and


    “Come on, Jason, don’t you ever think that.” Nydia cradled the damp cheeks of her man, her eyes rimming with urgency an redness Each tear he shed seemed to carve both deep and shallow pits into her heart.


    No one knew just how strong her Jason <b>was </b>better than she did. He had been her elder brother and sister’s right–hand man, the sharp de in their hands


    But today, for her, this towering pir of a man had hidden away, weeping silently in the solitude of the kitchen


    How much anguish must he endure to strip away his pride, to cast aside his armor, and stand so forlorn?


    Jason’s eyes fell, his longshes damp. His voice was a raspy whisper of hurt, “Nydia, you’re the golden girl of the Ashbourne family, the treasured daughter of Chairman Emeric and Mrs. Myra, the beloved sister of President Ashbourne and Ms. Evadne. I’ve watched you grow up, remember you as a carefree child, loll*pop in <b>mouth</b>, trailing behind your sister with such endearing Innocence”


    “If it weren’t for me, I can’t bear to think how much happier your days could be. But my family’s ruined your happiness”


    Nydia shook her head, <b>tears </b>mingling with her <b>pleas</b>.


    She feared he would spiral into self–destructive thoughts.


    Jason’s <b>sobs </b>grew thicker, his teeth clenched with a fury that almost shattered them, “Seeing you humiliated by them today, I just


    Before he could finish, Nydia stood on tiptoes, sealing his feverish l*ps with a passionate k*ss, eyes closed, lost in the fervor.


    Jason’s breath becamebored, his gaze intoxicated. His chest heaved against her thinly veiled bosom, the soft yet firm outline unmistakable through her blouse.


    Desire slithered inside him, a fiery serpent winding its way to his core.


    Plop–plop-


    The milk in the pot <b>bubbled </b>over, jarring them from their trance


    “Mmm. <b>Jason</b>, the milk’s going to burn if you don’t turn off the stove,” Nydia’s voice was a breathy whisper, her face flushed within


    his embrace


    Jason, snapped back to reality, turned off the burner in a fluster, cleaning up the mess with a practiced hand.


    After the chaos, he took a breath and chuckled ruefully, “Look at me, I can’t even handle the little things.”


    “You’re wrong,” Nydia insisted, hurling herself into his arms like a ko, “Jason, you are the most perfect man in my eyes.”


    She tightened her grip around his waist, “Just remember, you’re so important to me. And stop with the gloomy talk. I can get really angry, you know, and that’s scary


    Her l*ps, swollen from their k*sses, pouted in mock anger, dispelling some of the clouds in his heart.


    Nydia’s expression turned serious, “My happiness once came from my family, but the happiness toe will be something we build together. Don’t feel sorry for me. No rtionship is without its struggles. The Ashbourne girls, each one Daddy’s little princess, have all tasted the bitterness of love. Even Debby, now the First Lady, faced many trials before she and her husband could be together. Our family objected to their age difference, her husband’s frail health, and all the political campaigning she had to endure. Dad and Suri sure put up obstacles back then.”


    Jason’sshes fluttered. He’d heard bits of this story from his sister.


    “But none of that stopped them. And look how well it turned out. Debby’s persistence paid off. Her husband adores her. They’ve found their happiness, making sweet music together.”


    <b>Nydia </b>gazed up at him, her face aglow with hope, “You’ll spoil me just as much, won’t you? The happiness you give me won’t be any less than what my sisters have, right?”


    Jason’s heart skipped a beat, his l*ps pressing a warm k*ss to her forehead.


    Yes, she had him. Her hands were sped tightly around his heart, his life, his soul…


    <b>Nydia</b>, I swear, this is thest time I won’t let you suffer as you did today”


    His eyes burned with resolve as he embraced her, vowing. “Myst name may be Dempsey, but from the moment they spoke against you, I am no longer part of the Dempsey family”


    Nydia, moved yet worried. “Jason.”


    have no family left.”


    Jason’sugh was tinged with helplessness but also with release. “From now on, I am just Jason, not Mr. Dempsey”


    “Who says you have no family?”


    Nydia’s brows furrowed, her fingertip silencing his l*ps, “With me, you <b>have </b>a family. My family is your family”


    The moonlight cast a soft, ambiguous glow.


    It was only natural that they would share a bed.


    But it was just that–sharing a bed. Jason, ever propery in his pajamas beside Nydia, stiff as a dried–up tuna, with <b>an </b>imaginary wall between them.


    He could smell her sweet scent, feel her breath, her warmth.


    Jason swallowed hard, once, twice.


    A fire smoldered in his gut, even as a man of high principles, with the woman he loved right beside him, the long night stretched on, a true ordeal,


    Suddenly, a fragrant breeze wafted over him.


    Jason’s eyes snapped open to find Nydia straddling his waist, leaning down in a moment that sent her oversized shirt sliding off her smooth shoulders, stopping just at her waist.


    His heart hammered as he <b>quickly </b>closed his eyes, as if afraid to defile her, to defile a saint.


    “Open your eyes, look at me,” Nydia’s l*ps brushed his ear, sending tingles down his spine.


    Slowly, he opened his eyes, now flushed, his palms sweating onto the sheets.


    “Jason. I’m yours”


    Reason finally shattered, rity lost.


    Jason fl*pped over with an irresistible force, pinning her beneath him, his voice rough and husky with unmistakable desire, “Nydia, are you really ready?”


    Her eyes, soft as silk, shyly nodded d in consent.


    “Till take care of you. After tonight, please be my wife.


    In the heat of passion, desire and love entwined, Nydia’s cheeks flushed like a delicate rose about to bloom, shy and radiant just


    for him.


    “Ms. Nydia, he pleaded with a voice thick with emotion, “please, let me stay with you for a lifetime, will you?”


    In this moment of ardor, Jason’s call of “Ms. Nydia” was muffled, his fervent gaze aze with a devotion that knelt only for her, sending shivers down her spine as shey beneath him.


    He thought, “From now on, I want more than just a ce in your heart. I want to merge into your very being, into the warmest depths of you.”