Simply acting like she knew the noblewomen when she talked to them was not an easy task.
"Duchess, have you been well?"
"Countess, it has been a while."
Countess Glenn has been at her parent's home, away from the capital, for a while due to her mother's illness. The Countess' return was either because her mother's illness had gotten better, or because it had gotten worse, and the latter case was more likely.
As expected, when Lucia asked, the Countess replied with a dull smile. Lucia comforted the Countess. And after they were done greeting each other, the Countess introduced the young lady that was standing next to her.
"This is my distant relative from my hometown." (Countess)
As soon as Lucia heard the introduction of Sonia, daughter of Baron Park, her expression stiffened.
'She's that woman.'
The woman who was her husband's wife in her future dream. Lucia vividly remembered the Duchess who went around the social activities with an aloof expression on her face. Lucia did not know that she would meet the woman this soon, so her mind was not prepared at all.
"It is an honor to meet you, Duchess."
She was a young lady with a cute, cheerful smile and curly hair. Sonia smiled shyly, different from how Lucia remembered. Her attitude revealed her inexperience in socializing as her eyes wandered everywhere, fascinated by the luxurious party. It was a huge contrast to the figure that swept through parties and events in Lucia's dream.
Lucia felt like her body had gone stone cold from her fingertips. She had not felt this dreadful when she encountered the Count of Matin. It was in a different future, but it was still a woman whom her husband had personally chosen and married.
There was no way of ever knowing how the relationship between her husband and the Duchess was in her dream. It could have been a simple contract marriage like the rumors claimed, or perhaps they were a closer couple than that.
It was a future that would never come to pass in reality. Even though Lucia knew that, she had a terrible bitter taste in her mouth.
In the carriage that was taking her home, along with her husband who came to pick her up, Lucia's mood continued to be low.
"Did something happen?"
Lucia merely shook her head. She was mad at him for no reason. She felt like if she opened her mouth, she would get irritated at him. There was a part of her that knew that she was in a very strange state. She felt that she would feel better when she got some sleep.
"I'm tired. I will go to bed early."
Hugo left his wife alone for the time being when he saw that she was acting different from usual. He thought to himself that if she continued to be this 'spiky' when she woke up, he would thoroughly dig into why she was like that.
* * *
The surroundings were dark when Lucia opened her eyes. The tears refused to stop flowing and her whole body trembled. He had coldly turned around in front of her and left.
It was a dream, but when she recalled that scene, it felt like a sharp awl was stabbed into her heart and she couldn't breathe. She fumblingly crawled down the bed.
'I have to…I have to see him. Where is he?'
Lucia opened the bedroom door noisily and ran, with only the thought of seeing him on her mind. It felt like someone was calling her but she couldn't hear it properly.
As soon as she opened his office door and rushed in, she found him sitting behind his desk, facing the side. When she saw him turn around with a surprised look on his face, she lost strength in her legs and sank to the floor.
Only then did the breathlessness from running settle down as air flooded into her chest. She pushed against the floor with both hands, her chest heaving up and down as she fought for breath. A large hand caught her by the shoulders and lifted her up.
"What's the matter?"
He approached her in the blink of an eye and his familiar smell gave her relief and a sense of anxiety. Tears suddenly rushed to Lucia's eyes. Hugo's red eyes gazing upon her were greatly shaken. He pulled Lucia into a strong embrace.
"What's wrong, hm?"
It was a soft, soothing voice. Lucia buried her face deep in his chest and her shoulders heaved up and down. Hugo felt her body shaking in his embrace and his complexion stiffened.
"Call the doctor!"
Hugo yelled when he saw the servants standing around not knowing what to do and his irritation soared. Upon not seeing Jerome, he looked for him with his eyes then he remembered that Jerome was momentarily away because he had an issue to deal with. Lucia, who was in his arms, furiously shook her head back and forth. Hugo held her tighter in his arms before speaking.
"I shouldn't call the doctor?"
She nodded without replying. Hugo sighed then he discovered her bare feet and frowned. Even the nightwear she was wearing wasn't very thick.
