Chapter 224: Inevitable Love
The thought made her heart melt so rapidly, so deeply, that it scared her to her core. She hated how easily he was dismantling her emotional walls, how his quiet devotion was seeping into her broken heart and healing places she had sworn to keep guarded.
Panicking at the sudden softness blooming in her chest, Jannah fiercely dug her heels in, determined not to let him win this emotional battle so easily.
"Fine!" Jannah snapped bitterly, her voice rising to hide her flustered state. "Then I will deliberately make myself grow ridiculously fat! I will make myself ugly, and I will breastfeed until my boobs sag down to my waist and completely disgust you! That way, you will never, ever find a single reason to touch or fuck me again!"
Dorrent raised an eyebrow, a dangerously wicked smirk breaking across his handsome face. "There is literally nothing on this earth that could ever stop me from having you, Jannah." He squeezed her hip gently, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "And as for getting fat? I won’t ever let that happen. Because I will be subjecting you to rigorous, exhaustive physical exercise in our bed every single day."
Jannah’s jaw dropped in absolute scandal, but before she could scream at him, Dorrent’s playful smirk faded entirely.
His expression softened into a profound, heavy gravity. He shifted closer, cupping both sides of her burning face with his broad, warm hands, forcing her dark eyes to lock directly into his unyielding silver ones.
"Stop worrying about things you cannot control, Jannah," Dorrent delivered seriously, his baritone resonating deep within her chest. "I am completely done playing games with you. I truly, deeply want to start a real family with you. I am thirty-four years old... and you are only nineteen. You are far too young to be sitting here terrifying yourself about growing old and undesirable."
Jannah’s breath trapped itself in her throat.
"I am going to be right beside you through every single phase of this," Dorrent whispered softly, his thumbs gently wiping away the remaining traces of her tears. "Every change, every fear... I will be there. And besides... you are already my mated bride. We are meant to be together forever."
The unshakeable sincerity in his voice struck Jannah like a physical blow.
This time, no rebellious curses rose to her tongue. No sarcastic retorts broke from her lips. Seeing the raw, dead-serious truth shining in his striking eyes, the fierce defiance inside her completely withered away. She simply sat there in his grasp, her dark eyes wet, quiet, and profoundly vulnerable.
Dorrent immediately noticed the sudden, quiet surrender in her posture. A soft, incredibly tender look filled his eyes.
He leaned in, wrapping his arms around her delicate frame and pulling her tightly against his broad chest. He buried his face in the soft crook of her neck, holding her so close that she could feel the steady, thunderous beat of his heart echoing directly against her own chest.
"You have no idea..." Dorrent murmured low into her skin, his deep voice carrying a soft, rare vulnerability, "...just how terrifyingly devoted of a man I can be when I fall in love."
Jannah’s entire body went rigid in his arms.
When I fall in love...
The words echoed wildly inside her head, sending a shockwave straight through her soul. Her chest tightened so painfully she could barely breathe. A desperate, burning desire surged within her to look up and ask him directly: Does that mean you love me right now? Are you saying you love me?!
But she squeezed her eyes shut, clamping her lips tightly together. She kept completely quiet, deeply terrified of what his actual answer might be. She was shocked—and utterly horrified—to realize that in this exact moment, she feared his true response more than anything else in the entire world. If he said yes, her remaining defenses would crumble into dust; if he said no, her foolish, betrayal-prone heart would shatter into a thousand pieces.
Dorrent felt the sudden, intense tension in her body. He let out a low, knowing sigh against her neck, pulling back just enough to look down into her troubled face.
"It is only a matter of time before I fall for you completely, little physician," Dorrent clarified softly, a gentle, possessive glint returning to his silver eyes. "With the way you have been driving me entirely crazy every single day... it is inevitable. Wait for me, Jannah."
Jannah felt a sharp spike of flustered agitation burst through her emotional confusion. "Why do you always make arrogant assumptions about how I feel?!" she grumbled defensively, avoiding his gaze. "I am not waiting for you on anything!"
Dorrent chuckled low, his broad chest vibrating against hers. "It’s okay, baby. I will gladly give you all the time you need... until you finally admit it to yourself and can no longer lie to your own heart."
The sheer, overwhelming accuracy of his words made a sudden, painful lump form in Jannah’s throat. A strange, unexplainable ache bloomed deep inside her heart, making her feel intensely overwhelmed, angry, and emotional all at once.
"Let go of me!" Jannah demanded softly, her voice cracking as she squirmed in his tight grip. I am getting angry for no reason again. "Just let me go!"
When Dorrent didn’t loosen his arms an inch, holding her securely against his chest, Jannah’s flustered frustration boiled over. She snapped her head sideways and sank her sharp teeth directly into the sensitive cartilage of his ear, biting down with all the fierce, desperate strength she possessed.
Instead of pulling away or crying out in pain, Dorrent’s body surged with a sudden, intense heat. A deep, heavy grunt of pure, dark pleasure escaped his throat.
His grip on her waist tightened to an iron lock, pressing her hips flush against his growing, rock-hard shaft once again. He tilted his head slightly, his hot breath blasting directly into her ear as his deep baritone dropped into a low, terrifyingly dark thread:
"You had better stop doing that right now, little physician..." Dorrent growled explicitly, his teeth lightly grazing her jawline, "...unless you want me bending you over right this second and sending nutrients straight to our baby."