Chapter 47
Can I sleep here with you too?
The reason Luke ended up falling asleep on the bed in Bonita’s room was as follows.
***
“…Gasp!”
In the deep of night.
Bonita woke up with a start from a nightmare. Panting as she looked around, she mumbled weakly,
“…It was just a dream.”
But it was a nightmare she never wanted to have again.
Clutching her blanket, Bonita curled her small body up like a pill bug.
It was a dream where she was completely alone. The mother she had just met, the duke’s mansion she’d finally gotten used to—none of it existed.
Then, she saw Aria’s back.
She chased after her desperately, and Aria smiled gently as she patted Bonita’s head.
“Now, wait here. After ten nights of sleep, I’ll be back.”
But those blue eyes were as cold as glass.
Bonita instinctively realized that, once again, Aria was seeing someone else through her.
That this Aria was not her mom, but “Mother.”
And that her promise to return after ten nights was a blatant lie.
She wanted to shout, “Don’t leave me!”
But no matter how hard her little legs ran, she couldn’t catch up.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Except for the sight of Aria walking away, there was nothing left around her.
The nightmare, filled with overwhelming loneliness, was far too vivid and terrifying. Her heart pounded loudly.
She couldn’t bear it.
So Bonita decided once again to sneak out of her room. The first time had been hard, but the second was surprisingly easy to make up her mind.
Just as she tiptoed down the hallway—
“Bonita?”
A low voice called out.
It was Luke, on his way from the study to his room.
“Ah…”
Bonita let out a small gasp.
She was sure she’d get in trouble if he found out she’d snuck out of bed.
As she squeezed her cold, sweaty hands and tried to come up with an excuse, the duke—tall as a bear—bent down to his knees.
“Can’t sleep?”
His question was kind.
He didn’t look angry at all.
Bonita, watching his expression closely, let out a small sigh of relief and muttered,
“Well… I had a bad dream. So I was going to go find Aria…”
At the name “Aria,” Luke’s expression stiffened ever so slightly.
But the dark hallway effectively hid the change in his face.
Luke gently tried to reason with her.
“Miss Hilton is probably fast asleep right now, so it’s best not to wake her. When someone’s sick, they get better by sleeping well.”
Bonita replied with a disappointed tone.
“…Yeah, I guess so.”
Even during the day, Aria had been coughing while talking to her.
It would be wrong to wake up her sick mother over a nightmare.
‘Still…’
I want to sleep next to her.
As Bonita debated with herself, two tiny Bonitas popped up in her mind with a pop!
One whispered:
“It’s okay. I’m only seven years old, right? So I can cling to my mom a little. She said she loves me.”
Then the other one argued:
“No way! Only selfish, mean kids do that! You can’t wake up your sick mom!”
Bonita groaned, grabbing her head. Luke looked puzzled watching her.
“Bonita. Are you afraid of sleeping alone?”
“I used to be fine sleeping alone.”
Flushed with embarrassment at the blunt question, Bonita’s cheeks turned pink.
“The place we used to live in was so small… but here it’s really big, so…”
Bonita hung her head as she trailed off.
“When I’m lying in bed alone, I feel kind of… um… scared.”
The house Bonita used to live in was small.
Even if there were separate rooms, they were barely big enough for a single bed. The walls were thin, and on sleepless nights she could hear Aria’s tossing and turning or sleep talk from the next room.
But the duke’s mansion was far too big.
Her current room alone was as big as her entire old house. Lying alone in such a large, dark room made her heart race, like someone might jump out from somewhere.
Meanwhile, Luke blinked his large eyes at Bonita’s honest confession.
Scared to sleep alone, huh.
For a child, that was perfectly understandable. Even Elodie used to say things like that.
“Isn’t this room design too creepy? When I’m lying here without you, it feels like an assassin might pop out at any second! Haha!”
Of course, no assassin would dare sneak into the duke and duchess’s room, but fear was still fear.
Luke remained kneeling and quietly looked at Bonita. Even in the dark, his crimson eyes gleamed as he observed her.
‘She’s sweating.’
She must’ve really been scared.
Luke, without thinking, reached out to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.
Then he realized—too late.
“Ah, Bonita… I’m sorry for touching you without asking first.”
“It’s okay.”
Bonita touched her forehead where his hand had been and said,
“It was warm.”
