Aselia’s body finally decided to obey her and she advanced to the nearby chair and settled down to face him, she asserted:

"Speak!"

Xiran turned around to face her and found her sitting there looking like a queen, his queen. He finally smiled a little seeing her act like herself. But he kept his distance for now.

"I have given everything a lot of thought. Firstly my approach was wrong, I should have trusted you and spoken to you instead of forcing my opinion on you."

"Thank you, for seeing the error in your ways," Aselia replied dryly.

"That being said, I will not take back my decision of you not going after my father and if your life is ever in danger I will always prioritize your safety. Not the consequences, not the world, not even myself will matter to me when it will come down to protecting you."

Aselia knew he was obsessive when it came down to her safety and nothing she will say could change his mind. She listened quietly to him without giving him any reaction so he continued his little speech:

"But, I have prepared a plan regarding my father and how we are going to deal with him," Xiran then went on to explain the plan he had given Rivan but what he didn’t tell Rivan he told her.

"Once I have subdued and captured my father, I will hand over the reins of his life to you. He will be at your mercy to be tortured, killed or to do what you please. This way you can seek your revenge without having to pursue him, leave the rest to me. It’s my duty to deliver him to you but you will deal the final blow to him, this I will not take from you, the satisfaction of killing him will be yours."

He announced, hoping she would accept his proposal and forget about going after his father. Her forehead wrinkled at his words and the calmness of her face evaporated as she called into question:

"You are telling me you will face your father alone? And I will just come in the end to take the glory. What if something goes wrong? Who has your back? And what’s your plan B, in case of plan A going down the rails? Because plan A always fails, so tell me what’s your plan B."

"For now I don’t have a plan B, it’s a work in progress but I don’t want to endanger anyone’s life because of my father. He will wipe out whoever will dare stand in his way," he answered without hesitation, she could sense there was this new determination and urgency in him regarding his father. It seemed like he wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"So what you are saying is that everyone’s life matters except yours. You will go to any length to protect me but you will endanger your life without having a backup plan. It doesn’t matter if you get hurt, right? It shouldn’t matter, it shouldn’t even affect or pain me, because I am a fucking robot in your eyes. Care to think what a shitty plan this is from my perspective or are you too blind to do that?"

Her voice was raised and that calm facade she had on fell with a bang all around her. Those turquoise eyes seemed to be breathing fire at him and her cherry lips were forming a thin red line of resentment.

She blinked and there he was already kneeling in front of her. Placing his chin on her lap his arms went around her waist and he peeked up at her with those stormy eyes of his. A tiny smile was creeping up on the curves of his lips for he found her anger to be cute. That anger held her care and love.

"You are not a robot, you are my sweet Leia. And my father won’t kill me, that’s why I am the best man for this job. Because someone has to take that role and I will have a backup plan. I will never go in blind so have faith in your man."

Aselia stared down at him in bewilderment at his antics and the way he was gazing at her. All those afflictions she had sensed upon his arrival seemed to have dissipated and serenity substituted them. She didn’t have the heart to push him away.

"Sorry...for all the hurt I have caused you in the last few days, can you forgive this stupid boyfriend of yours? For your evasions are killing him inside and he is in a lot of pain, the pain only you can take away."

He softly smiled at her. She drew in a sharp breath for she had felt his agony last night. Her hands landed on both sides of his face and he instantly closed his eyes to revel in the solace her touch provided. That’s all he needed.

"I know I felt you and it’s not the first time it has happened," Aselia told him how she had felt him before when he had visited his father. She wasn’t sure at that time but now she knew, now she understood.

"You did? But how?" he opened his eyes in bewilderment at the revelation but Aselia didn’t have the answer to his question.

"I don’t know, there is so much we don’t know, but it was a horrible feeling. It’s beyond my comprehension how much pain you must have been experiencing that its effects reached me in such a flurry. What happened?"

"My father happened, he wants Irlana back. That’s why I want to get this over with, I want her out of his clutches," Xiran skipped the part where his father had threatened her too.

Aselia lowered her head and softly kissed his forehead before whispering against it: "You and me, we will get him, we will kill him and we will rid our loved ones and this world of his evil."