?Chapter 1406:


    Brendon was herst anchor, and she refused to let anyone, especially Christina, take him away. If Christina dared to steal him, Ynda felt she’d have no reason left to live.


    Brendon, who had been about to question her strange behavior, froze when he saw the fear in her eyes. His heart softened. He wrapped his arms around her and murmured, “Are you overthinking again?”


    Lately, he had noticed how often she seemed anxious—restless in ways he couldn’t quite understand. Her emotions red unpredictably, nothing like the calm, gentle woman he once knew. She had once been so calm andposed—gentle, considerate, and endlessly patient. He couldn’t understand why she had grown so anxious and uncertaintely.


    Brendon couldn’t see it, nor did he realize how much he had changed himself. The small, almost invisible shifts in his behavior had slowly fed her insecurity until it took root deep inside her. Only Ynda, who had once basked in the warmth of his affection, could sense just how cold things had grown.


    “Brendon,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she nestled closer to his chest, “I’m just afraid that my time with you is slipping away… little by little. If I die someday, please don’t be sad for too long. Live well for me—be happy, and find someone who truly loves you.”


    Brendon tightened his hold on her, his voice soft but firm. “You’re not going to die. Believe me. I’ll find King. If I can convince King to make the life-extending medicine, then I can make him cure you too.”


    Ynda’s eyes shimmered as tears spilled down her cheeks. “Brendon,” she choked, her voice breaking, “don’t be too kind to me. You’ll only make it harder for me to leave you.”


    “I won’t let you leave me,” Brendon said quietly before lowering his head to kiss her lips.


    But as their lips met, a flicker of another face crossed his mind—Christina’s. For a heartbeat, it was her he was kissing, not Ynda.


    Before, he might have med such a thought on wine or fatigue, but now he was perfectly sober.


    The realization hit him like ice. How could he mistake twopletely different women?


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    Whatever faint spark of desire Brendon had felt vanished in an instant; all longing drained from himpletely.


    He couldn’t let Ynda notice, though. So, after a brief kiss, he gently pulled away.


    Ynda’s gaze grew hazy, clouded with yearning, her breath uneven as her hands began to roam restlessly across his body. Just as her fingers brushed dangerously close to a sensitive spot, Brendon caught her hand firmly, stopping her in her tracks.


    “I’m exhausted. I’ll take a quick shower,” he said softly, forcing a tired smile.


    A faint flicker of resentment shed in Ynda’s eyes, but she quickly masked it.


    Instead, she forced a tender smile and nodded as if she understood. “Alright. I’ll go run the bath for you.”


    “I can handle it,” Brendon replied, his tone kind but distant. “You should rest. I still have some work to finishter.”


    “Okay,” she answered, still ying the part of the gentle, amodating wife, though anger simmered beneath her calm expression.


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