"I actually want you to be my mistress. Then you wouldn't need to do anything but wait around for me, doing nothing but keeping yourself pretty," Kevin blurted out. He was so annoyed that he didn't know what he was talking about.

  "Hah! I would like to see that! Don't forget that you're a major general. If you had a mistress, you'd be turned over to the military court." Leena challenged, finding it funny to see a man like Kevin get irritated.

  "I'm willing to risk everything for you." Kevin rolled up his sleeves and began to wash vegetables.

  "Well, it sounds like I'm a seductive but dangerous woman. I have actually heard that before. I just don't remember who said it!" Leena affectionately ran her hands on Kevin's back. She knew that Kevin wouldn't let her cook tonight, so she just helped him.

  "Well, you might be such a woman. But maybe in ancient times." Kevin was dying to ask her about the tonics, but this wasn't the best time. No matter how anxious he was, he had to take his time and wait for the right moment.

  "Ha ha. Then that would make you a kinsman of the emperor." Leena was getting good at jokes now. The Gu family had held high official positions in the army for generations. They had been influential in the capital city as a notable family.

  "So you're just a siren." Kevin was no longer angry. He liked this intimate time, cooking with the woman he loved dearly.

  The two teased each other. Leena preferred such a warm scene to cooking alone. Her heart danced with happiness.

  After dinner, Kevin led Leena to sit on the couch. This time he had a straight face which made her nervous.

  "What's wrong? You're being too serious now." Leena was curious and wondered what had suddenly happened to her husband tonight. Was there som

  hen she was a child, she had never felt that she was unfortunate even without her mother's company, because her brothers regarded her as a treasure and took good care of her. But now she felt so helpless and thought that God was so unfair to her. She had a happy marriage that everyone admired, but why were they deprived of a wonderful baby?

  If she was selfish, she could just ask Kevin and give him the choice to divorce her for this reason, but she couldn't do it. She loved him too much, and she was unwilling to impose her misfortune on him. He didn't do anything wrong. None of this was his fault and he shouldn't have to suffer because of her.

  She washed away her tears, filled with deep sorrow. Although she had known about her infertility long ago, she bore it alone silently and didn't cry. But when her husband started to ask her about it, it was as if the dam that had been holding all her fears and emotions broke and they had all come crashing down on her. She wanted to lean in his arms and listen to his comforting words, but she didn't have the courage to see his sad eyes when he found out the truth, so she chose to be cowardly and wanted to escape from it.