He gestured for the people gathered around them to leave. Then he hugged her tightly and scooped her up. He sat down on the sofa with her in his arms, covered her with a blanket and gently stroked her hair as she still had her head buried in his chest.
A firm hand was pressed against her back and patting her gently. Feeling the comfortable pressure on her back, Lucia's senses that were half-gone slowly returned. But she just couldn't stop the tears that were flowing again.
Hugo continued to plant kisses on Lucia's eyes and cheeks that were wet with tears. Lucia felt like her chest was in more pain and curled her body. The tears continued to flow. Remnant images of the dream were still in her head and tormenting her.
Don't leave me! Ah, it really hurts![1]
Lucia grasped at her chest with a scream that didn't leave her mouth.
"What exactly is going on? You have to tell me or I won't know, Vivian. Don't cry. Tell me what's wrong."
Hugo's low voice was laced with worry. After crying continuously with her head buried in his chest, Lucia got exhausted and fell asleep.
Hugo carried his wife to her bedroom and tried to lay her down but he didn't want to remove her hands, which were clutching tightly to his clothes as if she was uneasy.
He instructed the servants to bring his documents up to the bedroom, then he leaned his wife against his chest with one arm, and looked at documents with his other arm.
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Her body, which was lazily leaning on him, stirred slightly. Lucia slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times as if she was still half asleep. Even though Lucia was aware that her head wasn't on the bed but on his chest, her mind was moving very slow.
Her head was blank, so she lifted her gaze and saw him reading a document. He turned his head and met her gaze. His red eyes were tinged with warmth and he kissed Lucia's lips.
"…I had a strange dream."
"What was the dream about?"
"I ran to your office and…"
Lucia's expression gradually stiffened as she talked. Her running to his office was not a dream. Hugo gave a sigh and put down his documents.
"Before you dreamt of running to my office, did you have a worse dream? What kind of dream was it?"
His gently appeasing tone and voice alleviated the suffocating tension in Lucia's heart.
"…You…"
"Me?"
"…You cheated."
"…"
After saying that, Lucia felt something suddenly surge in her chest.
"You left me. You went to that woman."
Her voice trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. Her vision blurred and when she blinked her eyes, tears slid down her cheeks.
"Vivian."
He licked the trail of her flowing tears and pecked the corner of her eyes. Hugo lay her down on the bed and climbed over her. He leaned his weight on his elbow and looked closely into her eyes.
"I love you." (Hugo)
Lucia experienced a small miracle in which his short phrase instantly pacified her whimsically fluctuating mood.
"Me too…I love you." (Lucia)
"Did I make a mistake that would make you think such a thing?"
"…The woman in the dream had a big bust."
Hugo quietly gazed at his wife whose mutterings was more like her grumbling, then he sighed deeply. If only he could know who exactly told her that he liked busty women; he wanted to grind them to dust.
His liking of a woman's bustiness was not because he had a special preference, it simply meant that he liked breasts because he was a man. Never had another woman come into his eyes nor had he ever looked at their chest.
"I like your breasts."
Her face reddened at his soft whisper and got even redder when his hand wove into her nightwear and squeezed her breasts.
"It's soft, silky and when I touch it a little like this…it stiffens."
He kneaded the mounds of her breast and gently twisted her nipple between his fingers.
"And when I lick it, it's sensitive enough that it trembles."
While holding her breast in a slight grip, revealing them, Hugo circled around her nipple with his tongue then he bit hard on the tip. She flinched in response and cried out.
"I really do love your breasts."
His knee came in between Lucia's legs and his thigh found its way to her private place. Her round eyes were looking at him and her face was dyed redder than ever.
"Honestly, I like this place more."
Hugo caught her squirming wrists with one hand and held them up while his other hand went inside her underwear and rubbed the area between her legs.
Her insides had started to get wet with a moist, sticky liquid and allowed his fingers easy entry.
"It's already so wet. I think I'm the one who should be worried. Because your body is so erotic."
It was embarrassing and shameful. Even though she was annoyed by his taunting words, it sent chills up her spine. His hand holding her wrists had disappeared at some point but it throbbed as if she was still being held down, so she couldn't move.
