not a bad person...” Reiner whispered.

“I know that and that is why I feel so bad about it. I’ll go if you want me to. I trust you, R...” I replied after having made up my mind.

“Thank you...” Reiner whispered tenderly.

I closed my eyes and offered him my lips invitingly when his face dipped down closer to mine. A soft moan escaped my lips when I felt his soft and warm lips on mine as he pulled me into a gentle kiss. The warmth of his hand cupped the side of my face tenderly and I sighed at the pleasure of his touch. Reiner kissed me softly before changing the angle of our kiss to kiss me deeper.

I parted my lips seductively, inviting his tongue into the wet depths of my mouth. My tongue met his eagerly when his tongue entered my mouth. His hand held my face tighter as he angled my mouth the way he wanted it until our kiss was so wet and deep that I couldn’t stop moaning as our tongue danced together fervently.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood up on my tiptoes to kiss him more. Needing to taste more of him and his heat, I began thrusting my tongue wildly against his before he started sucking on my lips seductively. His hands caressed its way down my body until he reached the flesh of my ass and cupped them. I moaned at the slightly rough sensation of his large hand squeezing and massaging my buttocks. My core started throbbing as desire built up inside of me. My body was already reacting so much to him, and I had to admit that I wanted him quite badly already.

I felt Reiner’s hand under my ass for a moment before he lifted me smoothly onto the dining table. The coldness of the marble against my bare thighs made me realize just how hiked up my dress was as Reiner parted my legs and stood between them. I didn’t have the time to say anything before his lips sealed mine in a very passionate kiss. This kiss was much more demanding and aggressive than the one before and I couldn’t help but respond to his kiss without restraint. I kissed him back as I wrapped my arms around his neck again before pulling him closer. My fingers ran through his soft hair as I moaned my passion into his mouth.

His hands were quickly on my breasts, squeezing them and kneading them through the fabric of my dress. He broke our kiss only to start sucking and licking the side of my neck seductively. I let out a whimpering cry when he sucked hard on the sensitive skin of my neck as his hands moved downwards to pull my dress up further to reveal my upper thighs. My body felt hot all over, and I knew that if I didn’t stop him, he would take me right here in the dining room.

Reiner lifted and spread my thighs further apart with his large hands before I felt his hardness grinding against the sensitive spot in between my legs. It felt so good, his cock hitting my sensitive clit through the thin fabric of my panties. His cock was so big and hard, and I could feel it grinding against my sensitive nub. My hips began moving in rhythm to his, grinding my clit against his hardness of more pleasure. I moaned and threw my head back as I started to lose myself and my mind in the heat of our desire.