'SEE YOU MORNING' 142 Love That Keeps One at Bay

The children had all gone to bed early, worn out from play, yet the room still seemed to echo with the noise of their excitement. Lin Yuhui held Grace by the waist and walked slowly out onto the balcony, gazing out at the vast desert starry sky, trying to awaken her memories with Theodore, hoping to find some useful clues that might lead to the cause of his death.
Grace wore a silky, deep crimson nightgown with a plunging V-neck, a hem that fell to mid-calf, no buttons, just a sash tied at her waist.
She had tightened the sash just enough to accentuate the slenderness of her waist against the curve of her hips, while tugging slightly at the left side of the neckline so that it pulled free from the cinched sash, making the upper body and neckline appear more casually loose, and at the same time revealing the full expanse of her fair, plump flesh.
This was undoubtedly a temptation for Lin Yuhui. He stood behind Grace, his hand resting on her waist, his gaze dropping to catch the view within her neckline, but what he wanted more was to find some clues about Theodore’s cause of death from Grace’s memories.
A conflict of interest? Or a crime of passion? Though unlikely, it couldn’t be ruled out, yet he couldn’t just blurt out, Do you have another man on the side? That wouldn’t work. He could only keep the conversation simple.
“Grace, did the old me often accompany you on this balcony to watch the stars?”
“Yes,”
Lin Yuhui searched through her mind, but found only fragments of everyday memories, so he tried another approach.
“I can only remember parts of my past, and parts of before Hunter. Did I ever make you a promise I haven’t fulfilled?”
Grace fell silent for a long while, her mind filled with comparisons between the intimate moments she had shared with Theodore and with Lin Yuhui using Hunter’s body.
Lin Yuhui didn’t understand why she was comparing these things—he had clearly asked about her past with her ex-husband—so he decided to ask her directly.
“Grace, I suspect I was murdered before. If I don’t know the reason and get killed again, I won’t be able to play with you and the children anymore. Think carefully—did I ever tell you anything suspicious?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Yuhui sensed a wave of sadness wash over Grace. It seemed she was a very emotional woman, and aside from a few daily fragments involving Theodore, there was nothing particularly valuable in her thoughts.
“I only remember you were always so busy back then. You rarely spent time with me like this,” Grace said little, her mood downcast.
Lin Yuhui didn’t want to dampen her spirits any further, so he said nothing more. The hand resting on her waist gently pulled Grace toward him, her back pressing against his body, the night wind warming her slender frame.
The night deepened. Grace turned her head, pressing her cheek against Lin Yuhui’s chest, feeling his warmth through his shirt. Lin Yuhui’s hand, still around her waist, slid along the smooth surface of her nightgown, feeling the softness of her skin, but in the cold late-night breeze, it had lost its warmth.
So Lin Yuhui let his hands continue to slide down along the surface of her body, to her lower abdomen, where he pressed both palms against her, warming her body.
The evening breeze caressed them, stirring the hem of Grace’s gown, lightly brushing against Lin Yuhui’s legs, while her body, as if swayed by the wind, danced gently in his arms—only it was a little cold.
It was then that Lin Yuhui realized how thick-headed he had been—why had they been standing out here freezing? And Grace too, in the cold wind, just leaning against him, with no intention of stepping back inside.
“The night wind’s gotten cold. Let’s go back inside,” Lin Yuhui said.
She swayed gently, as if rocking in the wind, or swaying out of attachment. After a while, Grace seemed to come back from her daze and answered softly,
“Okay,” she said, turning around and taking Lin Yuhui’s hand back into the room. She turned back to face him, gazing into his eyes, and whispered,
“Theodore, promise me—forget Hunter’s memories. Just be my Theodore, okay?”
When she finished speaking, Grace leaned against Lin Yuhui’s chest, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his chest, feeling his body heat as she slid her hand downward, tracing the hard lines of his physique.
Lin Yuhui looked at Grace before him. Gradually, she was no longer satisfied with the feel of touching him through the fabric of his shirt. He watched as she unbuttoned his shirt, one arm looping around his lower back, the other hand sliding down from his chest toward his abdomen.
Lin Yuhui looked at the body he was using—the foundation was truly impressive: well-defined pectoral muscles, clear abs, low body fat, all the markers of surging hormones.
Grace’s hands felt smooth and light. As they slid downward, she looked up at Lin Yuhui with a playful expression, slowly lowering herself to his height, undoing his belt, and said with a grin,
“You shouldn’t dress like this in the bedroom.” Then she opened her smiling mouth and looked up at Lin Yuhui.
Lin Yuhui knew what she wanted, he just didn’t know how to refuse her without hurting her feelings. But he also questioned himself—was this just an excuse he was making for himself? He needed a woman. Not the kind who couldn’t live without one in his bones, but he always hoped there would be a woman he could give his love to—a man’s deepest love for a woman. It was just that his heart already held someone else, yet he couldn’t bring himself to refuse the temptation before him.
Seeing that he said nothing, Grace didn’t press the matter either. She just kept smiling and continued what she was doing, completely immersed in her own pleasure. At first, she only lifted the hem of his shirt, kneeling on one knee before Lin Yuhui, then lifted the other side and lowered her other knee. Throughout the whole process, she kept looking up at him, as if waiting for him to say something.
When he remained silent, Grace finally spoke.
“Theodore, marry me, darling. Marry me again.”
Ah, Lin Yuhui felt a thousand emotions surge within him. The one he loved didn’t love him, while the one he didn’t love was so devoutly kneeling before him. He tilted his head back and asked the deepest part of his heart—should he still hold on to that promise?
But Grace’s hands were so gentle, her lips so fiery. Lin Yuhui stared up at the ceiling, momentarily at a loss for how to answer her plea. And the more he hesitated, the more passionate Grace’s kisses became. He could barely stop his body from trembling. When he lowered his head again to look down at Grace kneeling before him, her face alight with the joy in her eager eyes—even as his body shook, she thoughtfully wrapped her arms around his hips.
Lin Yuhui lowered his head once more, brushing the bangs from her forehead, spreading his fingers wide and threading them through the hair at the crown of her head, gently combing through her tresses. He gazed at her smiling face, hoping that through his fingertips touching her scalp, he could bring her a feeling of comfort.
Her every movement, every flicker of expression, revealed a woman’s true devotion when she truly craved a man—her kneeling, her kisses, a woman’s surrender to her man.
Between the curtains, through the dim night, the distant rolling ridges of the desert resembled the curve of Grace’s spine. And Lin Yuhui felt as if he were floating above the earth, the vast land holding up his body, allowing him to drift freely up and down in the air, yet tethered by the warmth of home, so he wouldn’t be swept away by the wind, left to wander without anchor.
With such a light body, it seemed he could fly even higher. He wanted to reach the highest sky, to go where she was. But he felt he no longer had the right to miss her, because his body was already tainted. No—this body wasn’t even his to begin with; it had already been used carelessly by Hunter before. It was only his heart that loved her, the heart that had promised to belong only to her, that was no longer pure and untainted.