Chapter 21: Price Of Betrayal

He must be mad.

To feel self-reproach over her being struck.

She had betrayed him so utterly, and yet he still felt pain at her beating, still could not bring himself to kill her.

 

What happened to her today was entirely her own doing.

 

Yan Chiyun suppressed the fury within him.

His voice was cold and hard.

“I will handle this matter myself.”

 

“But—” Madam Pu tried to continue.

 

Yan Chiyun cut her off directly.

“Come!”

His subordinates appeared instantly, awaiting his command.

 

“Escort my mother-in-law home.”

 

At these words, even if Madam Pu wished to remain, it was impossible.

 

She cast a venomous glance at Pu Jinyu on the floor.

Instinctively, she wanted to threaten her.

But with Yan Chiyun present, she feared alerting the enemy and exposing weaknesses.

In the end, she said nothing.

Suppressing her rage, she departed with a darkened face.

 

***

 

Once she had gone, only the two of them remained.

 

Summer had already passed; autumn approached.

The guest chamber adjoined the lake pavilion, its windows wide open.

The night wind blew through, stirring a chill.

 

Goosebumps rose on Pu Jinyu’s arms.

 

Yan Chiyun looked down at the young woman on the floor, her hair disheveled, her appearance utterly wretched.

 

Some time had passed.

She still sat on the ground, clutching her face, motionless.

Like a wooden post, rigid and lifeless.

 

Yan Chiyun considered himself a patient man, capable of steadying his emotions.

But matched against her, he had to concede defeat.

How could she remain so unmoved, even now?

 

He did not understand why she had secretly taken a lover.

Nor why, after being discovered, she had sought to expose herself further.

 

Under normal circumstances, should one not make excuses, defend oneself, beg for forgiveness?

 

But she did none of these things.

She was eerily calm—frighteningly so.

The first words out of her mouth had been a demand for divorce.

 

Was she so enamored of that Cheng Wenque?

Did she wish to divorce him and be with that man?

That worthless, pathetic good-for-nothing—in what way did he surpass him?

In what way was he stronger, more worthy of her affection?

 

Even if he divorced her, did she not understand?

Matters had reached this point.

Would Cheng Wenque still marry her?

That man was not worth her fighting for.

 

At this thought, Yan Chiyun laughed bitterly at himself.

Cheng Wenque was not worth her fighting for.

But what of her?

This woman who, on his third brother’s wedding day, had publicly trampled his dignity—

Was she worth his defending?

Worth his fighting for?

 

Madam Pu and Madam Yan could not understand his protection of her.

He himself did not understand why he had moved so quickly to shield her.

Why, seeing her struck, he felt such oppression and self-reproach.

Was this not laughable?

 

In any case… he could not reason it through.

 

***

 

With the others gone, the surroundings grew silent.

The atmosphere was deathly still.

Yan Chiyun’s fury, having reached its peak, gradually cooled.

He looked at her, observed her reactions.

Something felt wrong.

 

Something was wrong.

None of this was right.

 

But his anger had not yet completely dissipated.

Gloom still permeated his chest.

 

If he had not developed feelings for this hateful woman who had betrayed him,

he would not have been so violent, so out of control, so unable to calm himself for so long.

 

He could have handled this matter with calm and indifference, perfectly composed.

He would never have let things reach such a shameful pass.

 

It was because he had developed feelings for her.

Her illicit affair had not only trampled the honor of the Yan household.

It had cut deeply into the tender regard he had conceived for her.

 

He was disappointed in her.

He hated her.

This tangled mass of emotions—strange and fierce—had made him lose control.

It had prevented him from noticing the approach of so many people from the front hall.

Thus, so many had witnessed this scene.

 

***

 

Another half-incense stick passed.

Still, she showed no movement.

As though she intended to sit here until the end of time.

 

Yan Chiyun looked coldly at her and spoke the first words.

“Pu Wange, have you nothing to tell me?”

 

Some time had passed.

Surely she had calmed down by now.

 

But still, she did not speak.

The night wind stirred her hair, wrapping the strands about her small face, emphasizing her delicate fragility.

Aside from the glimpse of her delicate chin, he could also see her slender fingers.

 

Madam Pu’s slap had been exceptionally heavy.

Even he, accustomed to harsh tortures in the Imperial Prison and the screams that accompanied them, could not help but frown.

