Chapter 175: The Wedding (Part Three)
Chapter 175: The Wedding (Part Three)
Xiang Ling inhaled deeply to control her emotions that were suddenly overflowing before she continued. "You are the man I married first, and among all of you, you are the one who have seen me marrying time and again and you have always compromised. I can understand why you did it in the past, but things have changed between us now. Yet, you are doing it again - compromising."
She quickly brushed away the lone tear that trailed down her cheek. "But you know what else you are compromising? You are compromising our relation. You are compromising me, Wei Guang!"
Once she stopped speaking, the room was once again filled with silence as her husbands remained silent, mostly in shock from her outbreak. The only sound audible was that of her sharp breathing as she tried to get a grip on herself.
Wei Guang finally took another step toward her and took hold of her face between his palms. Looking straight into her eyes, he spoke, "All I want is for you to be happy."
"I will be happy to know that I mean something to you. I will be happy to know that I matter to you. I will be happy to know that you are not going to agree to let me go just because you think I want to. I will be-"
The rest of the words were stolen along with her breath as Wei Guang crashed his lips against hers in the most urgent, fierce, and passionate kiss she could have ever expected to receive from him. The world came to a complete still around her and the only thing she could think and feel was how right it felt to be in his arms.
A small part of her brain was aware that her other husbands were also present in the room, probably shocked by Wei Guang’s sudden action, but to her, nothing else mattered at that moment. When he finally ended the kiss after a moment and pulled away, she was left grasping for breath.
"Do you think I want to do this, Ah Xiang? Do you think I feel happy everytime I have to see you with another man who isn’t me? It’s true that I have come to accept them as your husbands, but that doesn’t mean I have stopped caring. Am I unhappy that you are marrying someone? Yes! I’m so unhappy that I hardly slept last night..."
His eyes were a pool of blackness and sincerity as he gazed into her eyes and continued, "If given the chance, I will chose to keep you to myself for the rest of my life. But I don’t have that option. All I want is for you to be happy and love me just as much as I love you."
He stopped for a moment to take in a deep breath. "When you married Li Xian, I was really mad. I felt so aggrieved and scared back then. But slowly, I started realizing that even without Li Xian, our marriage would have never worked. I really gave up on our marriage, Ah Xian..."
There was so much pain in his eyes that Xiang Ling felt her heart aching for him. She found herself pressing her palm against his cheek and the man melted into her touch immediately.
"... until... that night after your return from the temple when you saved me. Everything changed after that night, Ah Xiang. You changed, your way of treating me and the others changed. You finally made me believe that there’s still hope for our marriage. Do you know how happy I have been these past few months? I finally felt like I have a purpose in life. But then that Zhang Xuan suddenly appeared from nowhere and called you his wife. Only I know how I felt at that moment, knowing that I will need to share your love with one more person."
"I’m not that great, Ah Xiang. But maybe I’m just better at pretending to be one. I can stay mad at you like others. But what will be the outcome of that? Will it make Zhang Xuan disappear from your life? No. It will only make me lose these moments which I can enjoy with you. That’s why I’m choosing to compromise-"
This time, it was Xiang Ling who took the initiative and sealed his words with a kiss. She had heard more than enough to know just how much he loved her. All her anger, frustration, and sadness washed away with his confession. He returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.
This time, the kiss wasn’t urgent or fierce, instead, it was slow and passionate, filled with their love for each other. When they finally separated after a few moments, their eyes were brimming with love and understanding.
"No one told me that I was coming here to witness such a heartfelt confession. Now, I’m feeling like a third wheel." Zhe Yuan muttered from where he was standing not too far away from them.
Xiang Ling turned her attention toward the Mer Crown Prince and as their gazes collided, she watched as a very soft but genuine smile made its way to his lips. He didn’t waste any more time as he walked toward her and pulled her out of Wei Guang’s arms and into a tight hug.
"Even if I want, I can’t stay mad at you. Still, I was planning to pretend to be unhappy for a few days. But now I have changed my mind. I would rather spend these beautiful moments with you." He whispered the words right before he placed a kiss on her temple and pulled away from the hug.
Before Xiang Ling could have said anything in response, she was once again pulled into a hug and this time, it was none other than Li Xian. The Heavenly Crown Prince didn’t use any words to speak as his silence did the job perfectly.