The Essence Of The Darkness
EOTL Eps 32: Cold Wedding

It was a simple wedding. Performed in the morning, in the midst of the heavy snowfall out there, adorning a scene clearly drawn from transparent window glass, featuring clean white flakes that gurgle dancing during freefall, then fall over cover the surface of the earth.

The sky was still dark despite the turn of the clock dancing around the day and climbing the quarter-circle of a wall clock. Maybe a snowstorm that lasted energetically since last night, making the sun feel inferior and so reluctant to bring up the bias of its rays illuminating the earth.

The wedding ceremony was held in the spacious lobby of the house which has been transformed into a formal room with white shades. Whether since when that sweet simple decoration was added there, Sera also had no idea because she had been locked up in her room since yesterday. But, when passing through this lobby when heading to the sitting room and dining room, Sera remembered that this place had changed drastically compared to last night. The curtains, which were originally dark brown with golden tendrils, were replaced with pure white with sweet matching ribbon knots. Tablecloths are also replaced in white, even with a variety of fresh flowers, roses, lily, tulips that are fragrant.

It's great that Xavier can find fresh flowers that bloom perfectly in the middle of Russia's toughest winter. But, the man had abundant money and power, the matter of finding fresh flowers was certainly not a difficult problem for him, right?

Unfortunately, even though their surroundings were decorated with beautiful white shades that felt so pleasant, what Sera felt was very different when compared to it all.

Because Sera knows that this is a fake marriage.

This was not the kind of marriage dreamed of by a hopeful innocent woman whose eyes still sparkled with anxious hopes dreaming of the perfection of her future soul mate. The handsome prince with the perfect look was indeed his bridegroom, but it was just a beautiful shell to hide the extremely dangerous dark monster behind it.

Nature always gives invisible warning to weak humans who are only lulled by the outside view. Do they not see that living beings with such a beautiful, striking, colorful and beautiful exterior that indulge the sense of sight are usually the most poisonous creatures? The beautiful appearance only serves to attract victims to be tempted closer, before then killed and made a victim.

Same with Xavier. This man had a beautiful look that obscured the darkness of his soul. Sera's stupid careless and trapped, taking for granted the abominations of Xavier hidden behind his friendly and relaxed attitude, until finally he was forced to be bound in a fake marriage covered in threats.

Really, this is probably the saddest type of marriage a girl can ever experience.

There are no tears of martyrdom full of haru, no romantic music that warms the heart, symbolizes the romance of the unification of the grateful soul. There is no cross stare of love between two brides, no marriage vows are chanted lovingly in the grip of mutual encouragement. And most of all, there is no love that should be the foundation of this marriage, not even a single speck of it has crossed the heart.

Sera went through everything like a robot, forcing herself to stand rigidly expressionless and follow all the processions to an emotionless finish. He almost managed to do it to completion, but his concentration was broken helplessly, when he felt Xavier grab his fingers, then without permission directly slip the cold metal of the wedding ring onto his ring finger. Xavier then guided the half-dazed Sera to put a plain masculine gold ring on her sturdy finger. Then, the man lifted Sera's chin so that he looked up at her.

Xavier's eyes glittered, full of twinkleful smiles that could have been mistaken for happiness if only Sera did not know the truth.

"My wife." Xavier whispered deeply, then the man lowered his head, pressed his warm lips against Sera's lips and kissed her gently as if he was giving the legal seal of the marriage bond to his bride.

Sera's heart was pounding as she got deeper and more intimate with the kiss. Xavier is very skilled and experienced, while Sera zero is big in relation to men. Their ability levels are very much different when it comes to physical touch with each other.

His knowledge of how to manipulate and seduce men is only a theory, which Samantha Dawn forced to learn to subdue Xavier, in a female-style revenge plan devised by Samantha herself.

Unfortunately, let alone succeeding in subduing Xavier, in fact, it all failed miserably. None of the theories Sera had learned were successfully put into practice for Xavier because he was so skilled and could not be fooled.

Even now, when Xavier kissed her with the skill of a capable female player, Sera was powerless to resist.

The man hugged Sera's waist tightly, as if their docked body was still lacking close, his lips were exploring Sera's lips, sipping and teasing expertly. Sera's mind immediately fogged up as she held back the sigh that had barely escaped her mouth. Then, in the second that Sera almost lost her self-defense and gave up completely, Xavier suddenly removed their lips and stuck his nose in Sera's nose.

Their breaths combined, one gasping and the other holding a smile. Their lips were only separated a inch away, still leaving a damp warmth from the previous link.

"I'm right." Xavier whispered in a raucous voice. "The two of us are a perfect fit, anywhere," he slowly nodded in a signalling tone. "Later if we're not in front of the guests, I'll...."

Sera gasped, struck by a tremendous shock when she finally managed to digest Xavier's words.

Holy hooch! The guests! They are still at the end of the wedding, in front of many witnesses!

Sera's face was red with embarrassment, she even lowered her face that was burning hot, burning, not daring to stare at everyone who most likely had been watching clearly the intimacy of the kiss seemed to be deliberately shown by Xavier with his insolence.