 

Pu Wange had indeed done wrong by taking a lover, shaming both families.

But Madam Pu was her own mother—flesh of her flesh, bone of her bone.

No matter how angry, how could she strike with such force?

 

A woman’s face was of utmost importance.

Was she not afraid of ruining her own daughter’s features?

 

Moreover, from the moment she discovered the situation to the moment she burst in,

Madam Pu had not asked Pu Wange for any explanation.

She had simply set upon her, intending to beat her to death.

She had even taken up the task herself.

 

She showed no protection of Pu Wange whatsoever.

From her words and actions just now, not a shred.

As though Pu Wange were not her daughter, but her enemy.

 

Was he so blinded by rage that everything seemed wrong?

Was he actually suspecting whether Madam Pu was her real mother?

All because that slap had been too harsh?

Because she had been so quick to beat her to death, he found Madam Pu cruel?

 

Or was it simply because he cared for Madam Pu that he instinctively recoiled from the one who struck her?

 

At this thought, his expression grew cold.

 

He looked at her profile.

Looked, and looked…

Instinctively, he wanted to crouch down, brush aside her hair, and see how badly she was hurt.

 

He could not do this.

She had given him no explanation for her adultery.

He had asked her several times, and she had not deigned to answer.

Why should he approach her now to examine her injuries?

That would be degrading himself.

 

Pu Jinyu still did not respond.

 

“How long will you remain silent?” he asked, his voice cold.

 

“Very well.”

Yan Chiyun laughed again, bitterly.

“Very well indeed.”

 

With these words, he turned and left.

He did not look at her again.

 

The sound of the man’s footsteps gradually faded, then disappeared entirely.

Only then did Pu Jinyu slowly rise.

 

She brushed her hair aside and found a hairpin on the floor to bind it up hastily.

Her swollen cheek was shockingly visible.

The blood at the corner of her mouth had mostly dried.

Her rouge and powder were smeared into a muddy mess.

 

Injured as she was, her face betrayed no emotion.

She did not even wince in pain.

She adjusted her sash, straightened her robes.

Her gaze swept across the broken furniture and came to rest on the shattered lantern and candles.

Then she walked toward the door.

 

But the moment she reached the threshold, Yan Chiyun’s men stopped her.

“Young madam, the master has ordered us to escort you back to the courtyard.”

 

Pu Jinyu said nothing.

She followed them.

 

***

 

They rounded the ornate inner gate.

The noise of the front hall seemed to continue, but it had nothing to do with her now.

 

She walked in silence until she reached the courtyard.

 

All the young maids who usually served there were gone.

Even Si Yan was absent.

Only she remained.

The entire inner chamber, vast and empty, felt terrifying in its solitude.

 

She had barely stood still when she heard the sound of a lock clicking shut outside the door.

Yan Chiyun had not only left men to guard her.

He had locked her in.

 

Pu Jinyu did not protest.

She turned and looked at the tightly closed door for a moment.

Then she entered the bath chamber, washed and changed into clean robes of her own accord.

She found medicinal ointment and applied it to her wounds.

Then she applied her rouge and powder.

 

Night fell.

Yan Chiyun did not come.

Pu Jinyu went to bed.

She was tired today—no, to be precise, she had been tired for a long time.

Now that this matter was done, she breathed in the scent of medicine on her face.

Before long, she slipped into dreams.

 

***

 

In contrast to the quiet of the courtyard, the atmosphere in the Yan front hall, after the guests had departed, was frozen.

Madam Yan slumped in her chair, breath coming with difficulty.

The old matron at her side smoothed her chest, urging her to take care.

General Yan’s expression was equally grim.

 

In the face of the Yan family’s accusations, Madam Pu repeated her earlier words.

She would take the woman away and give the Yan household an accounting in due course.

 

Yan Chiyun looked at the woman across from him.

He asked, though he already knew the answer.

“What kind of accounting does my mother-in-law intend to give the Yan household?”

 

Madam Pu met his dark, gloomy gaze.

She did not answer directly.

Instead, she spoke around the question.

“Whatever answer the Yan household desires.”

 

“Does my mother-in-law intend to kill her?”

As he asked this, Yan Chiyun’s gaze remained fixed on Madam Pu’s face.

 

He observed that her face showed no consideration for Pu Wange whatsoever.

