Please Answer Me - Chapter 152

“Mm!”

He grabbed Rosetta’s head and kissed her deeply from the start. His overwhelming force pushed Rosetta’s body backward, step by step. She stumbled as her legs gave out, and she lost her balance. Her vision blurred, and she thought she would hit the back of her head on the ground.

But contrary to her expectations, her head was gently cradled in Rashid’s hand and softly touched the blanket. As he laid her down, Rashid began to kiss her in earnest.

The kiss was sweet and passionate. Rosetta wanted to touch him as she had earlier, but Rashid held her hands pinned to the ground, preventing her from doing so. She tried to pull free, but he didn’t budge. All she could do was accept him, her hands still clasped together.

After a while, Rashid lightly brushed her lips with his tongue and then lifted his head. His face was only just beginning to calm down from the storm that had raged within him.

“…Ever since I entered this tent, I’ve wanted to do this,” Rashid whispered in a hoarse voice as he stroked Rosetta’s face. “I want to be inside you right now, but I can’t… You’re exhausted today, and it wouldn’t be good for the child inside you.”

Rosetta’s mouth fell open. She had prided herself on being able to read his expressions fairly well, but she had been mistaken. She never imagined he had been thinking such things. She had only found it odd that he had been quieter than usual.

“So from now on, don’t touch me.”

Rosetta’s eyes widened at his sudden declaration. “What?”

“If you touch me like you did earlier, I’m going to the other tent.”

She wondered if he was joking, but his face was serious. Somehow, Rosetta felt wronged. How could he ask her not to touch him when his tempting body was right there in front of her?

“How can you say that! Are you threatening me?”

“You catch on quickly.”

Rashid pulled the blanket over Rosetta and tucked her in. Then, he offered her one arm as a pillow and patted her on the blanket.

“You said you’d fall asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow, right? Go to sleep.”

“I take it back. I don’t think I can sleep at all…”

Rashid sighed and gently brushed his hand over Rosetta’s face, forcing her eyelids shut.

As she had no choice but to close her eyes and try to sleep, Rashid spoke, “Don’t even think about riding a horse until after you’ve given birth. I was so terrified when I saw you earlier…”

His hand moved down to caress Rosetta’s belly. His voice, full of worry and reproach, brought a smile to Rosetta’s lips.

“I know I need to be careful in the early stages of pregnancy, but I had no other choice. I was afraid you would come to the Colosseum because of me…”

“Don’t ever do something so dangerous again. You and the baby were both at risk.”

Rosetta nodded quietly. She didn’t want to provoke him further now that he was already upset.

Sleepiness began to creep in. As her consciousness started to fade, Rosetta yawned and asked softly, “But are you really not going to tell me? About what you talked about with my mother?”

“I told you, it’s a secret.”

Rashid kissed the tip of her nose. Rosetta considered protesting that he was free to touch her while she wasn’t allowed to touch him, but she gave up as drowsiness overtook her.

“Rashid…”

Her voice, heavy with sleep, caught his attention.

“I’m so happy to be pregnant, but… I keep feeling upset about all the things I’m not allowed to do. I can’t eat fish, I can’t ride a horse, and now I can’t even touch you…”

Rashid burst into laughter. Rosetta wrinkled her nose slightly. “What if I forget how to ride by the time I can get back on a horse in a year…?”

“You won’t forget something you learned with your body.”

“And when we finally spend the night together again after a year… I might forget how to do that too.”

“You won’t forget. And do you think I’d let you go a whole year without touching you? That’s impossible.”

With his exasperated response, Rosetta quickly drifted off to sleep. Rashid held her close and whispered in her ear, “After you’ve had the baby, let’s go to the sea you’ve always wanted to see. Just the two of us.”

A contented smile spread across Rosetta’s face as she slept, perhaps hearing his words in her dreams.

Epilogue

The small fishing village was bustling from dawn.

