Tang Moyu didn't know what to say. She had known for awhile that Feng Tianyi wanted her and she'd heard him voice it out, but not like this… never like this.

  "What do you mean?" The frown on her face deepened, trying to understand his words. "Tianyi, I'm not ready for marriage."

  If he was asking for her hand, Tang Moyu knew this wasn't the right time for that.

  "I know. That isn't what I mean, Moyu." Feng Tianyi patted the side of her face. Even he didn't think this was the right time to consider marriage.

  "Then what?" She asked. If he wasn't talking about getting married, what did he want then?

  "Moyu, what I mean is I want all of you. Heart, body… everything. Of course, I also want to marry you, but I know you aren't ready for that and neither am I."

  There were things he needed to accomplish first before he could officially start a family with Tang Moyu. He was still waiting for the results of the paternity test to come and he'd been on the edge these days.

  "I don't understand…" Tang Moyu looked down at their twined hands. "Isn't this enough for us, Tianyi? Am I not doing enough?"

  For the first time, Tang Moyu wondered if she was treating him right. They've been together for a few months now and there was barely any changes on how they treated each other.

  In fact, she thought that it would be awkward, but aside from the frequent kisses they shared behind her twins, nothing drastic had happened yet.

  Was it because she couldn't be like any other women who could act as a normal girlfriend? Was Feng Tianyi now realizing how clueless she was when it comes to romantic relationsh.i.p.s?

  She hoped that this wasn't the fall out between lovers that Li Meili was talking about.

  "You… you don't like me anymore?" She looked away, a little ashamed that she was inexperienced. Perhaps if she knew how to treat a boyfriend, she wouldn't have made him feel worried every time she was out of his sight. She'd initially thought that trust would never be an issue between them.

  "That's not it, Moyu." Feng Tianyi chuckled. That's ridiculous. "What would you think I don't like, Moyu? You know damn well how much I want you…"

  Tang Moyu pulled her hand away from his and fiddled the ring on her ring finger out of habit.

  "Yes, that… that's the one I'm talking about. Can you tell me why you are wearing this?" He pointed to the silver band on Tang Moyu's hand.

  They cannot drag this issue any longer. If he didn't ask her now, he would never muster enough courage to confront her in the future.

  Tang Moyu followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. She remained silent for a moment before heaving a sigh.

  "I guess it's time for you to know about this, eh? This one…. this is a physical reminder for me not to trust a man's words easily."

  "Which includes me?" Feng Tianyi inquired.

  "Well… sort of." The empress confessed. "After what Feng Tianhua did to me years ago, I'll be lying if I say I wasn't affected by his betrayal. I wasn't alright for a long time, Tianyi. It was so hard being alone, not knowing who to trust."

  She was so confused, so afraid that she didn't know what to expect any longer. The empress didn't leave Shenzhen because of Feng Tianhua. She left because she was afraid to face the truth and accept her foolishness.

  "To win my mother's affection, I let a man destroy me. I cannot allow this to happen again."

  "No one's going to harm you, Moyu. I'll make sure of that." Feng Tianyi's eyes darkened. If things turn to worse, perhaps he could protect her from afar without letting her know about it.

  Would it be considered as lying? He wondered.

  Tang Moyu thanked him and assured him that she would be fine.

  "It's getting late. I think it's time to call it a day. Are you going to fly with us to Beijing tomorrow?" She asked.

  "Of course, where do you think I'll be going? I'm going to follow my wifey around."

  "But people might recognize you. Are you sure it's alright?" She pressed.

  To be seen with her, his brother's ex-fiancee, it's normal that people would talk about them.

  "I can manage, but can I stay the night? If you don't mind." Feng Tianyi grinned at her.

  Tang Moyu huffed and strode towards her bedroom, ready to turn in for the night. Her steps halted and she looked over her shoulder.

  "Then what are you still standing there for? I'm not gonna wait for you." She said, turning the handle of the door of her bedroom, opening it.

  Feng Tianyi's eyes lit up. They hadn't shared the same bed for a long time and this was the first time she'd offered her bed to him.

  "Just one moment." He slowly stood up from his seat, took his cane and double checked the security of her suite. It was easy for him to bypass her door because he managed to get a copy of her keycard, but it would be a different matter if another person managed to intrude the place.

  He could hear Tang Moyu giving her children a call and decided not to disturb them. Her little buns had no idea that he was here with their mother. He wanted to surprise them on their return.

  When Feng Tianyi entered the empress's room, she was already lying on the bed on one side, her eyes already shut. She must be feeling homesick and tired right now.

  A small smile crossed his face as he recalled how long it took the empress to get comfortable with him being around. He silently went to the other side, slipping under the covers with her. This was better than spending the night alone in a foreign place.

  "Good night, Moyu," He whispered.