My Xianxia Harem Life

Eve could feel her heart breaking, bit by bit, with every step she took.

It was a quiet, painful shattering—like glass under silk.

She had always known that love could be cruel.

But she never imagined it would feel so empty. So one-sided.

He didn't want her. Not in the way she wanted him.

And that truth—no matter how gently it was delivered—still cut deep.

She had almost reached the doors of the guest courtyard when she heard it:

"Eve…"

Riley's voice stopped her in her tracks.

Her breath caught.

Her fingers curled at her sides. She didn't dare turn around yet.

She didn't trust her face not to betray her emotions.

Slowly, hesitantly, she turned just enough to see him over her shoulder.

Her eyes were wide, uncertain, and her heart thudded in her chest with a flicker of something she had almost buried—hope.

"Yes?" she whispered, barely able to keep her voice steady.

Riley was still holding the carving in one hand.

His expression wasn't teasing or casual now—it was thoughtful. Quiet. As if something had shifted inside him.

He took a step forward.

"You don't have to keep trying so hard," he said softly. "I see you, Eve. I've always seen you."

Those words—simple, understated—hit her harder than anything she expected.

Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.

"I just…" Riley hesitated for a moment, then added, "I've had so much on my shoulders lately. Sometimes it's easier to ignore things I don't want to deal with… because I'm afraid they'll distract me."

Eve blinked. "Am I a distraction?" she asked, voice small.

Riley looked at her, and for the first time, she thought she saw something—uncertainty, yes, but also a trace of tenderness.

"Maybe," he said. "But not in a bad way."

Eve didn't know what to say.

Her heart was still wounded, but now it beat with something else too—something she had almost given up on.

Possibility.

"Are you saying that I…" Eve's voice caught, her heart hammering in her chest like a drum.

She could hardly breathe.

Hope flared inside her so suddenly, so brightly, that it nearly brought her to her knees.

For someone like her—who had long since grown used to hiding her feelings behind playful smiles and careful restraint—this was overwhelming.

"Yes," Riley said softly, nodding. His golden eyes held her in place, calm and certain. "If you still want to be with me… I'm ready now."

Her breath hitched.

"And besides," he added with a faint, teasing grin, "I wouldn't want you growing old and, after thousands of years, still thinking about me as 'the one who got away.' That would be tragic, wouldn't it?"

His words were lighthearted, but they struck deep.

For a moment, Eve simply stared at him, frozen in place. Then her vision blurred.

Thud!

In the next heartbeat, she ran straight into his arms.

She didn't hold back, didn't hesitate, didn't care if anyone was watching.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and her body shook as the tears finally came—hard, uncontrollable, and raw.

She pressed her face into his chest, sobbing freely.

She had lived over a hundred years.

She wasn't some blushing young girl who knew nothing of heartbreak or longing.

She had seen things. Endured things. Watched people come and go.

Watched love bloom and wither around her—never once touching her heart the way this man did.

But with Riley… it had always been different.

He wasn't just handsome, or strong, or important. He was him.

He was the man she wanted to give herself to completely, and not for power or protection—but because her soul had chosen him.

Yet her journey to reach him had been filled with silence, self-doubt, and sorrow.

Unlike the other women who had so effortlessly found a place in his heart, Eve had struggled.

She had twisted herself into knots trying to be seen.

And now, finally—finally—she was no longer invisible.

"I-I thought you'd never see me," she choked out, her voice muffled against his robes.

"I thought I'd always be just another face in the background… always close, but never close enough."

Riley slowly wrapped his arms around her. His touch was warm, grounding.

Gentle, but firm—like someone cradling something fragile that had been dropped too many times.

"I know," he whispered. "And I'm sorry."

That quiet apology broke something else inside her. Not in a bad way.

But in the way that healing breaks open scars so that they can truly mend.

"You're not in the background," he said after a long pause. "Not anymore."

Eve clutched at his robes, still trembling. "I waited so long, Riley… I almost gave up. I really thought I was going to give up."

"But you didn't," he murmured. "And I'm glad you didn't."

They stood like that for a while—just holding each other—beneath the crimson light of the setting sun.

For once, time seemed to slow. The world didn't intrude.

There was no battle to fight, no duty to fulfill, no mask to wear.

Just two people, sharing a moment long overdue.

Eventually, Eve pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him.

Her face was red and tear-streaked, her eyes swollen, and yet—she had never looked more beautiful to him.

Because now, she wasn't hiding anything.

"I'm not perfect," she whispered. "Nor I think that I'm more beautiful than any of your wives. I just… I'm just me."

"That's exactly what I want," Riley said without hesitation.

"I don't care about any of that. You're you, and that's enough. And yes, you can absolutely match the beauty of any of my wives."

Eve smiled through her tears, and this time, it was real.

"Do you still want to prepare the bed?" he asked, a playful glint in his eye.

She let out a shaky laugh. "Only if you're planning to lie in it too."

Riley stepped closer and brushed a thumb gently across her cheek, wiping away a lingering tear.

"I am," he said. "Tonight, I'll stay with you."

Eve's eyes widened, then softened. "You mean it?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

She exhaled deeply, almost disbelieving. "Then let me make it perfect."

Riley smiled. "Anything with you in it already is."

The two of them walked back into the Austere Clan compound, yet it felt as though no one noticed them—like the world had faded away, leaving just the two of them in their own quiet reality.

They walked hand in hand, and for the first time, their steps were unhurried.

There was no awkwardness, no tension—only a fragile warmth building between them.

But instead of heading toward Riley's usual room, they turned toward Eve's courtyard.

She glanced at him in surprise, but he didn't say anything.

He just kept walking with her, fingers gently entwined with hers, his presence steady and comforting.

When the door closed behind them, the air seemed to shift.

Eve turned around, her heart pounding again for an entirely different reason.

Before she could speak, Riley leaned in and kissed her—softly, tenderly.

And that single kiss shook Eve to her core.

It was her first kiss.

All the playful flirting, all the teasing—all of it had been just words until now. This was real.

This was happening.

She responded as best she could, clumsily at first, trying to mimic the way his lips moved against hers.

Her lips trembled, unsure, but eager.

When his tongue brushed past her lips and explored deeper, she gasped, her body reacting on instinct.

She tried to follow his lead, to match the rhythm of his kiss, but she kept getting distracted—because Riley wasn't just kissing her.

His hands were moving too.

One arm held her firmly, possessively, while the other slid along her back, trailing heat in its wake.

Then lower, tracing the curve of her waist until it settled on her hips—her soft, shapely hips he had admired from afar for far too long.

He explored there, his fingers pressing in slow, deliberate patterns that sent tingles up her spine.

Eve moaned softly against his lips, her arms clinging to his neck as she surrendered herself to the moment.

She had waited for this for so long, dreamed of it in secret, and now that it was finally happening… it was overwhelming.

But this—this was only the beginning.

Because Riley wasn't done.

He continued to kiss her as his hands explored more—learning her curves, mapping the warmth of her skin through her robes, savoring the softness and trembling that bloomed beneath his touch.

With each movement, he got to know her—not just her body, but the way she responded to him.

The way she gasped, or arched into his touch. The way her breath caught when he whispered her name between kisses.

He moved with a kind of patience that made her feel cherished and desired, not rushed or claimed.

And Eve, for all her nerves, let herself melt into him completely.

Because in this moment, she was no longer chasing a dream—she was finally living it.

Riley had seen her.

And now… he was holding her like she was the only woman in the world.