Near the harbor, colorful fishing boats were gathered like toys, tightly packed together. At the unloading dock in front of the harbor, freshly caught silver fish were being poured into large containers like a waterfall. The still lively and fresh fish flopped vigorously on the ground, trying to escape from the containers.

This place, Salerno, was home to a large fish market, always bustling with people from nearby areas. Some came to buy fish in bulk for resale in the city, while others were local villagers looking for something to cook for lunch.

In the midst of this lively and noisy fishing village, a man and woman appeared who didn’t quite fit in. The tall man with black hair looked more like a knight than a fisherman. His well-built body and refined features seemed far removed from the rough life of a laborer in the fishing village.

The woman was just as remarkable in appearance as the man. Her golden hair, shimmering in the sunlight, was so dazzling that passersby couldn’t help but stop and stare.

“Rosetta, you should wear your hood.”

The man pulled the hood attached to her cloak over her head, seemingly aware of the attention they were drawing. Once her face was concealed, his previously tense expression relaxed slightly.

[They look like a couple who haven’t been together long.]

An old fisherman smoking a cigarette by a shabby stall remarked. The unloading work was done for the day, and there wasn’t much else to do but drink and chat. The appearance of the eye-catching couple had piqued their interest at just the right time.

[You’re right. Look at them, holding hands tightly in this hot summer weather.]

As another fisherman pointed out, the man didn’t let go of the woman’s hand for a moment, as if worried he might lose her in the crowd. Whenever she momentarily let go to dart forward and look at something, he would quietly follow and take her hand again.

[They might look like a new couple, but there’s something about them that feels seasoned.]

That observation also held some truth. While they had the freshness of a new couple, they also exuded the solid stability of a long-time pair. It was as if two people from completely different worlds had met, spent a long time adjusting to each other, and now moved together with natural harmony.

Though they shared a similar aura, their expressions were entirely different. The man maintained a calm demeanor, while the woman’s face constantly changed with each new sight. She gaped in surprise at the sight of a giant fish, and laughed out loud when a seagull snatched a fish away while the fisherman was distracted. The man would then look at her and smile quietly.

[Ah, to be young and in love.]

The laughing fishermen soon forgot about the couple as they disappeared into the crowd and turned their attention to other topics.

As they made their way through the busy market, Rosetta asked a cautious question, “Rashid, is this strange smell normal at the sea?”

From the moment they entered, she had noticed a sharp, unpleasant odor, like something was rotting. Rosetta tried to hide her discomfort, but eventually, it became difficult to even breathe.

Rashid laughed out loud. “Rosetta, this smell is from the fish because we’re near the harbor. When we get to a quiet beach without boats, it won’t smell like this. Though it might have its own scent.”

“What kind of scent?”

“The smell of the wind, a salty scent.”

Rosetta burst out laughing. “That’s ridiculous. I can understand the wind having a smell, but how can something salty have a scent? Saltiness is a taste, so how can you sense it with your nose?”

“You’ll understand what I mean when we get there.”

Soon, Rosetta realized Rashid’s words were true.

After leaving the market, they soon arrived at a deserted beach. There, a wide expanse of white sand stretched out, meeting the endless sea at the horizon. The smell here was entirely different from the fish market. The breeze carried the scent of the distant wind and the salty aroma of the sea.

They had ridden for a week to reach this place. They had passed through lush forests, crossed a winding river, and traversed grassy plains before finally arriving at this shimmering blue expanse.

“Ah…”

Rosetta gazed at the breathtaking scene before her with pure wonder. She had heard that the sea was vast, but she hadn’t imagined it would be this immense, with so much water gathered in one place.

The sight was so awe-inspiring that Rosetta found herself speechless. Instead, she let the beauty of this divine landscape fill her eyes and heart.

“Take off your shoes. You said you wanted to feel the sand under your bare feet.”

Rashid’s words snapped Rosetta back to reality, and she quickly removed her shoes. The summer sandals slipped off easily, and she held them in her hands.