Hera released the breath she was holding, relief washing over her. As expected, her Hunter read her like a book and understood her every emotion and motivation. She felt overwhelmed under his intense gaze, so full of tenderness, adoration and love. Sometimes she wondered why he loved her to the moon and back.

‘Do I deserve his unconditional love?’

She frowned, not at all pleased by the sudden disfavoured occurrence of the question.

‘Where did that come from?’

She wanted to slap her brain for even daring to formulate such ridiculous doubt.

‘Of course, I deserve him.’

She stared into Hunter’s eyes, finding her reflection in them. She loved how his pupils dilated and smiled, remembering the piece of knowledge about love hormones he once shared with her.

‘Pupils dilate when we see someone we love, are attracted to or when we are in love.’

The phrase played in her mind, Hunter’s deep baritone tingling her insides.

“Hera,” Hunter called, ending her internal monologue. A smile stretched across Hera’s lips as he addressed her by her real name, and for once, Hunter wasn’t angry or upset with her. “You’re staring,” he stated the obvious.

“Your gorgeous eyes never fail to soothe my pain,” Hera said more to herself, admiring her favourite shade of purple in his eyes.

Hunter chuckled at the sudden change in her mood. She sniffled, drawing his attention to the tip of her nose, which had turned pink due to the biting cold.

“You’re cold,” Hunter said, to which Hera responded with a giggle. He pressed the tip of his nose against hers, sharing an Eskimo kiss. “How weird are you? One moment you’re angry, and then you’re sad the next moment. Crying one second before, and suddenly you start laughing right after,” Hunter said teasingly before pecking the corner of her lips.

“You’re to blame. It seems like your weird traits are rubbing off on me,” Hera replied and returned the kiss, an affectionate smile beaming on her lips, radiating happiness. Hunter playfully glared, poking his finger into her chubby cheek, but the wide grin adorning his lips never faded. He grabbed her wrist, turned around and started walking, pulling her along.

“No,” Hera whined, tugging her hand out of his hold. “We aren’t leaving yet,” she commanded.

“You’ll catch a cold,” Hunter stated in a disapproving tone while tugging her in the opposite direction.

Hera resisted and pulled him back. “I don’t care,” she declared, clearly defying him, and the tug of war continued. It started drizzling out of the blue, much to her horror. “Seriously?” Hera glared at the dark clouds hovering above her head. Hunter smirked and raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. She pursed her lips in displeasure and crossed her arms across her chest, still not budging from the place.

“You know right that I can throw you over my shoulder and carry?” Hunter warned.

Hera walked back, finding shelter under the shady tree once again and sat leaning against the tree trunk. Meanwhile, Hunter watched her pulling her knees up to wrap her arms around them, getting comfortable in her place, much to Hunter’s annoyance. Brushing his fingers through his hair, he looked away and sighed in defeat. He felt his hair already getting damp. Hera grinned from ear to ear as Hunter jogged back to her and took his place beside her.

They sat in comfortable silence. Hera leaned more into his torso, seeking his body warmth. Hunter wrapped his arm around her waist, shifting closer to give her more access.

Hera stared at him, trying to count his pretty eyelashes, admiring how much they complement his gorgeous eyes. Meanwhile, Hunter was busy gazing at her lips. Hera giggled, drawing his attention back to her eyes.

“No need for the dramatic longing face. You can kiss me if you want to,” Hera said teasingly and smirked. Hunter scoffed in return. “It’s more like you’re dying to kiss me,” he countered.

“I am,” Hera admitted shamelessly.

Hunter chuckled in amusement before leaning down to pepper her cheek with kisses. Hera sighed in bliss when he finally aligned their lips together to kiss her thoroughly.

Hera moved to sit between Hunter’s legs and guided his hands to wrap around her middle while hers garlanded his neck. She rested her head on his arm and looked at him, a solemn expression taking over her fluffy facial features.

“Hunter,” Hera called.