While Xavier looked unfazed, the man smiled broadly, then grabbed Sera and urged her to face the guests.

"Maybe it's time we open up the champagne to celebrate" Xavier said calmly, as if without a burden.

***

"Sera."

The call made Sera open her eyes that had been closed with surprise. No one expected to find him here.

He had fled from the clutches of Xavier, who was constantly linking their fingers and unwilling to let go, pretending to go to the toilet because he wanted to calm down and synchronize his mixed feelings after this wedding ceremony.

Then, while on his way to the toilet, Sera found this small room. A room was located in a corner at the end of the hallway to the toilet, and most of the walls were filled with tall shelves of neatly arranged books. When standing in the doorway of the room, Sera was directly faced with a large window in the form of a prism that adorned the corner across the room, wide open with no curtains, and the door was open, showing the beauty of white snow that is still not bored down the earth, even though the day has gone.

Perhaps because the room seemed comfortable and offered warmth, Sera impulsively ended up turning into the place, undoing her previous intention to hide and calm herself down in the toilet.

There was nothing he had done in the room for some time, other than sitting on the sofa, and bowing deeply, submerging his palm-backed face onto his lap.

He lamented his fate that could not be turned back again. Sera was already Xavier Light's wife and this all felt like a nightmare she inevitably had to accept as reality.

Sera knew that Xavier would definitely not waste time. The man will touch her until he can confirm that Sera is pregnant.

Can he? Can she be a responsible mother to the child she was born into this world? Dare he take responsibility for the kind of life he brings into this mortal life?

Fear for fear hit Sera so that she could not lift her head. In fact, Sera was still in the same position when then a voice called her name, making her escape from the panic wave that almost gripped her then immediately raised her head towards the voice.

Elana Night seemed to be standing in the doorway, looking at Sera doubtfully.

"Can I come in?" ask Elana slowly.

Sera frowned, still feeling disorientation in her mind. But he nodded his head, putting on a weak smile without rejection.

In response to Sera's agreement, Elana stepped in, then sat on the sofa in front of Sera carefully. The woman then placed something wrapped in a white box, onto the table that separated the two of them and turned it towards Sera.

"It's a really good dark chocolate" Elana cleared her throat looking all wrong. "Chocolate has a calming effect.I see you're restless all morning, so this chocolate might be good for you" he said attentively.

Sera again put on her weak smile, then muttered her thanks while taking the chocolate in the white box. The opening of the box, he saw a neat arrangement of brown-chocolate size once voraciously wrapped aluminum foil gold color. Without a word, Sera took one, opened the wrapper and put it in her mouth.

The chocolate instantly melted inside his mouth, rubbing his tongue with a pleasant sweet feel, while his sense of smell was smoked by the distinctive fragrant aroma of dark chocolate. The bitter trail is still felt because of the sizable percentage of pure cocoa in dark chocolate. However, the bitter taste did not damage the chocolate nuance, even more enriching the taste, making his tongue feast in a puddle of symphonic pleasant taste, until finally managed to create the desired effect: to calm it.

"Thank you," Sera spoke slowly to Elana who was watching him closely.

Sera frowned, this time unable to hold herself back from remaining silent.

"Elana, you've heard the story, so you must know that Xavier used all his threats to marry me, right? He threatened to wipe out my father's life and that of my best friend if I didn't, he also injected poison into my body. How could such a cruel person keep good in his soul?"

Elana took a long breath. "That's what I'm saying is why Xavier hides kindness in his soul, he always aims well, but does so using unique methods and ways, which make him often misunderstood by people." Elana looked at Sera carefully. "Do you know that Xavier poisoned me?"

Sera widened her eyes in surprise. Seeing how good of a relationship Elana has with Xavier now, she did not expect that Elana had been poisoned by Xavier.

How can Elana forgive and even now become a defender and supporter of Xavier who incidentally is the person who has poisoned him?

"Xavier loved Akram as his younger brother. As a unique embodiment of his affection, Xavier would get rid of, injure and even kill those who betrayed Akram. One example is the case of Anastasia." Elana paused the sentence for a moment, looking at Sera carefully knowing that she had brought this conversation to a sensitive realm. When he saw Sera nodding her thin head, Elana continued her sentence. "He poisoned me to test my loyalty to Akram. An extreme but effective way. In the end when he saw the firmness of my heart, Xavier gave me the antidote. You saw it for yourself, didn't you? Xavier always kept silent as if deliberately making people misunderstand him and thinking that he was the worst of the worst. It's all he's doing to get people to stay away from him, to protect him...."

The sound of movement at the door made Elana stop her sentence, then she and Sera turned their heads together. In the doorway, look babysitter Zac is holding Zac who looks so handsome wearing a shirt and tiny white pants that so fit wrapped his plump body.

"Sorry, Madam. You asked me to call you at exactly twelve o'clock because it was time for Zac to suckle" the babysitter said politely.

