Chapter 139: I Kissed You

Before my rebirth, Lewis was known for being distant. His words were sharp. His presence cold. He stood apart from everyone, like someone who never needed warmth.After my rebirth, he felt like a different man.

Sometimes I wondered if the one sitting in front of me now was truly the same Lewis. Or if fate had reshaped him the same way it reshaped me.

The room was warm. Maybe too warm. Or maybe the heat was coming from him.

He sat across from me, silent, his gaze steady and deep. He didn’t reach out. Didn’t rush me. He waited.

That alone told me everything.

He wasn’t forcing anything. He was letting me choose.

The unfinished moment from earlier crept back into my mind. I could feel it hovering between us, tense and alive. He was waiting for me to cross that invisible line.

Nicholas’s words echoed softly in my thoughts.

Life is short. Don’t live with regrets.

In my past life, regret followed me to the end. I carried it like a scar I could never hide. This time, I refused to repeat the same mistake.

I am not Elena from before.

And he is not my uncle.

We are bound now. Chosen. Standing on equal ground.

My feelings for him hadn’t yet grown into love, but one thing was clear I didn’t pull away when he was close. My body didn’t resist him. It leaned in, as if it already knew where it belonged.

Yes, the world was full of people like Ashley and Luke. Men who hurt and walked away without looking back.

But then there were men like Nicholas. Men who reminded me that not everyone was cruel. That safety still existed.

I wouldn’t let one terrible man make me shut my heart forever.

That wouldn’t be fair to me.

And it wouldn’t be fair to Lewis.

I gathered my courage, pushed the blanket aside, and climbed onto his lap.

The moment I did, the air shifted.

His breath slowed. His hands stayed where they were, resting lightly at my waist, giving me space even now. Our eyes met, close enough that I could see every flicker of emotion he tried to hide.

It felt unreal. Like a dream that might vanish if I blinked.

The man who once stood untouchable in my mind now sat beneath me, bound to me by choice and vow.

His face was calm, almost noble. Long lashes framed eyes that were darker now, deeper, holding something dangerous and patient. His beauty wasn’t soft it was restrained. Controlled.

And something about that control made my chest tighten.

I placed one hand against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm beneath my palm. The other slid up to his neck, my fingers curling there as if they belonged.

He lowered his head willingly.

I leaned in and brushed my lips against his.

Soft. Brief. Barely there.

I pulled back almost at once, my face burning. "I I kissed you."

He chuckled, low and warm, the sound vibrating beneath my hand. "Darling," he said gently, "that barely counts."

Then his voice dropped. "Let me show you."

Before I could answer, he leaned in again.

This time, he didn’t hesitate.

His lips claimed mine with a heat that stole my breath, firm and unyielding, like he meant to mark the moment into me. My strength melted away. I sank against him, my head resting on his shoulder as his arms closed around my waist.

I felt held. Anchored.

When he finally pulled back, his voice was soft. "It means a lot to me that you were the one who took the first step."

I swallowed. " Lewis... when did you start feeling this way about me?"

He went quiet for a moment.

"I don’t know exactly," he admitted. "Maybe it was the first time I pulled you out of danger. That moment stayed with me longer than I expected. Or maybe it was when you were ten and fell into my arms, laughing, saying you’d marry me one day."

I frowned slightly. "You saved me when I was eight?"

He laughed, tapping my nose. "Who else did you think it was? Luke? When you came to thank me, you grabbed his hand instead. Do you know how that felt?"

"I only knew it was someone from the Hales," I murmured. "So I assumed it was him. Why didn’t anyone correct me?"

His smile turned faint. "Luke cared too much about how he looked. And your family treated him well. He wasn’t about to ruin that."

"And you?" I asked quietly. "Why didn’t you speak up?"

Lewis exhaled slowly. "Because my place back then wasn’t secure."

I understood instantly.

Back then, he wasn’t the man he is now. He had no one standing firmly behind him. No one shielding him. He lived on the edges, unseen, unclaimed.

Even then, he protected me.

And somehow... I found my way back to him anyway.

He had always been treated like an outsider at the Hales. Someone who stood at the edge, never fully claimed. How could a man like that ever stand up to Luke?

Now it made sense.

Back then, when I asked Luke about Uncle Lewis, he only said Lewis was a solitary man with a bad temper. He warned me not to provoke him, like Lewis was something dangerous that should be avoided.

The truth was simpler and crueler.

Lewis had been pushed aside.

He wasn’t protected. He wasn’t chosen.

"At the Hales," Lewis said quietly, "only Esther truly cared about me."

His voice stayed steady, but I felt the weight beneath it.

"She pitied me for growing up without a mother. She treated me like her own child. And in the end... she gave her life for me. A car accident. I owe her everything."

My chest tightened.

"Then why did you bring her roses?" I asked, hating how foolish my voice sounded.

"Because she loved them," he replied. "Adam never gave her any. She lived a lonely life. So every year, when I visit her, I bring what she never received."

I looked away. "You’re... more sentimental than I thought."

He smiled faintly. "Are you jealous?"

I shook my head at once. It wasn’t jealousy. It was shame. I felt foolish for doubting him, for letting my thoughts run wild.

I couldn’t meet his eyes.

Now that I knew the truth that he was the one who saved me something inside me softened, then ached.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?" I whispered. "You made me..."

In my past life, whenever I felt like I couldn’t go on, I clung to the memory of Luke saving me. That memory had kept me breathing through the darkest nights.

And yet... it wasn’t even real.

The man I thanked, trusted, loved it wasn’t him at all.

"I’m sorry," Lewis said slowly. "I thought you loved him deeply. And out of respect for Esther, I didn’t interfere. You were so broken back then."

His jaw tightened.

"I should have taken you away. Even if it meant forcing you to leave. Maybe then... you wouldn’t have suffered so much, Elena."

My heart twisted painfully.

He had no obligation to me. No bond. No promise.

And yet, he carried all that guilt alone.

"I lit a vigil lamp for you on Mount Spiritus," he continued softly. "I prayed every night. I searched the city for you, street by street. I couldn’t find you. I was terrified."

The image returned to me him sitting alone in a wheelchair, shoulders slumped, eyes hollow.

I wrapped my arms around him before I even realized I was moving.

" Lewis," I whispered into his shoulder, "are you a fool?"

His hand came up, slow and gentle, resting on my back. "Don’t cry," he murmured. "Fate gave us another chance. That’s enough for me."

He pulled back just enough to look at me.

"All I ask," he said quietly, "is that you don’t push me away. I can wait. No matter how long it takes."

That was when everything broke.

I leaned in and kissed him first.

In that moment, I finally understood the love Lena once described the kind that waits without demanding, that protects without claiming.

Maybe it was gratitude. Maybe it was timing.

Or maybe my heart simply had no room left for reason.

I kissed him deeply, tasting the faint, clean warmth that lingered between his lips. Something familiar. Something grounding.

"I’m sorry," I whispered against him.

In that instant, I understood how many years he had waited.

How many times he had stayed behind while I walked away.

How often he carried feelings he never spoke, watching me leave again and again.

And I never noticed.

I wanted to make it up to him. In any way I could.

Our breaths tangled, uneven and close. His shirt was wrinkled beneath my hands. My fingers brushed the edge of his belt as my courage wavered.

" Lewis, I "

My voice faded, swallowed by the space between us, heavy with promise and restraint.