Badum. Badum.
She could hear her own heart thumping like crazy as his earnest voice rang in her ears. His promises and vows sounded too good; she was touched.
Instead of having thoughts of being fooled, Gloria found herself trusting him more. Perhaps it was because, from the beginning, Xander had always been open about everything. Thus, her trust levels were already high.
Moreover, she loved how he didn't sugarcoat his words but gave them to her straight. How could she not be touched?
She tightened her hold on him, her arms wrapping around his firm waist and murmured in response, "You…. You promise!"
He hugged her tighter as he raised his head so that he was sniffing her hair, completely enamored by her refreshing scent.
"Those are my vows for you, dear. I may not be perfect and we might have started on a wrong note, but I promise that as long as I am alive. I will never wrong you!" he firmly stated, his tone filled with endless vows that made her choke with emotion.
"Sniff ….. ahh …. You," she emotionally sniffed as she rubbed her face against his chest, not caring about the makeup that hadn't been washed.
She didn't know how to react in such a situation. It was a first for her, and he seemed to be aware of that.
"You don't have to believe me right now. Let's take our time. Time will tell," he soothingly said to her, patting her back coaxingly and Gloria's floodgates seemed to be open.
Like a child, she found herself sobbing. Pouring all her grievances. She was a mess.
Xander didn't say a single word, but continued to caress her back soothingly and allowed her to vent.
She didn't know how long she was in such a state, but at some point, Gloria found herself lying in his arms in her bedroom, no longer crying.
After bawling her eyes out, she was much calmer and her mind was properly working.
Lying in his arms without doing anything intimate felt more romantic, and she felt safer that way.
"Hubby," she softly called to him as she leaned into his embrace.
"Um!" he hummed in response as he tightened his hold on her.
As the back of her head was on his chest, Gloria couldn't help but smile as she opened her mouth to say, "Thank you. For everything. I just want to thank you!"
She didn't want to imagine how her life would be if she had remained married to Simon. Perhaps she would have died at some point without knowing the schemes plotted against her. How pitiful would she have been if that had happened?
Xander wryly smiled as he thought about something. Thankfully, Gloria didn't have eyes at the back, otherwise bells would be ringing in her head once again.
Nonetheless, Gloria, who wasn't aware of Xander's weird expression, continued chirping. "I don't know what the future holds, but I promise that I will put extra effort into becoming the best wife, mother and matriarch I can ever be.
I am not perfect, and I have a lot to learn. I will never embarrass you. I will do my best. If there is somewhere that I am lacking, don't hesitate to point that to me."
Gloria knew that she wasn't perfect. She missed the best time to study thanks to her fake family. However, instead of continuously blaming others for that. She planned to make up for it and take lessons.
So far, without her true identity revealed. She had a lot of time to make up for anything that she didn't know. She planned to use this chance to enrich herself. Only when one is aware of one's shortcomings can improvement come.
What would be the point of pointing fingers?
Xander planted a kiss on her head, satisfied with her mentality.
"If …. If by chance you happen to fall for someone. Please do tell me. Don't keep a woman behind my back and hurt me. I would rather be told directly that you no longer want me than for me to learn the truth, like the way I did about Simon and Sia's relationship." She said with gritted teeth, pain piercing her heart at the thought of facing the same thing ever again.
However, when he heard her next words, he became gloomy as he started questioning himself.
'Am I not showing myself enough?' he wondered inwardly but still found himself reassuring her out loud.
"I am not a good person. That is something that I will not lie about, but hurts a woman's heart through such means. That's something that I will not do. So, trust me on this Gloria. There won't be such a time in our future!"
Gloria faintly smiled as she listened to that, but inwardly thought, 'Wasn't that the same thing Simon told me for years?'
When Xander finished talking, she responded to him. "I trust you and I hope that you will remember your vows!" however, inwardly she added, 'I will not fully trust you though. Trust is earned. When it comes to my heart, I will not give it my all this time. I will work hard and make sure that even if that time comes, you will not bear to hurt me. Even if you hurt me and I leave you, I will leave with someone better than you.'
And for her to do so, she needed to enrich herself. After all, having no brains wasn't something that interests others. She had learned the hard way. Even if love fails in the future. She would make a living on her own. It wasn't like there was a clad rule which forced women to be tied to men. There wouldn't be anything wrong with her living for herself if love fails her twice.
Xander completely unaware of her thoughts, was relieved when he heard that she still had some trust in him. He vowed inwardly to do his best to build that trust.
Gloria, despite growing up without being spoiled so much, even in the face of money, wasn't that greedy.
She wasn't the type who would lose her morals because of money. It was another trait of hers that he liked.
If she was the type who was money-hungry when things were tough. She would have performed a lot of tricks when she was in the Willow clan. But this love-struck fool even gave all the cards to Simon. She made people worry, but he liked her either way.
Gloria, finding the topic a bit depressing, swiftly changed the topic, upping the atmosphere in the room.
"Hubby, do we have clothes prepared for the gala?" she asked curiously, her eyes sparkling at the thought of dressing up well.
Xander's lips curled upwards when he heard that. He playfully flicked her belly, making her coquettishly scream, scolding lightly, "Hubby! What are you doing?"
And he broke into a playful laughter. "Can't I tease you?"
She rolled her eyes as she contemptuously retorted, "umph. Not allowed!"
Xander chuckled heartily when he heard that and responded, "Fine. I won't tease you anymore. Happy!"
Gloria grinned at seeing how he was playing along with her. She didn't feel like a twenty-nine-year-old woman at all but felt like a teenager.
After bantering for a while, Xander finally gave Gloria the answer she wanted.
"The clothes will arrive tomorrow. You can keep them all and wear whichever one you like," he domineeringly said. Making it sound as if the clothes coming were just normal clothes.
Nonetheless. Gloria's eyes shone when she heard that. She excitedly fidgeted in his arms, trying to turn around as she responded, "Hehe, then I should thank my husband for his generosity!"
Seeing her struggling to turn, he loosened his hold on her and helped her turn around so that they were facing each other.
After a wonderful bath, her hair was loosely tied, with the shampoo scent wafting in his nose. With her face so close to his, he could also smell several refreshing scents from her body, which were quite soothing.
Completely unaware of his obsession with her scents, Gloria raised her head, so that she was staring into his eyes, a mischievous smile on her face which made Xander's face twitch.
'What schemes is she thinking about now?'
It was quite surprising that Gloria's childish side hadn't vanished at her age. And yet instead of feeling disgusted by it, he kind of looked forward to her little schemes.
So, he played along and asked teasingly as he pulled her closer to his warm embrace. "Then my dear. How do you plan to thank me?"
Gloria, as if waiting for those words, flashed a playful grin before planting a kiss on his, taking Xander by surprise.
Gloria, upon seeing that, stuck her tongue playfully at him but that was the greatest mistake she committed.
Xander who had been planning to sleep like a soldier and do his best to keep his hands to himself, found himself being tested repeatedly. When those soft lips landed on his. He knew that he would be a fool if he let her go like that.
Since the prey had sent itself to him.
Who was he to deny such an offering?