Love him.

GA?L WOKE UP WITH A naked Juliette in his arms, and her fingers delicately stroking his already throbbing cock.

A breathless giggle bubbled past Juliette's lips when Ga?l moved without warning, and she found herself suddenly flat on her back while her guardian loomed over her, his face made almost ethereally beautiful by the golden rays of sunlight cascading from his bedroom window.

"We missed breakfast," she whispered.

"I didn't—-"

Her eyes widened. Had he woken up earlier without her knowing it?

"Since I'm about to eat you ."

Oh!

It was so not like Ga?l to say something like that she couldn't help but laugh, and the same thought had seemingly occurred to her guardian, with the way his high-boned cheeks were now stained with color.

"I've lost my mind because of you," he growled.

"I like it, though," Juliette whispered with a smile.

He rolled his eyes, and although this had her giggling again, it only lasted for a moment, since Ga?l had suddenly bent his head to take her mouth in a kiss.

Aaaaaaah.

Juliette's body molded against Ga?l's muscled form as his tongue thrust inside her mouth while he started fondling her breast. Her flesh swelled under his touch, and when his lips finally trailed down to close over one pouting nipple, all Juliette could do was moan his name while her legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

Ga?l groaned upon feeling Juliette rubbing her wet, smooth mound against his cock. He had originally planned to take things easy with her, since last night had left her limp and exhausted in his arms. But with the way Juliette was once again driving him out of his mind—-

"Ga?l, I want you inside of me, please."

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Baby, please."

"Goddammit, Juliette." But it was already too late, with her words destroying his control, and Ga?l rose to his knees with her legs still locked around his waist.

Juliette's eyes went wide when she realized what this would mean, but just as she was about to fearfully beg for him to please, please be gentle—-

Oooooooh.

He was already doing the opposite. Fucking her harder and rougher than ever, and thank God for that because it felt so, so good—-

"Ga?l, oh God, yes."

Her body arched as she helplessly clawed at the sheets. It felt like his big, hard cock was about to tear her apart, and she couldn't wait for it to happen.

Oh, please, Ga?l, please.

The need in her voice did it for him, and as he surged into her one last time, she screamed as she came, and he growled her name out as he shot his seed all the way down to her womb.

Juliette's eyes were still closed, and her soft body slumped against his when Ga?l reluctantly pulled out. Sitting up, he gazed down at his ward, and his chest tightened at the sight of her.

How had it taken him so long to realize he was in love with her?

Ga?l hadn't even any idea how or when it started. All he knew was that he had lost his heart to her, and the knowledge terrified the hell out of him.

The last time he fell in love, he ended up failing the woman he had sworn to cherish and protect, and in one moment of weakness and selfishness, his own wife had caused the death of their baby girl.

While he knew Juliette could never do such a thing, what if it was him who fucked things up again? Would he be able to let her go if she wanted to leave him? Or would it be better to not take the risk of letting her know of his feelings?

Juliette was struggling not to cry. How could things be so beautiful and perfect between them for one moment...and then so painfully bleak in a blink?

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel Ga?l gazing down at her...while the air around them gradually grew heavy. It almost felt as if her guardian, who was the epitome of strength and power, was afraid... and she was just as scared, because she had a feeling she knew exactly why that was.

The other wards often teased her for always having rose-colored glasses on, whenever Ga?l was involved.

But that wasn't true at all.

Others might strenuously insist that her guardian was ruthless and merciless, but how could she ever agree to that when he had always been gentle and tender with her?

Ga?l would always be her knight in shining armor, and when she remembered how he had first promised to keep her safe—-

I will never let anyone hurt you.

She also knew that her guardian would want to keep his word, even if it meant sacrificing his chance to further increase his strength.

And that was what he was afraid of, wasn't he?

Her guardian was worried that she might have become too emotionally attached to him, and that he would end up hurting her if he were to marry Emilia after this.

"Juliette..."

The intimate sound of her guardian's voice made Juliette's heart ache. He definitely knew she was in love with him, and that meant it was up to her to do the right thing.

Ga?l bent down to kiss his ward, but just as his lips were about to touch hers, Juliette suddenly shook her head and he was forced to rear back. It was her first time to reject him, and his gaze narrowed at the way she avoided his gaze while sitting up and wrapping the covers around her body.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

Juliette shook her head. "Nothing's wrong."

If that was true, then why was she still refusing to look his way? Could she have figured out how he felt about her...and she was wondering how best to turn him down?

Ga?l's jaw clenched. "Look at me, Juliette."

The harshness of his voice made her flinch, but he didn't give a damn, and after a few more seconds, Juliette finally lifted her gaze to his, and seeing his ward fighting back tears made him feel like punching something. Was the idea of Ga?l loving her so damn bad?

"You know, don't you?"

Juliette was having a hard time breathing. "Know what?"

"How I feel—-"

"Yes. I do know." It was Juliette's first time to cut her guardian off like that, but she had no other choice. She knew Ga?l always preferred to speak bluntly of things, but she also knew it would kill her to hear him actually say he didn't love her.

Ga?l's chest felt hollow as Juliette struggled not to cry in front of him. This could only mean one thing, couldn't it?

"Can we talk about this—-"

Juliette shook her head. "I'd rather not. And I also k-know that you might feel like you have to do something about these...these feelings," Juliette said jerkily, "but please just...don't. It's more than enough for me that I was able to do my duty as your ward."

And there it was , Ga?l thought dully. While making love to her had changed his world entirely, Juliette only considered everything that happened between them as her duty as his ward. But because she was always so damn kind, this was her way of letting him down as gently as she could.

Juliette felt the bed shift as Ga?l stiffly rose to his feet. She could barely see past the tears she was doing her best to keep from falling, but in the end, there was nothing to see, with Ga?l turning his back and walking away without another word.

The door silently closed shut behind him, and Juliette could no longer hold back her sobs.

It was over.

I love you, Gael. I love you, I love you.

And because she loved him, she must find a way to be happy for her guardian...if Emilia were to ask Ga?l to marry her in exchange of her sangferia.