Chapter 1129: Gossip |
It had been a while since anyone had touched Khan like that, and most of it was his fault. He was hard to approach and actively pushed away anyone who tried to. Still, there were a few exceptions.
Rachel didn't dare to raise her head. Her family had educated her in all kinds of fields, but she remained an inexperienced woman. Her touch was shy and hesitant, but she didn't let that hinder her since her concern was stronger.
The scars on Khan's hand were hideous, but Rachel kept her eyes on them, occasionally brushing her thumbs over them to experience their texture. They were more than evident. Even with a blindfold, Rachel would be able to recognize them, and they didn't stop there.
Rachel put more strength in her grasp while her right hand followed the scars. Her fingers ran over Khan's skin, eventually reaching his wrist. The uniform's sleeve started there, but she pushed it up, uncovering Khan's forearm.
A deep breath disturbed the silence. Rachel had held back a gasp but couldn't completely hide her shock. She kept pushing the sleeve up, but the scars didn't end even after she was halfway through Khan's forearm.
In contrast, Rachel's fingers were beyond smooth. Khan could imagine the appealing softness of her skin from that simple, slow interaction, and the intentions behind it didn't help his self-control. He had always been weak toward that pure yearning for closeness, which Rachel's mana conveyed without restraint.
Rachel stopped at the halfway point of Khan's forearm and raised her head. Her eyes slowed down when they ran over Khan's open uniform but eventually reached his face, and she squinted them to look past the blue glow.
Khan let Rachel do as she wished, studying her warm blue eyes. She had spotted something, and her hand left his forearm to reach for his face slowly. Rachel suddenly looked up at him, almost asking for permission, and the absence of replies made her finish her gesture.
Rachel placed her palm on Khan's cheek while her thumb caressed the dark eyebags under his right eye. His cheekbones also felt more evident due to his recent weight loss. Khan looked exhausted, almost sickish, and Rachel didn't know how to support him.
The situation was undoubtedly intimate. Rachel was holding Khan's hand while the other was on his cheek. Her touch was full of care, and her gaze was full of concern.
Khan didn't reply to the touch but didn't refuse it, either. Maybe the torturous training session had dulled his mind enough to make him accept those affectionate gestures. Perhaps it had simply been too long. Khan didn't have an answer but knew he couldn't let that concerned woman worry about him needlessly.
"It was a hectic period," Khan announced, turning to lean on the interactive table, "But I'm fine."
Khan didn't put any distance from Rachel, but his gesture had been enough to sever their physical connection. She didn't know how to take the event and focused on Khan calmly sipping from his drink. He was avoiding her gaze, so she also leaned on the table, placing herself beside him.
A few silent seconds passed, and Rachel became painfully aware of her closeness to Khan. She only had to move a few centimeters to her right, and their shoulders would touch. Part of her wanted to, but she wouldn't push Khan when he looked so tired.
"Miss Wildon is due in a few weeks," Rachel eventually revealed, staring at the floor while joining her hands before her waist. "Though I should call her Madam Ildoo. She has been Madam Ildoo for several months already."
Rachel timidly peeked to her right, but her eyes snapped back to the floor as soon as she noticed the faint smile that had appeared on Khan's face. A similar expression formed on her, too, since she felt glad to have improved Khan's mood.
Indeed, George and Anita had gotten married while Khan had been away. Their families basically demanded it since Anita was pregnant, and an update had also reached Khan's phone back then. He had avoided thinking about the issue too much during his travels, but the event became more real after Rachel mentioned it.
"Has it already been nine months?" Khan wondered. Part of him felt as if he had just left Baoway. Instead, another believed that time belonged to a different, distant life.
"From what I heard," Rachel said, "Madam Ildoo cleared all the check-ups with full marks. She is bound to have a healthy boy."
"Is it a boy?" Khan gasped, showing his surprised but happy face at Rachel before refocusing on the room's metal wall and grinning like an idiot. "I can't wait to tell him everything about his father so we can tease him together."
"Prince Khan!" Rachel tried to scold, but only a giggle escaped her mouth. "Wait until the boy comes of age before making such plans."
Khan also chuckled, but his laugh was cut short by dark thoughts. He would love to see George's son grow and be a part of his life, but his place was elsewhere, and he didn't know whether he would come back from it.
"George married," Khan scoffed, "And soon to be a father. I still remember catching him blackout drunk on a tree with [Havaa] in his arms."
"Hav-?" Rachel asked, attempting to imitate Khan's accent, only for her to interrupt herself midway.
"It was on Nitis," Khan explained, shaking his head. "The idiot nagged me for weeks about playing wingman for him with a human girl, and the next month, he was sleeping with a Niqols."
"Did he cheat on her?" Rachel gasped, intrigued by the gossip
"He never got with Natalie," Khan revealed. "I believe she didn't like him, but I never actually ended up playing wingman for him."
"I thought you guys supported each other with that," Rachel commented, looking at Khan. "You aren't the kind of man to refuse a friend, either."
"I was busy falling in love with a Niqols myself in those weeks," Khan recalled. "I'd fly out of the camp as soon as I had the chance just to spend a few hours with her."
"So, you have always been like that," Rachel said, pointing her gaze at the floor again.
"Like that how?" Khan asked, shooting a questioning look at the woman to his left.
"Devoted," Rachel muttered, lowering her voice. Still, she felt the air growing heavy, and her shyness flared, so she switched the topic. "So, what happened to Mister Ildoo's girl?"
"[Havaa] or Natalie?" Khan asked.
"Both?" Rachel casually asked.
"[Havaa] probably moved on rather quickly," Khan guessed. "The Niqols fight sorrow with pleasure, and they weren't as serious as …"
Khan didn't finish his line, but Rachel could guess what he was about to say. Yet, she didn't push him and moved the conversation forward, trying to sound as casual and curious as possible.
"What about the girl whose name I can pronounce?" Rachel questioned.
"Natalie?" Khan wondered, sorting through his memories. "She died during the crisis. Few humans survived that."
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