Though he looked like the embodiment of winter, this adult man actually had a high body temperature.
The big, warm hand on her forehead felt nice. Maybe it was because she could tell that the touch held affection like Aria’s.
A soft smile crept onto Bonita’s lips. Luke’s eyes widened when he saw it.
He froze for a moment, then cautiously, almost timidly, spoke.
“Bonita. Um…”
“Yes?”
“Well…”
Afraid of being rejected, he hesitated for a long time before making a serious suggestion.
“…Would you like Daddy to sleep with you?”
“Huh? With you, Your Grace?”
Normally, Luke would’ve winced at being called “Your Grace,” but he was so nervous that he didn’t even notice the detail.
His bear-like fingers fidgeted. He was so stiff, he couldn’t even look her in the eye—his gaze stuck somewhere between Bonita and empty space.
“Not that I’m forcing you, of course. Miss Hilton is sick right now, and you’re scared to sleep alone, and I’m your father, so…”
A man over two meters tall flustering in front of a child half his height made quite the comical scene.
If Aria had seen it, she’d have kept it in her heart forever to tease him about.
But to the people involved, the moment was completely serious.
Bonita blinked her big, innocent pink eyes and thought,
‘He’s not very good with words either.’
Just like Grandma, the people in this house showed their feelings with actions but never said what they truly wanted out loud.
But she didn’t mind that.
Bonita reached out her hand first.
“!”
Luke trembled like a puppy stepping on snow for the first time when her tiny finger touched his.
Bonita giggled as she looked at the duke.
“Okay. Please stay with me.”
****
…And that’s how it had happened.
But Aria, who didn’t know any of this, couldn’t help but be flustered.
Just as she was hesitating, unsure of what to do and about to quietly slip back out, Luke stirred at the faint presence.
Despite his appearance, his long and delicate eyelashes slowly lifted. His half-open crimson eyes, still heavy with sleep, stared blankly into space.
‘…Aria Hilton?’
He rubbed his eyes at the sight of someone who couldn’t possibly be here. Either he was hallucinating, or still half-asleep.
‘What an unpleasant dream.’
It had been a very long time since anyone other than Elodie appeared in his dreams.
And of all people to show up—why did it have to be that annoying woman, not sweet Bonita?
Blinking again, he turned his body. One large hand gently patted Bonita’s flat tummy a couple of times.
A sense of calm washed over him.
‘So cute.’
Bonita, sleeping soundly, was so small and cute and utterly lovable.
How could she look exactly like Elodie from head to toe?
The fact that she was his own blood, and the spitting image of the woman he loved, made his heart ache tenderly.
‘Right. This isn’t a bad dream at all.’
Actually, since Bonita was in it, he should call it a good dream.
His gaze drifted past Bonita. While his side of the bed was full with his large frame, the other side was completely empty.
And in that peaceful moment, a sharp image suddenly pierced his heart.
“Oh, Luke. Still sleepy? Honestly, such a sleepyhead.”
His wife, sitting across from Bonita, wearing that usual mischievous smile of hers and tapping his cheek playfully.
Then, as always, he’d wake up in no time and kiss her for teasing him. And Elodie would laugh sweetly again before pulling Bonita closer into her arms.
Then he would wrap them both in his arms, enjoying a peaceful morning together.
Just imagining it made his eyes sting.
If Elodie were right there.
How wonderful would that be?
Picturing a future where Elodie had lived, and Bonita had grown up as their daughter from the start, filled his chest with a deep, aching sorrow. Luke’s eyes grew moist with emotion.
At that moment, someone spoke in an awkward tone.
“Um, Your Grace?”
At the familiar voice, Luke’s brow twitched.
“What are you doing in this room…?”
“…It’s you.”
Hearing that, Luke realized that the Aria he had seen moments ago wasn’t some hallucination—she was real.
He let out a quiet, irritated sigh.
“There’s no need for you to know why I’m here. But more importantly—why are you back in this room instead of resting?”
“I’m perfectly fine now.”
Aria said as she popped her face close to his.
“I’m all better, so I thought I’d sneak into bed while Bonita was asleep to surprise her. Sleep in a little, too.”
“Hah. You’re not a child.”
Luke let out a dry laugh.
“And so, Your Grace…”
But Aria continued on, undeterred by his reaction.
“Can I join you there too?”
Luke’s expression turned sour.
