ARC 2.17: Yes, I'm the Great Pretender

Liwei panicked for a second before remembering Iwa's personal chambers. He quickly went towards it. As he neared her room, he hasten his steps and went straight inside it and burst open the door but then he stopped on his tracks.

Iwa was sitting on her bed with her back turned towards him, while her hands covered her face as she silently 'cried'.

"Iwa" Liwei softly called her as he walked towards her.

Iwa jumped at her name being suddenly called, and when she turned around she saw that it was him. She quickly wiped her tears as she got up the bed and hurriedly went towards her bedroom window. Her back was facing him, because she didn't want him to see her 'struggle and crying'.

Liwei hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her head.

"Iwa . . . I'm sorry . . . and thank you. . .for everything."

Liwei held her body close to him as he let her continue to cry. As she cried silently in his embrace, Liwei was in a deep thought.

This woman who seem to always think about his needs, who is always considerate towards him and those he care about, she was actually having a hard time managing the back palace the same time as he was having a hard time managing the government.

Why is that he did not even consider she would be having a hard time just like he does? Is this her way of showing him her love? Is it because he held Chonglin close to his heart, she was not willing to admit her love for him?

Liwei felt a warm feeling wash over his body knowing that his Queen wife loves him.

With that thought in mind, he smiled and pushed Iwa's hair out of her neck as he gave her bare skin a tender kiss. In a soft whisper, he spoke; "As long as you are my Queen, I will make sure you will never be disrespected again. And as long as you breathe, you will always be my wife."

Quirra's eyebrows furrowed as she looked pass her tears and out of the window. She felt a slight pain in her heart. She was so close!! Why couldn't the damned man directly say he loves her?? Tsk. She have to try harder in order to finish this mission!

Quirra turned around and buried her face on Liwei's chest. It's time for her to reel in the fishing line that caught the big fish, namely Liwei.

"If not for me, you would not have to suffer so much like this." She cried softly as she spoke. "You always have to face my family head on, never turning your back on them for fear that they will start an uprising against you. Because of my family, I became Queen instead of your beloved, Chonglin. If she was your Queen, both of you would not have so many misunderstandings, making you sad, like you are right now. Or have a heartache. *sniffles* I should never have been born."

L: "Do not ever say that!"

Q: "Fine then, I should have been born a boy. That way I would not be made Queen and instead, Chonglin would be your Queen and you would not have to be so wary of me and my family."

L: "If you were a boy, I would still have to be wary of you. You have so much talent that you would have followed your grandfather's legacy and become a famous scholar and minister."

Quirra shook her head no at the thought. "If I was a boy, I would have been a traveling musician. I have always wanted to travel and see the world! Eat delicious food and see how other people live their lives differently. In all my life, all I ever heard were talks about war and the government. I hate hearing about them and I hate the lessons I have been taught the most. The only thing that gave me peace was music and reading. Whenever I played my instruments, I could feel what the musicians felt when they wrote the song. And I felt free! Whenever I read a book, I am no longer who I am but I become the character inside the book. And I feel as if I am on an adventure." Quirra told Liwei, with half truth. Some of them were her real feelings while some of them were the feelings of the original Iwa.

Liwei fell silent at the knowledge, he didn't know what to say to her. Just thinking of his Queen Wife in an adventure, playing her instruments for others to hear, traveling without any of his protections while others have their eyes glued on her, just the thought of it all made his chest hurt so much. Even the thought of someone else touching her and holding her, made him feel mad in anger.

Now that he met such a wonderful woman as his Queen Wife, he would never let her go. Ever.

"I am sorry I was born." Quirra muffled into his chest.

"But I am not." Liwei answered her while tightening his embrace on her. "I am very happy you are born. And I am happy you are born female because you have become my wife. I am happy that I have you standing by my side as my Queen. Although you are not whom I chose as Queen, however you are the only one suited and most worthy of the role. Therefore I am very happy to have been blessed by your existence."

Quirra couldn't help but blush a little by the man's cheesiness. She didn't expect to hear such romantic confession from someone as cold and arrogant as the Liwei from the original Iwa's memories.

"If that is the case then I am glad I was born female. I am glad I became Queen so I can stand by your side and aide you. But above all, I am glad I married you and became your wife." Quirra told him as she leaned out of his embrace and look up to stare at his mesmerizing jade eyes. Not long, she grabbed his hair and kissed him.

Quirra kissed him as passionately as she could. However deep inside, she was angry at the man.

Although she have successfully changed Liwei's attitude towards 'Iwa', to her it felt like she was so close to her goal yet still so far away!

In order to bind the man even more to her, she tumbled with Liwei on her bed and made 'love' with him til their restless bodies can't take no more.

That afternoon, she succeeded in making Liwei forget about his beloved Chonglin and instead, call out her name over and over again until both his body and mind yearns for no one else but Iwa's.

But still she realized, she needed to up her game to complete this mission.