Transmigrated Into The True Heiress-Chapter 175: And Then?!

"He kissed my eyelids, Janya. My eyelids! And my palm. And my forehead. What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means you’ve activated his inner simp core and now he’s ready to submit his soul and have a real wedding with you."

Ephyra groaned and dragged a pillow over her face.

"He told me he wants me. Wants me. Not just friends—like, wants to know me. Wants to care for me. Love me."

She peeked out from under the pillow.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that, huh?"

"Girl, I don’t even know what I had for lunch yesterday, and you’re asking me to unpack soulmates? This is too much." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Ephyra flailed an arm in the air dramatically.

"I’m not ready for this, Jania. He said he didn’t care if I needed time or didn’t tell him stuff or if I was a walking red flag, basically. He just—he still wanted me and I felt awful."

"Okay, hold up." Janya was clearly pacing now. "So, lemme get this straight. He wants to be the best husband ever, accepts all your secrets and emotional damage, kisses you like it was the last sunrise on Earth, and now you’re panicking because...?"

"Because I actually want him back," Ephyra admitted, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And I don’t know what to do with that. I was ready to fake my way through this marriage, but now he’s being real. And kind. And he’s not even asking for anything in return."

Janya went quiet.

Then she sighed. "Okay. First of all, I need like five business hours to process that you made out with Master Lyle. Because—what?! But second of all... I think you need to stop thinking and start feeling. Because your brain is doing too much, girl. Let your heart have a turn."

Ephyra stared at the ceiling, lips pressed into a line.

"Also," Jania added with a devilish tone, "don’t think I missed the part where you said he touched you everywhere. Spill, bitch."

Ephyra gasped. "Jania!!"

"What? You can’t just drop that and not deliver! What kind of friend do you take me for?"

Ephyra groaned into her pillow again.

"Oh my god. This is going to be the longest day of my life."

"Correction: longest and horniest. I’m so proud, Ephyra. I really am."

They switched their call to FaceTime, and Ephyra sat cross-legged on her bed, propping her phone against her knee. Her cheeks were still flushed from embarrassment, her hair a tousled mess, and there was an unmistakable worry in her eyes.

"Okay," she began, exhaling deeply. "It started with a sound. I heard something in Lyle’s room. I thought someone had broken in or that something had happened to him, and I—I panicked."

Jania immediately leaned in, her screen shaking as she adjusted the phone. "You what? Oh my god, was it an attack? An assassin? Wait—"

"No!" Ephyra shook her head. "When I got there, he was already wounded. There was a huge slash across his back that he told me he caused himself. I treated it, but when I turned on the lights and saw his face..." She paused, swallowing hard. "His veins were dark and pulsing, like roots crawling up his face. His skin was pale—otherworldly pale. I froze. And then you... How could you have kept something like this from me?"

Jania’s expression shifted to one of guilt and understanding. "Ephyra... It’s not that I wanted to keep it from you. It’s just—he has a secret he didn’t want you to know. And you have a secret you haven’t told him, right?"

Ephyra fell silent.

Jania continued softly, "It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, Ephyra. He’s just scared. Scared that if you found out the truth, you’d look at him like he was something to be feared. Something monstrous. And you—" Janya gave her a meaningful look, "you of all people know how that feels."

Ephyra blinked hard, emotions rising within her.

"Listen," Jania said, "I know he hasn’t said it yet, but Lyle is already in love with you. The way he talks about you, the way he looks at you—hell, the way he lets you see him like..."

Jania’s voice came through gently now, the teasing stripped away, replaced by something softer.

"It’s not that he didn’t trust you enough to know, Ephyra. He was just scared—scared you’d react in a way that would break him. Because whether he’s said it or not, Lyle is already in love with you."

Ephyra’s breath hitched.

Jania pressed on, her eyes full of understanding. "I don’t know where he stands exactly—hell, he probably doesn’t either—but that man cares about you. He wants you. And not in some ’convenient marriage’ kind of way. He wants you. The chaotic, guarded, emotionally constipated version of you." She smiled faintly. "So I just want you to think about everything. Really think about it. Because dragging this out is going to hurt both of you."

