26. My husband is my protector

"Have you ever had an affair with Izzy?" I asked my husband that night.

I was already showered and wearing a cool dress to sleep; it was evening, and Lucca had barely returned from a day of work in the nearby city. Now that his father had once again gone on his mysterious travels, Lucca was the only one who had to take care of his family's business, of which there were many. So he had to manage all that, so he stayed working late in Morpeth and eventually came home tired. Now he was sitting on the bed after having dinner and getting ready for bed.

"What?" He answered me, a little lost.

"I'm asking if you've ever had an affair with Izzy, the red-haired mermaid who lives in this castle." I repeated my speech more clearly, and his face lit up in understanding now. I had suppressed my anger the entire time since that mermaid had snuck up on my husband, as if at any moment Lucca was going to get sick of me and keep her, as if I were a disposable doll and not his wife, so I decided to ask my husband as soon as we were in the room. During the time we were together, it had been three months of much love and discovery, but he had never told me about any past affair with the castle's mermaid.

Of course, I had noticed that woman throwing herself at Lucca on our wedding day, but hitting on him was one thing; having already had an affair was something much deeper. Lucca shrugged with a carefree expression.

"Why are you worried about that? That's beside the point, and it doesn't change anything in our relationship." He wanted to escape the conversation, but I wasn't going to let him.

"Have you ever had anything with her or not, Lucca Moretti?" I pressed him, and he shook his head. He seemed a little uncomfortable, seeing how nervous I was about the subject.

"Mm, well. Yes, me and her already had something." He finally confessed, and I sighed in exasperation, not liking the answer at all. So that cheap fish woman was always looking down on me like she was superior to me just because she had already slept with my husband?

"Unbelievable." I was feeling so much hate towards her.

"Baby, you shouldn't be worrying about this. It's something that happened in the past before I even met you." He said, still sitting on the bed, his hair was still damp after washing it in the recent shower, he was only wearing shorts and no shirt, as he usually I slept like this almost without clothes, so today II was trying hard not to run up to him and hug him, sit on his lap and beg for affection. That's what I did every night, but today we had to talk.

"How did it happen?" I questioned decisively, it didn't matter if it was going to hurt, I just wanted to know how far they had come and how long ago it had been, because the way Izzy demonstrated it was as if they had already been married or something.

"Do you really want to know this, baby?" He tried to get me to let the matter go, but I was obstinate.

"Yes, I want to, tell me soon." He sighed and stared at the floor in an attempt to find the right words. What did he have to hide, anyway?

"Well, it happened long after I came back here. I was a little disoriented and everything was very new to me, you know."

"All these supernatural creatures?" I asked to understand better.

"Yes... That's right, I was in shock to discover that my father had done such crazy things. All these ghosts and creatures that seem like they came out of a fantasy book—it was all too much for me. So... well, Izabelle wanted to... take care of me. And I needed support, which she gave me, but of course what we had was completely in the past, and today I'm all yours, my love." I ran my hands over my head, unable to even look him in the face. How did he have the courage to make me live with his own lover? Even though that mermaid with the smell of rotten fish was his ex, she was still his lover.

"I can even understand that everything you experienced is in the past, but knowing that you were about to marry me, why didn't you send her away from this place? Why do I have to have the displeasure of seeing her here every day? "

"I wish I could, but you forget that these magical creatures are trapped in this castle by the barrier and cannot leave unless my father allows them. I can't do anything to send Izzy away." He reminded me and I sighed looking at the ceiling of our room, I couldn't believe I had to live under the same roof as that woman. Lucca got up from the bed and hugged me around the waist. .

"Don't be like that, there's nothing wrong; Izabelle knows her place, but I'll talk to her again so I don't bother you again." He stroked my hair, making me caress, I even wanted to cry.

"Why didn't you tell me that she was once your lover? At least that way I wouldn't make a fool of myself in front of her all the time." I wasn't reciprocating his affection or hug, I was still mad at him for the things I was discovering.

"I'm sorry for this feeling you have right now, and I know it's my fault, but honey, you shouldn't judge me for the relationships I had in the past before I met you. Be fair to me; I never asked why you didn't either marry a virgin." I looked at him after he said that.

"Do you think it's a problem that I got married when I'm not a virgin?"

"To be honest, Crystal, I thought about it. After all, it's not like modest girls to have been involved with a man before marriage, but I respect you enough to know that you had complete autonomy over your body, and what's more, I confess that I'm a little behind the times. I'm a little old-fashioned, and I can't keep up with current modernity." He sighed, but I ended up removing his arms from me and going to the bed to lie down without saying a word. "Aren't you going to say anything?" He asked if I was approaching the bed and sat next to me. "Did I offend you with my words? Please understand that was never my intention." He was apologizing, but I was lying with my back to him, not wanting to talk to him.

"You're going to Morpeth again tomorrow, so you have to get a good night's sleep." I just responded, I heard the rustling of the sheets and I felt the bed moving behind me indicating that he had laid down, soon after I felt his hand on my waist and his body touching mine.

"Are you seriously going to sleep with me? Baby, I'm sorry. This boyfriend of yours hurt you so much that you don't like remembering him?" He asked softly right in my ear, his warm breath hitting my skin behind my ear.

"He wasn't even my boyfriend, Lucca." I corrected him and ended up regretting it soon after, I shouldn't have started talking about the subject, because if I started talking I would have to explain a lot of things. I would have to explain why I ended up being forced by my own lady to sleep with her boyfriend, and if I explained that, I would be telling all the truth that I have been trying to hide all this time.

"Hm, then he's a son of a bitch. Because if a man sleeps with a woman without even assuming her, this man is the worst kind." He spoke impatiently and I gave a dry laugh.

"You had to go and spend time in London to see what things were really like there."

In London, if you weren't from the nobility, for you, honor just meant having a plate of food on the table, the rest meant absolutely nothing.

"If I went to London right now, I would chase this man down and punch him." He was completely serious, I suddenly had a vision in my head, of Lucca beating Ansel Hughes, even though that idiot deserved it. I raised my head and looked at him.

"You're not going to fight anyone."

"Argh, what a bossy woman I'm marrying." He makes a face while complaining and I ended up laughing at his expression, he was looking at me now with a roguish smile on his face. "I like seeing you smiling like that, I feel fulfilled for having made you smile." He brought his thumb to my cheekbone and stroked it there.

"You are a fool."

"For you. I'm a fool for you." Then he tilted his head to kiss me, and I felt happy despite everything.