Kiss Me Not

Chapter 331 A fleeting voice

”Hmm, I think you didn’t just come here to see how I’m doing, seeing as we just met yesterday,” Cain looked at Will suspiciously.

Kimmy served them some tea, and Will bashfully scratched his head, unable to defend himself since Cain knew him far too well. Kimmy, who understood the situation, immediately left the two men as soon as she finished serving tea.

”Ah, I’m supposed to be on vacation to recover, Will. But since I’m in a super good mood right now, then I’ll accommodate you just this once. So now, tell me, what’s bothering you?” Cain asked directly. 

Just from looking at him, he could already tell that Will was bothered by something. Cain had been Cedric and Will’s advisers ever since he started working for the royal family. He had grown close with the two men, so he could basically read them both like an open book, without them even having to say anything.

”It’s Olivia, Cain. She asked me to do something again for Paula…” Will spoke.

Cain was aware that Olivia had asked Will to take good care of Paula. He frowned as he pondered, “What is it this time?”

”She wants me to marry Paula,” Will murmured. He was way too conflicted. He didn’t know what to do.

”Olivia’s probably thinking that you’re the best man for Paula without considering your feelings for her. I’m sure that Paula is not aware of it?” 

”Yeah… Of course, she’s not. Olivia wanted to keep it a secret between the two of us until I came to a decision. But she had sounded so firm that she could probably make Paula agree with it as soon as I give her my consent…”

”So… what do you want to do now, Will? I’m sure Olivia won’t force you into it… Yet, she might use the tactic of bringing up Oliver and making up for the past. Oliver’s death wasn’t your fault… and yet Olivia was battling with her own struggles that it was her fault… you and the Royal family…”

Will let out a frustrated sigh as he helplessly whispered, “I really don’t know what to do, Cain.”

”Hmm, let’s remove the part of Oliver’s case and just think of Paula. What do you feel about Paula?” Cain asked. “Do you see yourself wanting to marry her? Do you think you can find it in yourself to do bond with her?” Cain asked.

There was a pregnant pause. Will massaged the back of his neck as he said, “I honestly care for Paula. I mean, I’m willing to take care of her and take responsibility. She’s a nice person, and I pity her situation,” he sighed. “It would be hard for her to raise a child on her own, and she already had a tough life. It would be nice if she had someone by her side that she can rely on…”

”So… do you see yourself being that someone? Someone that she can rely and depend upon?”

”Yeah… Why not?” Will whispered.

”So there’s your answer. At first, you probably just felt bad for her, but it’s not just that, Will,” Cain explained. “I think that somehow, somewhere, deep in your heart, you began to develop something deeper for Paula that you were not even aware of. I’m sure Olivia didn’t give you a deadline to come to a decision, so why not take your time and see things through? Paula’s living with you, so… I’m sure it’ll be way easier to sort out what you really feel for her.”

Another bout of silence passed as Will let out one sigh after the other, making Cain chuckle.

”Look at you… You’re so lost, Will,” Cain teased.

Will’s mouth twitched at the comment. He still didn’t know what to do or how to even approach Paula about it.

”If you’re thinking about Paula right now and how you’ll approach her… then that means you like her, Will,” Cain interrupted his thoughts.

”I hate you! How come your psychic brain is still so effective despite having a concussion? And you look at you, acting so healthy and normal when the doctor who did your surgery clearly said that a miracle saved your life…” Will snorted, recalling how the doctors couldn’t even explain how positively his body reacted after the surgery. 

”I’m pretty lucky… I guess?” Cain chuckled with a wide grin. 

It was then that he suddenly got a fleeting voice flash through the back of his head. It sounded like a man, saying, ‘Are you sure you’re willing to do anything just to live?’

”What’s wrong?” Will worriedly asked as soon as he saw Cain frowning with his hand massaging his temples.

Cain opened his eyes and whispered, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just some random scene of a man. It’s probably the medic who pulled me out of the accident.”

”Ah, that man helped you out of the car that’s about to explode, Cain? You were already at the side of the road when the ambulance came. According to  witnesses, a man saved you, but he had already disappeared from the area by the medic came,” Will recalled. “Do you want to find that man? We all honestly forgot about him since we got so overwhelmed with how successful your surgery went.”

”How come I can’t remember what exactly happened? And all of a sudden, I recalled his voice?” Cain wondered. “Yeah… Yes. Please, Will. Help me find him so that I can properly thank him,” He owed that man his life. It was because of him that he was now with Kimmy. This second chance he had in life was all because that man had saved him that day.

”We haven’t told you any details about the accident since Kimmy didn’t want to stress you out while recovering, but man… Once you see how wrecked your car got, I’m sure you’d get goosebumps with how you’re still alive,” Will recounted the scene. He had personally seen the carnage that Cain somehow survived. He even had pictures of it.

”Really?!” Cain curiously questioned. 

His doctor didn’t tell him much about his condition since he had only talked to Kimmy about it. Thinking about it, Cain decided to visit his doctor tomorrow and ask for the full details about his condition. Because honestly, he felt pretty great already.

Grabbing his mobile phone, Will tapped on the device as he spoke, “Here. I have some photos of what happened to your car. If you want, I can request for CCTV footage… Kimmy didn’t want us telling you about the accident, but you look fine now so I’m sure this won’t harm you.”

Cain laughed with pride, “Truly, my fiance is overprotective of me.”

********

Author’s Note for Non-Privilege Readers (May 18, 2022):

This book will end hopefully this May 2022 (Kimmy and Cain will have a happy ending so don’t worry!) but I will mark it open since I’m still not decided if I should continue it with Cedric’s story as Volume 3 or open a new book in the future. The Privilege cost will become affordable so I do hope you buy it but if you won’t that’s okay… The chapters inside Privilege will be released soon automatically once the book was not updated for a month I think, so you can read more of it by then.

By the way, Cedric’s story will be a dark fantasy romance but in the sense of mature or explicit r18 content only. There’s no rape since I don’t write MLs like that. I would like to see your comment below on your opinion if you will be interested in Cedric’s story or not. It will be different since it will start with a new timeline not connected with previous books’ timelines so it’s more about the future though you might read familiar characters like Will or Gavin since they are his family.

Also, I will join the WSA 2022 with a romance fantasy book entitled “The Crown’s Entrapment” – You can start searching for the title once you read this note and see if it’s already available. Don’t forget to add it to your library. Hopefully, I still have you guys around and read your comments and reviews there… Thank you so much for staying with me all the way. I’m always grateful for all your love and support. Love you guys and stay safe always.