Only urgent, frantic rage.

She wanted to dispose of her daughter quickly.

 

Why was there not a trace of concern or care?

Could it be that Pu Wange was not her biological daughter?

 

This strange thought surfaced again.

But he betrayed nothing, kept his expression outwardly calm.

 

No matter how strained the relations between mother and daughter,

when it came to killing, could one be so cold?

 

Even a tiger, fierce as it was, did not devour its own cubs.

If it were because the Pu household was too weak to offend the Yans,

surely that did not mean she was more eager than the Yans themselves to dispose of her daughter?

If he recalled correctly, this was her only daughter.

 

Yan Chiyun could not help but wonder—

Was it Madam Pu’s ruthless cruelty that had made her daughter’s character so strange and indifferent?

 

“She has done such a shameless thing.

Surely you do not intend to keep her, son-in-law?”

Madam Pu was also studying Yan Chiyun.

 

As a woman of experience, this time Madam Pu saw clearly.

Yan Chiyun was reluctant to part with that little wretch, Pu Jinyu.

 

And why would he not be?

If he had not developed feelings, why would he be so angry?

Why would he care so much about her straying?

Why had he taken her back to the courtyard?

On the surface, it was house arrest.

In truth, he was probably afraid Madam Pu would strike again and kill her.

 

But Yan Chiyun absolutely could not develop feelings for that little wretch.

Before the bond between them grew too deep, it must be severed completely.

 

She could not be allowed to live.

Yan Chiyun was now master of the Yan household, his word law.

 

If not for his interference, she would have already beaten that little wretch to death or taken her away.

Madam Yan and General Yan had already agreed to her proposal.

 

If Pu Jinyu did not die, the truth of the substituted marriage would eventually come to light.

She sensed it.

Pu Jinyu had gradually slipped beyond her control.

If not for Concubine Ruan’s presence in the Pu household, who knew what she might do.

 

“There may be more to this matter than meets the eye.”

Yan Chiyun spoke thus.

 

General Yan, Madam Yan, and Master Pu—who had remained silent since learning of the incident—all looked toward him.

 

“What more could there be?” Madam Pu countered.

Her heart was already tight with anxiety.

 

“Let me investigate further before speaking.”

 

They had intended to summon Cheng Wenque for questioning.

But who could have known that after being locked in the woodshed, he had actually fainted?

 

They had planned to let him fend for himself.

But Yan Chiyun, suspecting something amiss, ordered someone to examine him.

Even so, it was only an examination.

There was no need to waste effort on treatment.

Merely keep him alive.

 

Yan Chiyun did not negotiate further with Madam Pu.

He merely informed General Yan that the noble ladies who had witnessed the scene had been placated.

To the outside world, it was explained as a misunderstanding.

If they dealt with Pu Wange internally, others would surely gossip.

 

Even if no one dared openly criticize the Yan household,

who could control the whispers behind closed doors?

 

General Yan looked at him for a long moment.

“Very well.

You are now master of this household.

Handle this matter as you see fit.”

 

“General!” Madam Yan was deeply dissatisfied and called out to him immediately.

But before she could continue, General Yan raised his hand and frowned.

“Enough.

Young Madam Li has only just entered our household.

No matter how serious this matter is, it must be suppressed for now.”

 

If they punished Pu Wange now, the Li household would also be implicated.

 

Since General Yan had spoken thus, Madam Pu could only suppress her hatred.

She looked toward Master Pu.

 

He rose.

“In-laws, regardless of the circumstances, this is the Pu household’s fault.

Her mother and I indulged her too much from childhood.

Thus, she has grown ignorant of her place and committed this grave error.

A married woman follows her husband.

Since the Yan household has made its decision, however you choose to deal with her, the Pu household will raise no objection.”

 

At these words, Madam Pu laughed coldly in her heart.

 

Madam Yan did not respond.

General Yan, his expression indifferent, nodded reluctantly, acknowledging his words.

 

Before departing, Madam Pu requested to see Pu Jinyu.

But Yan Chiyun said it was too late and suggested another day.

 

***

 

On the journey home, Madam Pu could not restrain herself from mocking Master Pu in the carriage.

This, she said, was what came of a daughter born to an unacknowledged woman.

Even cloaked in a legitimate daughter’s skin, her bones remained base and low.

