Define The Relationship Novel - Chapter 33

“I don’t know if I’ll get married, but if I do, I don’t want to have children.”

It was unexpected. It was clear at a glance how much he cherished children. Ash explained the reason without Karlyle having to ask.

“I want the person I love most in the world to be the only one.”

Sunlight poured into the living room through the large window. Bathed in the oblique rays of sunlight crossing the sofa, Ash’s eyes shone with a higher saturation than usual. Those eyes looked straight at Karlyle.

“I want to give my everything only to the person I love. I can’t do that if I have a child.”

He could picture it, even though he had never seen it. This person was so gentle even to Karlyle, who was merely a date, no, merely a sex partner. He could guess how devoted and lovely he would be if he found someone he loved, yet he dared not imagine it.

Pain welled up. Imagining the future partner who would someday claim Ash made his heart feel like it was tearing apart. For a moment, he felt like he would go crazy with envy for whoever would receive Ash’s love. It was agonizing.

“What about you, Karlyle?”

Karlyle couldn’t answer Ash’s question for a moment. His hand, resting on his thigh, gripped his suit pants, then released them.

“I…”

Karlyle’s future was singular. To marry his fiancée and bear a splendid child to continue the family bloodline. He saw a future that contrasted with Ash’s, a future that ran only parallel to his life, with no intersecting points.

“I don’t know.”

It was painful to articulate the future he had taken for granted since childhood, so Karlyle lied. The life he could talk about so casually with people in high society was difficult to reveal in front of Ash.

“Is that so?”

“Embarrassingly, yes.”

“I hope Karlyle meets a good person too.”

Ash’s words were gentle. At the same time, they felt somehow cruel. It sounded as if it implied that it couldn’t be with Ash himself.

Karlyle decided not to think any further. It was wrong to misinterpret others’ intentions, and no matter what Ash thought, he had done nothing wrong.

He had to refrain from taking words so personally. Karlyle, who had been quietly looking at the back of his hand resting on his thigh, replied expressionlessly.

“Thank you.”

However, he couldn’t return the wish that Ash would also meet such a person. He was too inexperienced to even think of it.

Ash still smiled gently, looking at Karlyle silently. He was always a difficult person to understand, but it was the first time he felt so hard to read.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze to Sarah, who was held in his arms. Sarah blinked her eyes, repeatedly clenching and unclenching her fingers, then looked at Karlyle.

A smile bloomed on the child’s face. His innocent smile softened Karlyle’s heart a little. Ash opened his mouth.

“Shall we go do the hardest thing now?”

With those words, Ash looked at Karlyle and held out Sarah. Karlyle frowned and asked.

“…Do you want me to hold her?”

“Yes. Can you do that just while I make the baby food?”

“But…”

Seeing Ash look at him expectantly, Karlyle reluctantly took Sarah. There wasn’t a big age gap with young Kyle, so he had never held such a young child. Ash corrected Karlyle’s awkward posture as he held the baby. The hand that touched his arm gently guided him.

“It’s good to support her head like this. She has quite a bit of neck strength now, but it’s still good to do so.”

Karlyle figured out the posture within a few minutes. His body stiffened because the life in his arms felt so small, but it wasn’t difficult. Fortunately, Sarah smiled brightly, looked at Karlyle, and reached out her hand. Ash chuckled softly.

“Sarah only likes handsome men.”

Karlyle looked up. Ash winked very naturally. He belatedly understood what it meant in context.

“Is that why she likes Mr. Jones?”

Ash burst out laughing. Shaking his head, Ash bent down. Their lips met. The lips pressed firmly together, lingering on Karlyle’s lips for quite a while, then slowly pulled away. Karlyle’s lips felt hot.

“You’re so innocent.”

Ash muttered to himself, then chuckled softly and turned his back. Karlyle, who had been frozen by what had happened in an instant, finally managed to move and follow Ash a few seconds later.

Natalie, Ash’s sister, returned two hours later. Her daughter, Susie, was not with her. Karlyle and Ash had just managed to feed Sarah baby food for an hour.

Sarah ate the avocado puree Ash made, getting it everywhere. She was a picky eater and shook her head without even taking a proper bite. There was a reason it took an hour to feed her from a small bowl. And as if exhausted, she fell asleep shortly after.

Watching all this, Karlyle wished that what Mayam had said, ‘The young master was a very gentle baby,’ was indeed true. Because if he had acted like Sarah, he would have been very embarrassed.

Of course, Sarah was a cute and lovely child. At least she smiled a lot and hadn’t cried since Ash and Karlyle arrived.