Hunter hummed his response, waiting for her to continue. He could tell she was in deep thought, aligning her words to frame a proper sentence, probably not to hurt him again with her careless phrasing. He studied her face while her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Do you remember the last time we fought in the mansion?” Hera asked. Hunter frowned, trying to recall the incident from his memory. “I had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel,” Hera supplied helpfully. “You wanted to,” she trailed off, finding it difficult to voice out, “And I hesitated, making you upset,” she said, sounding timid.

Hunter precisely remembered which fight Hera was referring to, and his frown deepened, not knowing why she was bringing it up now.

“Goddess, where are you going with this?” Hunter asked.

“I hesitated because I was scared of you,” Hera admitted. She bit the inside of her lower lip, mentally cursing herself when she noticed how hurt flashed across Hunter’s face. He shook his head, and Hera read it in his eyes before he could even voice it. “You have nothing to fear, Goddess. I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to,” he quickly assured.

“I know, Hunter,” Hera agreed. She finally found the courage to talk about her nightmare with him. “I had a nightmare where I showered and was clad in a towel when you barged into the room and forced yourself on me. You ripped the towel off my body and,” she blurted out everything and paused to breathe.

Meanwhile, Hunter was shocked to hear what she disclosed.

Hera bared her soul to him, revealing her innermost thoughts. That nightmare kept creeping into her subconscious mind whenever she found herself in intimate encounters with Hunter. Though she knew it in her heart that he would never stoop so low as to force her, she couldn’t help but be terrified of the mere notion.

“You looked so angry, and it felt so real I was scared to death, Hunter,” Hera shivered as an unpleasant sensation crawled up her skin, causing goosebumps while she recalled that nightmare. “I’m not scared of you, Hunter, but your anger does worry me,” she admitted. Hunter immediately crushed her to his chest, tightening his hold around her waist. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he took a deep breath, her natural scent filling his lungs with much-needed comfort.

“I’m so sorry, Goddess. I didn’t know you had bottled up so much inside and was suffering alone. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I swear I would never do such a thing. Please trust me?” Hunter pleaded, his voice heavy with hurt and guilt though it was just a dream and he wasn’t at fault. Hera instantly sat upright, cautious and worried that Hunter had misinterpreted her.

“I’ve been trying to tell you, Hunter, it’s your anger issues that triggered my fears. Though it was only a dream, the anger you showcased left its deep impact,” Hera clarified, specifying the real reason behind her apprehensions. It was why she couldn’t take their relationship to the next level, although she desired to feel and experience the romantic intimacy of their love.

It was hard for Hera to get over the look she saw on Hunter’s face when he yanked the towel off her body. She didn’t hide it from him anymore and revealed how the glimpses of that nightmare still kept flashing in her field of vision every time she stood in front of the mirror after taking a bath. Ever since she saw Hunter beating Nathan, that violent side of Hunter’s personality troubled her deeply, and she admitted the same out loud.

Hunter still had his arms enclosed around Hera, providing the warmth of comfort. He placed a soft kiss on her temple, a kiss to express his apology.

“I still get nightmares about Nate. I could never forget how you tortured him. That day I was terrified of you, of the intensity of your anger, of what you are capable of,” Hera confessed, looking him in the eyes so intentively and deeply that Hunter felt she was staring straight into his soul. “That’s why Clara could plant the seeds of doubt so effortlessly in my head,” she concluded, hoping it conveyed everything she wanted him to know.

“Goddess, I’m so sorry that you went through so much trauma because of me,” Hunter could hardly voice out, his throat constricted painfully at the realisation that he had hurt Hera so much even though he had taken a vow to keep her always safe and happy. He never knew his anger had left such a deep wound in her heart. It killed him to hear her say she was terrified of him.

“I promise you won’t ever suffer because of me,” Hunter swore, his tone firm with determination. Hera cupped his face with her palms and leaned up to kiss his bleary eyes shining with overwhelmed emotions. She took a deep breath before voicing her next question.

“Hunter, what happened with Nate after I left?” Hera asked, crossing her fingers and praying to hear the only answer she was hoping for him to say. “Did he,” she paused, nervous and uncertain, “Did you,” she left the question incomplete, not daring to complete it.