 

At first, Master Pu ignored her.

But Madam Pu grew more and more animated.

Finally, he could bear it no longer and asked when she would stop.

Surely she had said enough.

 

“Does my husband still pity that little wretch?

All these years, she has usurped everything belonging to Wange.

She has enjoyed silks and fine food, every comfort.

And now she uses Wange’s identity to take a lover.

She has destroyed Wange’s reputation, destroyed everything about our Pu household!

How long will you protect her?!”

 

Do not think she had not understood the true meaning behind his words at the Yan household.

 

Master Pu’s expression darkened.

But he did not wish to argue.

 

Madam Pu grew more and more aggressive.

If Pu Jinyu was so ungovernable, and the truth of the substituted marriage came to light,

then let them all die together.

 

The moment these words left her mouth, the carriage stopped at the Pu household gate.

Madam Pu did not wait for Master Pu.

She descended first.

Watching the direction she took, she was clearly going to vent her anger on Concubine Ruan.

 

Master Pu frowned but said nothing.

 

In truth, regarding the substituted marriage, nearly four years had passed.

Even if the truth came out now, it might not be entirely disastrous.

 

Today at the Yan household, Madam Pu had perceived Yan Chiyun’s attachment to Pu Jinyu.

Master Pu, being a man himself, how could he not see it as well?

 

Thus, he had remained silent throughout.

Only when the Yan household announced its decision did he speak.

 

Given the current circumstances, even if Pu Jinyu’s identity were exposed,

even if she were unworthy to be mistress of the Yan household,

she could still become Yan Chiyun’s concubine.

 

As long as the connection between the two remained, the bond between the Yan and Pu households would persist.

Both were his daughters.

At this point, distinguishing between legitimate and concubine-born served little purpose.

 

***

 

Madam Pu, already bursting with rage from her time at the Yan household, had also encountered resistance from Master Pu.

When she seized Concubine Ruan, she did not order others to act.

She attacked her herself, kicking and beating.

It was as though she wished to expend on Concubine Ruan all the force she had been unable to use on Pu Jinyu at the Yan household.

 

Concubine Ruan was not like Pu Jinyu, who remained unmoved.

She did not accept the beating quietly.

Especially when Madam Pu clawed at her face with her fingernails.

 

Enraged, she fought back.

She seized Madam Pu’s hair and pulled.

She kicked and struck even harder than Madam Pu.

 

Before long, Madam Pu was losing.

She was forced to call for help, to have others restrain Concubine Ruan.

 

Pinned beneath them, Concubine Ruan was beaten until her hair was in disarray and blood trickled from her mouth.

She knew when to yield and immediately begged for forgiveness, swearing she would not dare do it again.

 

But this time, Madam Pu was truly vicious.

She ordered someone to bring a knife.

She would destroy Concubine Ruan’s face.

 

From Madam Pu’s curses, Concubine Ruan had already learned of Pu Jinyu’s adultery.

And thinking of how Pu Jinyu had ignored her these past days,

she wished she could rush to the Yan household and teach that ungrateful wretch a lesson herself.

 

But before she could utter more than a few curses, Madam Pu was threatening to destroy her face and kill her.

Concubine Ruan wept bitterly, begging for mercy again and again.

At the same time, she signaled to someone nearby.

 

Her trusted young maidservant, taking advantage of the matrons’ inattention, slipped away to inform Master Pu.

 

When Master Pu arrived, two cuts had already been carved into Concubine Ruan’s face.

She wept as though her heart were breaking, telling him it would be better if Madam Pu just killed her.

She called Madam Pu a venomous woman.

 

“Enough!” Master Pu’s voice was sharp with rage.

 

Madam Pu paused.

Seeing her rescuer had arrived, Concubine Ruan immediately threw herself into Master Pu’s arms.

Pitifully, she called out to him, clinging to him.

She was the picture of delicate helplessness—utterly different from the howling, wailing creature of moments before.

 

Master Pu looked at the wounds on her face.

Frowning, he immediately ordered someone to summon a physician.

 

“This is too much!” Master Pu shielded Concubine Ruan as he confronted Madam Pu.

“Look at yourself!

What kind of behavior is this for the mistress of a noble house?!”

 

“Too much?” Madam Pu’s hair was disheveled, her eyes wild with bitter laughter.

