Against Heaven's Will

"What else? Are we supposed to hide it?" Xuefeng questioned her in a whisper. "I have to tell him. No matter how problematic, he is our friend. He was interested in Bella first, so it’s only fair for me to tell him. Although it’s Bella’s decision to be with who she wants—"

"I will tell him then," Bella cut him off, pushing him back on the bed when he tried to get up. "I guess I should have talked to him earlier."

Xuefeng could only sigh as he watched her grab her one-piece crimson dress. He was about to call to Drakos to wait for a second but paused midway, hearing Drakos’s response from outside.

"She must be in her room, right? I don’t think she wants to see me since she doesn’t respond at all. Can you pass her a message from me?" he asked calmly as he narrated the message right after.

"Tell her I am sorry for hurting her feelings, but she also wasn’t perfect to me. You can’t expect something from me while not doing the same. I was clearly hurt before but I let it pass. How can she be so mad at me when I’m only following the rules she set up previously?"

"Oof..." Xuefeng and Wu couldn’t help but gasp. "Did he just double-down...?"

Xuefeng didn’t like where this was going. He actually thought Drakos will just apologize yet he continued the argument. The main thing Xuefeng learned over the years was to never prolong an argument if there is a way to stop it. The worst thing Drakos could do was recounting Bella’s faults.

"Bella..." Xuefeng muttered, seeing her freeze in her tracks. He didn’t hesitate and wore his underwear as he skipped behind her, hurrying to pacify the situation before it was too late.

"It’s okay, calm down..." Xuefeng assured, embracing Bella tightly. She was tense and hot as if flames of anger were burning inside her.

Too bad, Drakos wasn’t helping him at all.

"Ugh, romance is so hard. I don’t know how you do it. No matter what I do she says it’s wrong. I guess I’m not ready to be with anyone else. Being alone is so much better," Drakos called out frustrated. "I don’t need to care—"

"Drakos, it’s enough. I got the message!" Xuefeng warned, knowing it might go in the wrong direction but Drakos kept going.

"Ah, but that’s not all. I also wanted to suggest for you to take care of Bella. She deserves some love so you should court her. If it’s you, I can feel safe knowing I leave her in good hands," Drakos proposed. "I also realized I will need to gather mountains worth of Fate Stones for her so I’m definitely not ready for such commitment."

’Fuck, it’s over...’ Xuefeng commented, regretting not stopping Drakos from talking.

"I will kill him this time," Bella muttered under her breath, her fist tightening on her dress while her hair lit up with sparks.

He was forced to release her and she immediately wore her dress as if readying for a battle.

"Hey, hey... Isn’t that what you wanted?" Xuefeng asked softly, trying to appease her anger as he moved in front of her. "You are mine now. It doesn’t matter what he says. There is no point arguing. Stay with me, okay?"

Bella hesitated but gazing at the door hatefully, she took his hands off her and walked away.

"I won’t kill him then, but I still want to punish him," Bella said on the way, causing Xuefeng to sigh.

It wasn’t even an hour since he accepted her and she already disobeyed him. He couldn’t let that happen.

Thud!

Before she touched the knob, Xuefeng teleported next to her and grasped her wrist, jerking Bella against the door. His fingers brushed into her burning hair, softening the impact but her body still slammed hard.

"Huh? What happened?" Drakos questioned from the hallway but Xuefeng and Bella were locked in a gaze. She was naturally fine but her wrist was pinned down while her crimson hair grasped and held in place.

"I asked you nicely to stay put," Xuefeng muttered, staring into her eyes. "How do you want to be mine if you don’t respect my wishes?"

His hand was burning but she quickly put the flames off, looking at him upset.

"But—" Bella tried to argue but he quickly shushed her with his lips.

"Shh, no buts. I don’t want any arguments, especially within our group. Even Nuwa who rarely listens wouldn’t reject my request. If you want to be with me, you need to learn how to respect me as your man, otherwise, I can’t be with you."

Bella looked at him with a gaze full of mixed thoughts and he caressed her cheek, freeing her arm. She didn’t struggle though, letting him hold her gently.

"This was the reason why I didn’t want to rush anything. I can’t be your man if we don’t reach a mutual understanding and create a special bond between us. Giving your body to me won’t make you my woman. There is also a special ingredient called love," Xuefeng whispered as he fixed her head and left a kiss on her forehead. "Let me handle Drakos, okay?"

He didn’t wait for her answer, laying her head on his chest but her soft nod and an immediate embrace were enough for him.

"Hello? What happened?" Drakos repeated confused.

"Well, I just saved your life," Xuefeng replied honestly. "Bella was in our room this whole time and just wanted to kill you. I stopped her in time."

"..." Drakos went silent before exploding, "Why didn’t you tell me right away?! Cough! I was only joking!"

"It’s okay. I will take care of her so it’s best if you go rest now," Xuefeng suggested.

"Ah, fuck. Good luck then. She is your problem now," Drakos called out, actually sounding happy as if he dodged a bullet.

This triggered Bella once again but instead of exploding, she hugged Xuefeng tightly and asked, "Am I a problem?"

He didn’t give her an easy answer, only carrying her back to the bed and replying as he laid her down.

"None of my women are a problem to me. If you feel the need to ask then we have lots of work ahead."