Ephyra opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed heavily. Her hand dragged down her face like it was the only thing keeping her skull attached.

"Jania... you don’t get it," she said quietly, shaking her head. "You don’t understand. This isn’t just about secrets. It’s not that simple."

She swallowed, voice low and serious now.

"It’s about my origins. It’s something bigger than me. Something that might be dangerous. Something you don’t even believe. So no—no, it’s not as easy as just telling him. But yes... you’re right about one thing."

She looked up at the screen, eyes shining with emotion.

"I care about him. And caring about him means I don’t want anything—anything—to happen to him. If this secret turns out to be something that could bring harm to him, I can’t risk it. I won’t drag him into that."

There was a beat of silence between them.

"I just need time," she whispered. "And I promise, I won’t take too long. I won’t drag it out. Just... let me breathe for a second, okay?"

Janya exhaled, her mouth pressing into a line. Then she gave a short nod. "Okay. Right. I’ve heard you. And I do get it now. I just hope you keep your word."

Then, more lightly, "Now go on. Continue. Tell me how it went."

Ephyra let out a reluctant chuckle and adjusted her phone. She reached for a throw pillow and hugged it to her chest like a life vest.

"Okay. So... after all that, I told him I wasn’t scared of his appearance. I told him it didn’t change anything for me. And he looked at me like I’d just handed him his soul back."

Janya gave a little "awwww" but didn’t interrupt.

"And then things kind of... escalated," Ephyra said, cheeks turning pink again. "He laid me down on the bed—gently, Janya—and asked if he could kiss me. And I said yes. And then—"

She buried her face in the pillow, muffling a scream.

"AND THEN??" Janya shrieked.

"We made out," Ephyra mumbled into the pillow.

"I know you said all these before but not in detail so... Speak up, slut!"

Ephyra lifted her head, glaring but also laughing. "We made out. A lot. Like, I forgot my name at one point."

Janya clapped a hand over her mouth. "My girl’s first kiss turned into premium makeout mode. I’m unwell."

Ephyra groaned. "His hands were everywhere. And I didn’t even care. I wanted it. I wanted him."

"And?"

"And then... he stopped. Just stopped. Said I was too tired and that I needed to sleep. Which, honestly, is rude."

Janya snorted. "The audacity of him having self-control. Trash." Then she glared, saying with narrowed eyes, "Don’t you dare tell him I said that."

Ephyra laughed, but then her face softened.

"And this morning... Before I could leave, he woke up. And he said all that stuff I told you earlier. That he wanted me. That he’d do anything I asked. That he wanted to be a real husband to me."

Janya stared at her with wide eyes. "Okay, so... how exactly are you still breathing?"

"I’m not. I’m dead. You’re talking to a ghost."

Janya gave a dramatic gasp. "Ghost of Horny Present."

"Shut up."

They both laughed, the tension in Ephyra’s chest loosening just a little.

———

It was the third day of their vacation, and tomorrow would be the last.

They had two more places to check off their itinerary. The second one was just a formality—more like a sweet little farewell to the trip. But the first one? That had been rescheduled. They were supposed to go yesterday, but they’d spent way too long at the Statue of Liberty—touring, exploring, getting distracted by everything—so the visit to Liberty Island had been bumped to today.

Liberty Island was supposed to be a floating park of some sort—half nature reserve, half architectural marvel. The kind of place that looked like it was photoshopped even in real life. Ephyra hadn’t seen pictures. She preferred it that way. Better to let the place surprise her.

She stepped out of her room and passed the hallway mirror.

She gave herself a once-over, eyeing her outfit. A simple, dark brown sleeveless dress, paired with a light cream cardigan and flat brown sandals. Nothing fancy, but comfortable—and cute. It was the outfit she had originally planned to match with Lyle on their second day, back when matching outfits felt like a novelty. Now?

After last night, it felt even more perfect.