“Pu Mingdong, who is truly too much?!”

 

“This vicious woman has destroyed me.

And now her daughter has destroyed my daughter’s face and reputation.

How am I supposed to swallow this rage?!”

 

She wanted to carve up that vicious woman’s face.

Only then would the hatred in her heart be appeased.

 

Madam Pu rushed forward again.

Master Pu quickly stepped between her and Concubine Ruan.

He called for people to enter and take her away.

 

In his arms, Concubine Ruan continued to weep.

Master Pu, with forced patience, comforted her with a few words.

 

“…”

 

***

 

The Pu household was in uproar.

The Yan household, seemingly calm, was equally unsettled.

 

Yan Chiyun did not return to the courtyard.

He went to another part of the compound to handle official matters.

Or rather, he attempted to.

In truth, he could not concentrate on the complex documents before him.

He made obvious errors even in reviewing the gambling accounts.

 

If he continued, problems would surely arise.

He pushed the documents and account books aside.

He closed his eyes and raised his hand to shield his furrowed brow, covering his handsome features.

 

After a moment of stillness, he asked the attendant beside him.

“What of her?”

 

“The guards report that the young madam returned, bathed, applied medicine, and retired to rest.”

 

“She sleeps?”

She could sleep?

 

“…Yes.”

 

The attendant clearly sensed his master’s turmoil.

His response was slightly hesitant, slightly subdued.

He feared being caught in the crossfire if the city gates burned.

 

Yan Chiyun laughed again, bitterly.

 

She had turned the household upside down.

She had thrown his emotions into utter chaos.

And she slept peacefully?

 

He laughed in fury, shaking his head repeatedly.

After a long moment, his face darkened, and he rose and left that courtyard.

 

***

 

After these months of indulgence, Pu Jinyu’s body was no longer so instinctively tense, no longer so conditioned by discipline.

But her vigilance remained sharp.

 

As she shifted in her sleep, she felt a gaze fixed upon her.

Her eyes opened, looking upward.

 

And indeed, at the edge of the bed, she saw a tall, slender figure.

The man’s handsome features were half-veiled in shadow.

His gaze rested upon her.

She did not know how long he had been there, standing, watching.

 

At first, Pu Jinyu was startled.

After all, it was deep in the night.

To wake and find a man standing at the edge of one’s bed, staring intently—

Anyone would be frightened.

 

She was even startled fully awake.

But soon, she recovered.

The fear on her face gradually faded.

She looked directly at the man’s face, saying nothing, meeting his gaze without flinching.

 

Madam Pu’s hand had indeed been heavy.

Her face was more damaged than he had imagined.

Her small features were swollen to nearly twice their usual size.

In the faint moonlight and weak candlelight, he could even make out the terrifying blue-purple bruising.

 

Instinctively, he wanted to ask if she had applied medicine.

Then he remembered the attendant’s report.

She had.

 

The attendant had said she slept.

He had not believed it and had come to see for himself.

And indeed, she slept.

 

Even with her face injured, she slept soundly.

She had not even noticed his arrival until she turned and woke.

Her makeup was as meticulously applied as ever.

 

After everything that had happened today, did she feel no guilt?

No anguish?

No concern?

 

Did she not think that he, her husband, might be hurt, might grieve, might despair?

 

How could she sleep?

And so soundly?

 

“So you can still be frightened.”

 

After a long struggle with the emotions churning within him, Yan Chiyun finally spat out these words, laced with mockery.

 

He referred to her startlement at seeing him.

 

She was not afraid of being caught in adultery.

But she was afraid of seeing him in the middle of the night?

 

Pu Jinyu listened to his mocking tone.

She looked at his dark, gloomy face.

She savored his state—his anger undiminished, one might even say he was in pain.

This was truly novel.

 

In her previous life, she had been with Yan Chiyun for so long.

Until the day her heart failed and she died in childbirth.

Never once had she seen him so enraged.

 

She had not expected him to care so much about her adultery.

He was so out of control.

And his loss of control had lasted so long.

 

Since he cared, why had he come to her?

To kill her?

It did not seem so.

 

Still, she looked at him.

Like a beautiful little mute.

Her dark, soft hair spilled down her back.

Her entire being appeared soft and dignified.

Those bright, gleaming eyes gazed at him.

And despite everything, he still felt his heart tremble with longing.

