Chapter 202: v2- - 21: choose me, everytime

Marian woke slowly.

Warm sunlight had already begun filtering through the curtains.

For a few moments, she remained still, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Then she remembered.

The dance.

Adrian.

The kiss.

His chambers.

Her heart gave a small, almost ridiculous flutter.

She turned her head.

Adrian was beside her.

The sight of him made something inside her loosen.

He was here.

She was here.

And somehow, after everything that had happened, the world had not ended.

More than that—

something had changed.

Marian couldn’t help the small smile that touched her lips.

She had spent the entire evening wondering whether Adrian would consider her again.

He had.

He had approached her.

He had chosen her for the dance.

He had taken her away from the ballroom.

And then he had wanted her.

The last part still made heat creep into her cheeks.

But beneath the embarrassment was something almost giddy.

Perhaps this was going to be easier than she had feared.

Perhaps she had been worrying too much.

She had always known Adrian.

She knew what kind of man he was.

If he had taken her into his private chambers after everything that had happened between them, surely he understood what it meant.

Surely he intended to do something about it.

Marriage came to her mind.

Marian’s smile widened slightly.

It wasn’t as though she had suddenly fallen helplessly in love with him again.

She wasn’t going to lie to herself about that.

Her feelings were complicated.

There was affection.

There was history.

There was the ease of being with someone she had known for eighteen years.

And there was also the very practical fact that if she were going to choose a husband, Adrian had always been the person she had been raised to choose.

Except now—

she wanted him to choose her back.

That was the difference.

She turned toward him.

"You’re awake."

Adrian opened his eyes.

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then, unexpectedly, the corner of his mouth lifted.

It was a small smile.

But Marian knew it.

She had seen that smile countless times before.

Her own smile brightened.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while."

"You could have said something."

"You seemed comfortable."

Marian laughed softly.

"I suppose I was."

The exchange was so ordinary that something strange happened.

For a few moments, neither of them seemed to remember that three years had passed.

Marian began talking.

Perhaps because the silence suddenly felt too large.

She told him that she had barely slept during the journey to the capital.

She mentioned Clara’s endless commentary about the Season.

She laughed about something that had happened at the banquet.

She spoke more freely than she had intended, her words coming faster as the warmth of the morning settled around them.

Adrian listened.

And for a little while, he simply enjoyed it.

The sunlight touched Marian’s hair.

Her voice filled the quiet room.

She looked happy.

Not carefully happy.

Not socially happy.

Simply happy to be here.

With him.

Adrian listened as she continued talking, occasionally answering her with the same ease they had once shared.

For those few minutes, he allowed himself to forget.

He had missed this.

He had missed the sound of her voice when she wasn’t measuring every word.

He had missed the way she laughed.

He had missed seeing her beside him, as if there was no other place she wanted to be.

He looked at her and, for one dangerous moment, allowed himself to imagine that nothing had changed.

Then he noticed her expression again.

That happiness.

That satisfaction.

And another thought followed.

Of course.

She had gotten what she wanted.

The Emperor had chosen her.

He had given her his attention.

He had taken her into his private chambers.

He had given her exactly what she had been reaching for all evening.

Perhaps she was happy because she believed the rest would follow naturally.

Perhaps she already believed she had won him back.

Adrian’s expression changed.

The warmth disappeared.

His defenses rose almost instinctively.

.

He had nearly forgotten why he had approached her in the first place.

He had wanted to see what she would do with the opportunity he gave her.

Instead, for a few precious minutes, he had simply enjoyed having her beside him again.

He had missed her voice.

Her laughter.

The easy way she spoke when she wasn’t measuring every word.

He had missed waking beside her.

And that was precisely what made the realization so unwelcome.

He looked at her happiness again.

Of course.

She had gotten what she wanted.

The Emperor had chosen her.

He had given her his attention.

He had taken her into his private chambers.

Perhaps she was already imagining what came next.

Marriage.

The crown.

The life she had once expected to have.

Adrian’s expression changed.

The warmth disappeared.

His defenses rose almost instinctively.

He could want her.

He could still love her.

He could want her beside him every morning.

None of that answered the question that mattered.

Why had she chosen him now?

And until he knew, he would not allow himself to mistake his own feelings for hers.

He looked at Marian.

She noticed the change immediately.

Her smile faded slightly.

"What is it?"

Adrian held her gaze.

He didn’t soften his expression.

He didn’t explain himself.

He simply returned to the truth neither of them could escape.

"Marian."

She waited.

"You must understand something."

His voice was calm.

Controlled.

Almost unreadable.

"Last night changes what happened between us."

He paused.

Then, without looking away from her, he finished:

"It doesn’t erase what happened before it."

Silence.

Marian stared at him.

The words landed harder than she had expected.

Because she had hoped.

She had woken that morning almost giddy with the thought that perhaps everything had finally fallen into place.

Adrian had chosen her.

He had wanted her.

Surely that meant he intended to choose her completely.

Surely—

Her hope faltered.

She lowered her eyes.

"I know."

Adrian watched her carefully.

He didn’t believe that she loved him again.

Not after one night.

Not after three years.

Not after she had once loved another man enough to choose him over Adrian.

And if Marian truly wanted him now, Adrian intended to find out exactly what that wanting was made of.

He would not simply accept it.

He would test it.

Again and again.

Until he knew whether she wanted Adrian—

or whether she simply wanted what the Emperor could give her.

Marian was silent for several moments.

Then she looked back at him.

"But what do you want me to do?"

That was the question Adrian had been waiting for.

His gaze remained steady.

"Prove it."

Marian’s brows drew together.

"Prove what?"

"That you mean this."

Her heart tightened.

"I do."

"I know what you say."

His voice remained even.

"I want to know what you do."

Marian stared at him.

Adrian continued.

"You loved me once."

Marian went still.

Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.

"For eighteen years, I believed that meant something."

He paused.

"We were engaged. You were my fiancée. And then you fell in love with someone else."

Marian lowered her eyes.

"You didn’t simply leave me, Marian."

His voice remained quiet.

"You chose him."

Silence.

"You went to your father. You asked for our engagement to be dissolved. And you stood in front of me and told me you didn’t regret it."

Marian’s chest tightened.

Adrian looked at her.

"So when you tell me that you’ve chosen me now, you’ll have to understand why I don’t simply take your word for it."

The reminder hurt.

But Marian didn’t look away.

"If you want me to believe that you have chosen me again," he said, "then show me."

"How?"

"Not once."

His eyes held hers.

"Every time."

Marian was quiet.

"Every time you have a reason to choose something else," Adrian said, "choose me."

She understood.

This wasn’t going to be one grand gesture.

He wanted consistency.

He wanted proof.

He wanted to see whether she would continue choosing him when there was no immediate reward for doing so.

Marian swallowed.

She could accept that.

Because she knew why he needed it.

She was the one who had taught him not to trust her.

"How long?" she asked.

Adrian’s answer came without hesitation.

"Until I believe you."

Marian looked at him for a long moment.

Then she nodded.

"All right."

She didn’t know how long it would take.

She didn’t know what he would ask of her.

But she knew what she wanted.

She wanted Adrian to choose her.

And if proving herself was the price of making him believe that she was serious—

then she would pay it.

--

Tbc