Elana's gaze was fixed on Zac's moist eyes as if he had cried. Zac fell asleep during the wedding ceremony, and now the baby is awake and collecting his mother's milk.

"Ah, forgive me, I have to go and breastfeed Zac first," Elana got up from her seat, looking at Sera with an apologetic look. "I hope we have a chance next time to continue this conversation." Elana let out a long sigh, then continued her sentence in a serious tone. "Please tell you, give Xavier a chance at this marriage. Open your heart and try to see Xavier as a human being, not as a demon or a criminal. I'm sure you'll find a good human side of him that you wouldn't have thought he could have. Trust me."

Elana said in a serious tone, then after muttering a farewell sentence once again to Sera, Elana turned around and paused to take Zac from her nanny's sling. The woman then left the room, giving Sera the opportunity to think alone without being disturbed.

***

"You disappeared in the middle of a party and you're not coming back."

Xavier stepped into the room where Sera was, his eyes watching Sera who had changed into a simple pale-colored plain home dress he found inside the wardrobe in the room.

Xavier himself was still wearing his formal pants and shirt, while his suit and tie had been removed somewhere. The man closed the door behind him, then stepped into the center of the room, emitting a domineering aura that made the feel of the once comfortable room crumble.

Sera who was sitting on the sofa near the window lifted her head from the book she was reading. The book was taken from the tiny library room where he had pondered a while ago and was momentarily able to take his mind off the void. Unfortunately, it did not last long because Xavier's presence in this room ruined everything.

"Why did you leave the party? You didn't know I had to find a reason for you not to embarrass myself, because my reproach wasn't there to celebrate our marriage." Xavier put on his usual smile, the man standing just the reach of his hand from where Sera was sitting and inexplicably released a dangerous aura that forced Sera to gulp her saliva.

However, it is not that easy Sera can be feared. Proudly, he raised his head, looking at Xavier with a scornful look.

"So it's not an event that should be celebrated from the bride's point of view. Marrying you is something to be regretted in tears" Sera said. "After all, didn't your guests know about the original purpose of our marriage? You used threats to force the bride to marry you, just to get the child you could take the placenta to save your life. They all must have understood when they saw that the bride did not want to party!" exclaimed Sera with a grumbling tone of voice.

Sera's sentence made a glimmer of a smile that had once adorned Xavier's face immediately faded before then sublimated to vanish without a trace. The man's eyes turned sharp, while a dark, dangerous aura increasingly oozed from his body as he scanned Sera with a piercing gaze.

"Ah," Xavier said slowly, deliberately holding back his sentence. The man ruffled his waist, standing looming in front of Sera with his powerful arrogance. "Thank you for me. I was carried away by the euphoria of our wedding ceremony, but you have helped to remind me of the main purpose of this marriage. Then I won't waste any more time. I intended to treat you with respect as the rightful woman to be my wife. But, it seems you would rather be treated as just a child-making machine. All right, Serafina Moon, you'll get what you want. I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."

Sera looked up, inexplicably feeling a bad premonition creeping over her.

"What do you mean?" his tan stammered, trying to swallow the anxiety that rolled in his chest.

"Today is most likely your fertile period." Xavier shrugged when he saw the shock immediately smeared Sera's eyes, whose face was now red with embarrassment. The man was even unconcerned about having brought the theme of a quite intimate conversation between them. "Yes. I observed and counted your fertile days. I also got your medical records all along. The fertile period of a woman lasts only one day or twenty-four hours, at which time the mature egg is ready to be fertilized. But no one knows exactly when that day will take place. We can do a hormone test or test with saliva to be sure exactly, but I think the second easiest and most effective option is to ensure successive fertilization also, three days before the estimated fertile period and three days after the estimated fertile period."

Xavier's sneer widened as the man looked at Sera with a passionate gaze. "I myself, do not mind doing the second option," he whispered in a dangerous tone. The man moved his hand to remove the buttons on his shirt, not caring about the rays of fear on Sera's face when he heard his words. "Open your clothes and get on the bed, Serafina Moon. I'll be in custody in the next seven days to confirm your pregnancy."

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GOOD NOVEL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AUTHOR

TITLE: The Fragrance Of Frozen Plum Blossom

AUTHOR: YOZORA

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___PRACTICE FROM AUTHOR___

- Thank you for the contribution of POINTS used for VOTE author so that EOTD can enter the ranking.

- Thanks for the encouragement, favorite, likes, points, comments, and also the five star rating

- Read the author's other novel title INEVITABLE WAR, click on the author's profile, then search for the work and scroll to the bottom.

why aren't there pictures like before? Because the picture novel long passed its review. Meanwhile, novels without pictures very quickly pass the review.

So, the author uploaded a plain script without pictures first, let's quickly pass the review first.

If you have escaped and can be read by you, the new author edit and add pictures (if you don't believe, please check episode 1 to 20 an, already full image visualization all).

- The script per part is always at least 2500++ words, sometimes even more and the author's preface is only 100++ words. Get used to reading in detail.

Thank You

Sincerely Yours - AY