“You need to change your clothes first.”

Entering the house, Natalie said that first to Ash, who walked to the entrance. Karlyle silently agreed. It didn’t matter what Ash looked like, but Ash’s green shirt was stained with avocado puree in strange patterns. It was Sarah’s artwork.

“Sarah must have inherited my artistic talent.”

Ash said, smiling nonchalantly. Karlyle suddenly wondered if Ash was a person who got angry. He had a naturally smiling face, but he was so gentle that it seemed unlikely.

He had shown a sharp side to Karlyle, but even that didn’t seem like genuine anger. He also processed his emotions quickly.

However, thinking about it the other way, Karlyle had upset Ash several times.

There was no way Ash would like such a person. His stomach churned at the thought that occasionally assailed him. While Karlyle was thinking, Ash excused himself to change clothes and went upstairs. It seemed he had spare shirts for such occasions.

“Oh, Mr. Frost. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I got to see the doctor right away. I don’t know how you did it, but it’s amazing.”

As Ash left, Natalie immediately spoke to him. She looked a little tired, but her expression was much better than before.

“I merely did what needed to be done. I’m glad it was of help.”

“Mr. Frost, you really speak like a gentleman.”

And your pronunciation is just so… Natalie said, looking at Karlyle as if fascinated. It was inevitable that Karlyle’s vocabulary and pronunciation would reveal his status somewhat.

Of course, Karlyle’s circle was mostly composed of nobles, so he didn’t see such reactions often, but he was somewhat used to it. Karlyle naturally changed the subject.

“Is your daughter alright?”

“Yes. Sarah has a weak immune system, so I left Susie at my husband’s mother’s house for now.”

Karlyle briefly recalled the past with those words. Karlyle rarely got sick, but he had once caught the flu. While he was recovering, Karlyle couldn’t go near Kyle. This was before Kyle was kidnapped, and because Kyle was a precious dominant Alpha who would inherit the family, he was always carefully looked after at home.

Separating the sick from those with weak immune systems was a wise decision. Karlyle empathized.

“Did the child not dislike it?”

Karlyle continued the conversation with an expressionless face. Ordinary people often found Karlyle’s expression difficult, but Natalie continued to speak without minding.

“Don’t worry about that. Susie likes her grandmother more than she likes me.”

Natalie, who winked like Ash, led Karlyle to the kitchen. When asked if he wanted tea, Karlyle agreed. Karlyle, who preferred his tea a little less sweet, said a spoonful of sugar would be good.

Soon, black tea with milk and sugar was placed in front of him. Natalie poured Ash’s share as well, placed it on the table, and sat in front of Karlyle.

“Are you very busy? If it’s okay, I’d like to treat you to dinner.”

Even if I say so myself, I’m a good cook. Natalie said in a humble yet confident tone. Is Ash good at cooking because of Natalie’s influence? Karlyle wondered. Meeting Ash’s family, whom he might never have met, naturally sparked many curiosities.

“It would be too much trouble for you, so you don’t have to.”

“If you have plans, it can’t be helped, but if not, please let me do this much.”

Natalie said earnestly. Her personality seemed to match her refreshing impression. Karlyle pondered.

He had cleared his schedule anyway for the day he met Ash, but he somehow felt doubtful if he deserved this. However, he liked it.

“…Then, I’ll impose.”

“Great! This is only the second time Ashley has brought a date home, so I’d be disappointed to miss this chance.”

Natalie’s sentence contained a lot of information. First, Natalie seemed to call Ash, Ashley.

“Did you say Ashley?”

Karlyle asked again to confirm if he had misheard. Natalie chuckled and explained as if she had been waiting.

“Ashley’s nickname is Ash, isn’t it?”

Generally, that was the case. Karlyle nodded lightly.

“So I call him Ashley.”

Natalie seemed to be a playful person. In addition, it was vaguely clear that the two were close. Thinking of Ash being called Ashley made his heart flutter somewhat. He wondered what his reaction would be.

“Does he dislike it?”

“Not at all. He’s such a sly kid.”

Would there ever be a situation where Ash was flustered? Karlyle wondered. This too was hard to imagine.

The Ash Karlyle knew was very limited. Ash, who was polite. Ash, who was gentle yet drew a line. But his lovable demeanor made it impossible not to like him. That was about it.

Karlyle’s thoughts turned to Ash’s first date. It was completely unrelated, yet it subtly bothered him. At the same time, a faint excitement rose at the mention of “second time.” At least it meant that only two people, including him, had been introduced to Ash’s sister.