 

The images of her intimacy with Cheng Wenque, the words she had spoken—

they haunted his mind, refusing to leave.

He should be disgusted.

He should not have come to her.

He should hate even looking at her.

Why, then, did his heart still stir?

 

He hated her.

Hated her calm.

Hated her refusal to explain.

Hated, most of all, his own drowning, his own longing, his own entanglement.

Why had he come to her in the middle of the night?

To let her humiliate him further?

 

It was too ridiculous.

He could not say what was so ridiculous.

 

And even if she explained, what then?

If she said Cheng Wenque had seduced her, would he forgive her?

 

He had seen with his own eyes, heard with his own ears.

It was not the other man taking the initiative.

It was she who…

 

Pu Jinyu did not respond.

She watched his emotions shift, his unrest so evident that his chest gradually rose and fell with visible agitation.

 

Suddenly, she curved her lips in a faint smile.

She shifted slightly, making room on the bed beside her.

Then she looked at him again.

 

Yan Chiyun saw her movement.

How could he not understand?

Had she done the same with that man Cheng?

 

“What do you take me for?”

What did she take herself for?

His face still dark, he asked her this.

 

In the face of his visibly deepening anger, the smile in Pu Jinyu’s eyes deepened.

She was not afraid of him at all.

She even extended her arms toward him, opening them wide.

She wanted him to hold her.

 

Yan Chiyun looked at her, this posturing.

His eyes narrowed, dark and somber.

He laughed scornfully.

“Pu Wange, you are truly despicable beyond measure.”

 

In the face of his rebukes and insults, she still smiled.

Her expression did not change at all.

 

Even with half her face injured, she did not appear ugly.

On the contrary, she was deeply pitiful.

 

They regarded each other for a moment.

Then, suddenly, he drew a deep breath.

He laughed scornfully at himself a few times.

Then he turned and left.

 

She watched his long, quick strides.

His handsome, free-spirited figure quickly disappeared from the inner chamber.

 

The beaded curtain, swiftly lifted and released, swayed and collided.

The sound was crisp and pleasing.

 

Pu Jinyu did not watch for long.

She lay back down to sleep.

But the moment her head touched the pillow, a gust of wind, carrying a crisp, clean scent, swept aside the bed curtains.

 

A hand seized her waist.

Another gripped her chin.

And his mouth found hers.

 

The man, having returned in the depths of his rage, climbed onto the bed.

He dragged her from the bedding and found her lips with unerring accuracy.

He kissed her, fiercely.

 

Nearly four years of marriage.

It was only in these past six months that Yan Chiyun had begun to kiss her lips frequently.

But his kisses had always been gentle.

Never had he been so fierce.

 

And she had always known he did not like the rouge on her face, did not like the red on her lips.

Each time he kissed her, he lingered only briefly upon her lips.

 

He especially enjoyed kissing inside, plundering the softness of her tongue, stealing her breath.

And once there, he lingered long, unwilling to withdraw.

 

But even when he kissed deeply, for a long time, he was always gentle.

He considered her comfort, matched her breathing.

 

This time, he lingered on her lips for a long while.

He kissed and kissed, worrying her lips with his teeth, sucking.

As though he wished to consume completely the rouge on her lips, and any trace of another man that might remain.

 

She did not know how long he spent biting and kissing her lips.

But he kissed her for a very long time.

Her lips even began to sting, a burning pain.

 

He did not pause.

He forced apart her lips.

His fingers pressed into her cheeks, and he kissed inside.

 

His large hand controlled her shoulder, pressing her completely beneath him.

She was trapped within his reach.

He would not allow her to struggle.

He gave her no chance to escape.

 

The man began a new round of plundering kisses.

He swept through every corner of her mouth.

He dragged at her soft tongue, sucking again and again.

 

The sounds of their kissing were clearly audible within the bed curtains.

She could barely endure it.

She gasped for air, panting heavily.

 

But he did not release her.

He kissed her until her breath came in rapid gasps, until darkness swam before her eyes.

 

Only when she was on the verge of fainting from lack of air did he reluctantly withdraw from her lips.

 

Their tongues had tangled fiercely.

A silver thread of saliva connected them, stretched between their lips.

 

Her gaze was hazy.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

She heard the man ask, his voice low,

 

“Has he ever kissed you as deeply as this?”

 

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