Chapter 328: Promises and Gentle Ground

"Orion," Sophia said, already sighing as she lifted her hands in surrender, "calm down. It was just a little pain. Nothing major."

He did not calm down, neither did he look calm.

In fact, he looked like he was one poorly chosen sentence away from locking her in the bedroom and banning her from moving anything heavier than a pillow until she didn’t feel anything even remotely akin to pain when she swung a sword.

"A little pain," he repeated flatly. "Sophia, you aren’t even supposed to be doing things that cause pain right now. You should have told me—fuck!" He said, shaking his head. "I should have known that you swinging the swords would ignite a little pain. Just yesterday you couldn’t even move without wincing."

She rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck. "You’re being dramatic, Orion. And yes, I couldn’t move without ignoring a little pain yesterday, but I also told you today that it’s reduced. It was something I could handle. Stop with the dramatics."

His jaw tightened. "Me trying to make sure you don’t get injured and recover fully is me being dramatic?"

"Yes."

"I care about you..."

"You are hovering, Orion, and I don’t like it," she told him. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"I’m—"

"Hovering," she repeated, cutting him off.

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the table, posture relaxed, expression stubborn. "I’m not going to hurt myself. And if it had been anything more than a slight pain, you would’ve noticed immediately. Gods! I’d have dropped the swords immediately too."

He gave her a look that said don’t test me.

She stared right back because there was no way she was going to back down from this.

For a moment, neither of them moved. The air between them felt charged—not with anger, but with that familiar tension they always circled around when worry masqueraded as irritation.

Then Sophia sighed, uncrossed her arms, and pushed off the table.

She closed the distance between them without hesitation.

Orion didn’t move away. He just watched her silently as she approached him.

She stepped between his legs, close enough that her knees brushed his thighs, and settled there like she belonged—which, honestly, she did. His hands came up automatically, strong arms wrapping around her waist as his back leaned against the table behind him.

She rested her palms against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath her hands.

Then she kissed him.

Soft. Slow. Unhurried.

The kind of kiss meant not to ignite, but to soothe.

"Calm down, you oaf," she murmured against his lips. "I’m okay."

Orion exhaled, the tension easing out of his shoulders as his forehead rested against hers. "You scare me," he admitted quietly. "You know that, right?"

She smiled faintly. "I scare myself sometimes."

That earned her a huff of reluctant laughter.

"I just don’t want you getting hurt again," he said, voice lower now.

Sophia laughed softly. "Do you even know me?"

He chuckled despite himself. "Unfortunately."

She tilted her head, amused. "I’m serious."

"I know," he said. "And that’s the problem."

She snorted. "You make it sound like I go looking for injuries."

He raised an eyebrow. "You trip over air, shorty."

"The air could have been an obstacle," she argued.

"Why didn’t I trip then?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Maybe the obstacle was only meant for me?" she asked innocently.

Orion chuckled at that. "And the other times too? The obstacles were meant only for you and not for anyone else, right?"

She shrugged as a laugh escaped her. She pressed her forehead against his, and he tightened his arms around her slightly, grounding himself in the warmth of her being there—alive, upright, smiling.

"I didn’t mean that kind of hurt," he said after a moment. "I mean... the kind where you’re gone. Where I have to wait another week not knowing if you’ll wake up or not, just wishing that you will open your eyes and stare at me."

Her smile softened.

She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. "Then let’s make a promise."

He looked down at her, wary. "Sophia—"

"Like during the festival," she said gently. "I promise not to get hurt. Especially not the kind where I have to be unconscious for a week or more."

His thumb brushed over her knuckles. He studied her face, searching for hesitation, for recklessness.

He found none of it.

Finally, he nodded. "Then I promise not to get myself hurt either."

She nodded back, satisfied. "Good, because if you do, I’ll make sure to look for every opportunity to get you back—even going as far as the afterlife."

Orion gave her a look. "Who wants you to go to the afterlife with them?" he asked.

Sophia paused, then remembered that she had said those exact words to him the day she woke up and laughed.

A small smile tugged at his lips.

"You big oaf," she said, laughing. "You did not just use my words against me."

Orion chuckled. "Imagine being with you almost every day and not learning anything? What kind of mate would that make me?"

"You couldn’t learn something else?"

"Like what? Your height?"

She gave him a glare. "You can’t even learn my height if you try." Then she paused. "That doesn’t make any sense."

Orion laughed at the expression on her face, making her smile too.

She leaned back slightly, studying him. "You know, I thought you’d spend more time in the office today."

His expression softened. "I came back early because of you."

She blinked. "Me?"

"You just recovered," he said simply. "And I needed to spend time with you."

Her lips curved upward, warmth blooming in her chest. "Heh," she said with pride. "I’m addictive, aren’t I?"

Orion pressed a soft kiss on her lips. "More than you’d ever know, shorty."

"Anyways, I only went to the office to deal with something," he added. "Once it was settled, Mary summoned me, and I went to pick up the boxes, and then I came home."

Sophia nodded, absorbing that. Then she smiled again—slow and deliberate.

"I’m going to do something for you too," she said.

His brows furrowed slightly. "You don’t have to—"

She cut him off with a look. "You gave me a gift. I’ll do something for you too."

Orion just gave her a look. Arguing would not solve anything at all. He had no idea who made Sophia believe that every gift and help must be repaid, although, given what he heard about her mother while she was unconscious, he had an inkling that she was the one.

He had no intention of accepting whatever she decided to give him, but she didn’t know that.

He leaned forward and kissed her again, deeper this time—but still gentle and careful.

When he pulled back, he slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back.

Sophia yelped softly, instinctively looping her arms around his neck. "Orion."

He smiled down at her. "You said you weren’t hurting yourself. You didn’t say anything about me carrying you."

"That’s cheating."

"That’s strategy."

He lifted her effortlessly and turned toward the bed.

And this time, she didn’t protest at all.