Her nightwear was rolled up and her underwear was peeled off. His two hands spread her thighs open and she felt him staring at the space between.
"Ah!"
Something hot touched her lower abdomen. His lips kissed her petite entrance and sucked on it. The tip of his tongue burrowed inside. Lucia's waist sprang up of its own accord.
"Ah! Ang…"
His lips moved harder as he sucked the liquid flowing from her body while his tongue slipped in and out of her. Lucia's vision momentarily flickered and her body quivered at the feeling of climax.
He lifted his head and wiped his glossy lips with his hand then he smiled at her. Lucia just couldn't open her eyes to look at him. Her face felt like it was on fire and her heart was pounding so loud that she felt like it could be heard.
Hugo lifted his body and lowered his trousers. His erection sprang free, already standing firm. He held his pulsating member and brought it to her small folds then he pushed his waist forward in one single thrust.
"Hk…"
Lucia's body throbbed intensely. She couldn't breathe because he was too big and the sensation of him filling her to the brim was too much for her.
A sigh mixed with a moan escaped from Hugo's mouth. Even though he was just staying still, he felt like he was going to cum. His wife really had a ridiculous dream. She dreamt that he left this body and fooled around? Nothing could replace this hot, narrow, melting insides of hers.
Hugo began to move his waist and slowly and gradually increased his speed. There were a few things that he needed to deal with urgently, but they had already flown out of his head long ago.
As he felt the stimulation from her insides squirming and squeezing him and listened to her faint moans and erotic cries, blood rushed to his lower abdomen and he felt giddy.
Her hot inner walls were like they were wrapping around his heart. He was engulfed by the feeling of satisfaction beyond physical pleasure.
Lucia was moaning in his arms and had no recollection of things at some point as if she had blanked out.
When she regained her senses, he was embracing her sideways from behind, holding the back of her neck and kissing her. His member which was filling her up from behind, was tender and moving slowly.
He moved subtly, rubbing inside her while her body felt languid and a small moan escaped her lips. His arm that was wrapped around her waist squeezed tighter, and his fingers gripped her breast harder.
"Have you calmed down a little?" (Hugo)
He bit her ear and sucked her earlobe. His lazy but subdued voice sounded very seductive. His hand persistently squeezed and kneaded her chest. Lucia recalled the grumbling she did earlier and nodded with a heated face.
"You know, I feel wronged that I was blamed for what I did in your dream. Is that really how you usually see me?" (Hugo)
"No. I was…being strangely unreasonable. I'm sorry." (Lucia)
After coming around a little, Lucia was very embarrassed by her actions.
She had been ridiculously unreasonable. There was no need for her to be so sensitive after seeing that woman at the charity party. There was also no reason for her to be angry at him. Hadn't she already seen many people's relationships change from how she saw them in the dream? His wife now, was her, not that woman.
"Are you alright? You seem to keep having bad dreams." (Hugo)
"I know, right?"
When Lucia thought about it, her irritation seemed to have also dramatically increased in the span of a few days. Yesterday, she raised her voice at the maid over a small issue. Lucia thought of herself as someone who wasn't whimsical but this kind of sharp changes in mood were rather unsettling. Because it was an issue with her mood and not that she felt sick somewhere, Lucia didn't know whether it should be viewed as something was wrong with her body or not.
"Aa…"
Lucia moaned faintly at the stimulation from him weakly rubbing against her inner walls. With her butt pressed against his thighs, he moved his waist smoothly, without pulling out, as if churning her insides.
The stimulation wasn't fierce enough to be thrilling but it was a sinking feeling like her body had fallen into a swamp.
"I can't believe you don't trust me. I'm quite shocked." (Hugo)
"…I was wrong." (Lucia)
"No. I didn't put enough effort." (Hugo)
Hugo lay her down on her stomach, climbed over her and pressed down on her body.
"I will try harder from now on. Until you trust me."
Realizing the meaning of his so-called effort, Lucia quickly cried out.
"I trust you. I said I trust you!"
She was tormented by him for a while and only after she proclaimed her love and trust for him dozens of times, was she released from complete exhaustion.