I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 492: Embrace [Bomus Chapter Golden Ticket]

He just needed to survive seventeen more days.

They walked in silence for several minutes, the only sounds being birds in the trees and the distant activity of the estate’s daily operations.

Aurora’s presence was both comforting and torturous.

He wanted to be near her, but every moment spent together made the bracelet’s influence stronger.

Aurora stopped suddenly, turning to face Jack. She pulled out her notebook and wrote something longer this time, her hand moving quickly across the page before she held it up for him to read:

You said you were close to breaking my curse. That you’d found information that could help. Is that still true?

Jack met her gaze, seeing hope and fear mixed in equal measure. ”Yes. I made a bet with the God of Fertility. If I win, I get to ask him one question, and he has to answer truthfully. I’m going to ask how to break your curse.”

Aurora’s hands instinctively moved to her mouth, her eyes welling with tears as the full weight of the situation became apparent.

The curse had deprived her of her voice for nearly eleven years, preventing her from articulating the words that held the most significance.

She wrote again, her hand trembling slightly: When?

”Seventeen days,” Jack replied. ”The bet ends in seventeen days. If I’ve maintained the conditions, he’ll answer.”

What are the conditions?

Jack hesitated. The truth was embarrassing, and explaining that he was wearing a bracelet designed to amplify desire while betting he could resist temptation felt like admitting weakness.

But Aurora deserved honesty.

”The bracelet on my wrist,” Jack said, raising his arm to show the simple band Zephyros had given him. ”It amplifies attraction, makes desires manifest more strongly. The bet is that I can wear it for thirty days without... giving in to those impulses.”

Aurora’s gaze shifted from the bracelet to Jack, a realization dawning on her. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she comprehended the implications.

It became clear that he had been contending with an escalating attraction for almost two weeks, and each shared moment intensified that struggle.

She wrote quickly: I’m making it worse just by being here.

”No,” Jack said firmly. ”This is my endeavor, I will not seculde myself because of a bet.”

Aurora’s face became flushed, yet she offered a genuine smile, an expression of joy that transformed her features.

She then discreetly placed the notebook aside and stood, her gaze conveying what her words could not.

The bracelet pulsed again, this time stronger.

A surge of heat coursed through Jack’s system, accelerating his pulse and respiration.

He perceived his self-control diminishing, his resolve weakening under the persistent influence of artificially intensified urges.

Aurora drew nearer. The movement was slight, yet it felt incredibly significant.

The space separating them had diminished considerably, allowing Jack to perceive the subtle floral fragrance of the soap she had used that morning.

”Aurora,” Jack stated, his voice a little more gruff than he had intended. ”If you continue to gaze at me in that manner, I may be compelled to act in a way that would forfeit my wager.”

Aurora’s eyes widened, and then she smiled once more. This time, there was a touch of mischief in her expression. She was fully aware of her actions.

She produced another note: What kind of something?

Jack’s control was hanging by a thread.

The bracelet’s influence had built throughout the conversation, growing from manageable warmth to overwhelming heat that demanded action.

Every rational aspect of his mind urged him to retreat, to endure these remaining seventeen days.

However, Aurora was present, gazing at him with eyes that seemed to encourage precisely what the bracelet was compelling him towards.

Jack said no words and closed the remaining distance between them.

His hand moved to her face, cupping her jaw as he leaned down.

Aurora’s eyes widened momentarily as Jack initiated a kiss, a culmination of the anticipation that had been present since their encounter in the garden.

The bracelet flared with heat that bordered on painful, but Jack barely noticed.

Aurora embraced him, her hands clasping his shirt as she reciprocated his fervent kiss.

Although she was unable to speak due to the curse, she channeled all her unspoken sentiments into the kiss.

Jack’s other hand moved to her waist, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened.

Months of tension, weeks of fighting the bracelet’s influence, a year of knowing Aurora as his arranged fiancée, but never acting on it. All of it converged in this moment.

Jack swore he heard Arora make a sound against his mouth. Her fingers tangled in his hair, holding him in place as if she was afraid he might pull away.

Jack had no intention of withdrawing. He continued to kiss her with one hand on her waist and one hand gripping her neck.

They continued to embrace repeatedly, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings.

They broke apart finally, both breathing hard, foreheads resting together as they caught their breath.

Aurora’s face was flushed, her eyes bright with joy and something deeper that made Jack’s pulse race all over again.

She secured the notebook and embraced Jack, resting her head against his chest.

Jack embraced her in the garden, the sunlight warming both of them, his thoughts already focused on formulating a plan to ensure the success of his wager.

However, as he observed Aurora’s golden hair reflecting the light and felt her warmth, he found himself unable to regret his decision.

”Well, well. What’s going on here?”

A voice emanated from the garden entrance, drawing Jack’s attention to two figures observing from the stone archway.

Cassius Sunblade, Aurora’s father, stood with his arms crossed, and beside him, Lady Genevieve displayed a smile indicative of her anticipation of this particular development.

”Don’t stop on our account,” Cassius said, his tone carrying the dry humor of a man who’d just watched his daughter kiss her arranged fiancé. ”We were observing the inevitable.”

Aurora pulled back from Jack’s embrace, her face flushing crimson as she realized they’d been caught.

She tried to step away, but Jack kept one arm around her waist. A statement of intent that didn’t require words.

Lady Genevieve’s smile widened. ”I told you it would happen before the year ended, Cassius. You owe me fifty gold.”

”The bet was before he left for Caeloria,” Cassius countered. ”Technically, I still have six months.”

”The bet was before the calendar year ended,” Lady Genevieve corrected. ”And unless I’m mistaken, we still have eight months remaining in the current year. Which means I win.”

Cassius sighed, pulling a small pouch from his jacket and tossing it to Genevieve. ”Fine. Though I maintain that watching my daughter kiss her fiancé in your gardens should disqualify you on grounds of parental interference.”

”I merely observed the situation,” Lady Genevieve stated calmly. ”Their actions were entirely self-directed. My assessment of the probable outcome simply proved more precise than yours.”

Aurora, clearly mortified, had once again concealed her face against Jack’s chest.

Jack found himself suppressing an urge to chuckle.

The notion of his mother and Aurora’s father wagering on the timing of this event was both awkward and, in a peculiar way, rather charming.

”Don’t be embarrassed, daughter,” Cassius said, his tone softening. ”You’ve been engaged to Jack since he was born. We’ve been waiting for this development for years.”

He looked at Jack directly, his expression becoming more serious. ”Though I trust you’ll treat her well, Kaiser. Regardless of political arrangements or family alliances.”

”I will,” Jack promised, meeting Cassius’s gaze without flinching.

Cassius studied him for a long moment, then nodded. ”Good. Because if you don’t, arranged marriage or not, I’ll make you regret it in ways that transcend politics.”

”You can try, but it won’t happen,” Jack replied, accepting the threat for what it was, a father protecting his daughter.

’This little brat is just like his father, arrogant and confident.” Cassius thought.