Nine Hot Therians and Their Only One Queen novel Chapter 523

“Cough, cough, cough!” Her bluntness utterly took aback Silas. He choked hard, nearly spraying pasta everywhere.

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He looked at Emma and clamped a hand over his mouth, coughing violently. His refined and handsome look flushed in an instant. The redness rushed from his cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears, even creeping down his neck in a faint bloom of pink.

“Are you okay?” Seeing how badly he was choking, Emma stopped teasing him right away. She quickly moved to sit beside him, one hand instinctively settling on his back, patting gently upward in steady strokes.

When she saw Silas trying to force out words, Emma hurried to stop him. “Don’t try to talk. Just breathe first.”

Silas nodded obediently.

Once the coughing finally eased, Emma stood up at once and poured a glass of cold water, bringing it to his lips. “Take a sip. it’ll soothe your throat.”

His cheeks were still flushed as if they might bleed, and his long lashes had turned damp from the coughing. The corners of his eyes shimmered with a natural watery sheen, making him look unexpectedly pitiful.

As Emma offered him the water, he wrapped his hand around hers and took a sip. The cool liquid slid down his throat, easing the burning irritation and calming the sharp spasms in his chest until his breathing gradually steadied.

Emma noticed the tension easing from his expression and finally let out a breath she had been holding. Feeling reassured, she pulled out a few more tissues and gently wiped away the water he had accidentally spilled at the corner of his mouth.

Her fingertips brushed his lips without meaning to. The soft, warm contact made his body stiffen again, and he instinctively held his breath.

Silas lifted his head and met Emma’s eyes. They carried a soft smile, warm with concern, so clear they reflected every bit of his current embarrassment.

“Emy… I…” He opened his mouth, but his voice came out rough and strained. For a moment, he had no idea how to explain himself. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Emma asked, watching the way he looked flustered and faintly ashamed. She casually tossed the used tissues into the nearby trash can.

Then she took his hand and spoke gently. “If you’re apologizing for the links you sent to Corvin and the others, I don’t accept it.”

Silas looked at her, nerves tightening all over again. “Why?” he asked, almost without thinking.

“Because I wasn’t upset at all,” Emma said with a smile, her fingers threading through his as she laced their hands together.

“You weren’t?” Silas‘ beautiful eyes widened slightly.

Sitting alone in the room earlier, he had imagined every possible outcome. He thought Emma might find him strange, or assume he was being careless. Worse, he feared she would think he had crossed a line. He had rehearsed his explanations and apologies over and over in his head, polishing every word before he ever dared to say them.

“Emy, why aren’t you angry?” Silas looked at Emma and asked the question seriously.

“No male would willingly share something like this with his huntress‘ other mates.” As he said it, his eyes stayed fixed on Emma,

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watching her closely for any reaction.

“A male’s nature is possessive. Competitive. Sharing things like this, ways to please a huntress, is basically handing a weapon to a rival. It means helping someone else compete for her affection. It costs a male precious time with his huntress. It also risks making her think he isn’t trying, that he doesn’t care enough, that he doesn’t love her enough,” he continued.

Silas knew Emma might never see him that way. But he was still afraid. Afraid it might leave a quiet doubt behind, something that could linger in her heart.

He knew he should not think like this. But maybe he cared too much. Even when he felt sure of something, without hearing the answer out loud, he could not stop himself from worrying.

Emma looked at Silas‘ long, elegant fingers and answered him carefully. “But I know that is not what you’re thinking. You don’t not care about me. You don’t not love me. You care too much. That’s why you did it.”

She lifted her head and looked at him thoughtfully. “You were just afraid they’d be too clumsy. Afraid they wouldn’t know how to take care of my feelings.”

Silas‘ gaze trembled. He pulled Emma into his arms all at once. “Emy, you’re wonderful.”

My Emy understands me. She understands why I do this. She trusts me.

After laying everything out and getting labeled as a genuinely wonderful person, Emma reached over and lightly pinched Silas at

the waist.

“Mm.” Silas let out a muffled grunt and loosened his hold on her. He looked down at her face, confusion flickering in his eyes.

She understands me, so why is she pinching me?

Emma lifted her hand and lightly pinched his chin. She squinted, and her voice was low and dangerous. “Tell me. Where’d you get all those links? Do you sneak a look by yourself a lot?”

No wonder he’s so good. Even Malrik, that Enchanter, can’t compare.

“I didn’t.” Silas felt wronged entirely. “Emy, you have to trust me. I don’t need to look at that stuff at all.”

Those videos weren’t even close to what he already knew. Watching them would just feel like an insult to himself.

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