SMITTEN

Aisha grimaced as she saw one of the servants milking the cow. 

Her slender legs scuffled backward even though she was in a sitting position on the ground.

"Isn't it painful for the cow? I think you're pressing it too much," Aisha blurted out as she pointed at the teats of the cow.

The servant chuckled at Aisha as she saw her reaction. "Don't worry, my lady. She is already used to it. It isn't painful for her."

"I think it's awful. I feel sorry for her. I suddenly want to thank God that I'm not a cow," she pouted as she put her palms to her cheeks. 

"Mothers also give milk to their newborns," the servant voiced out her opinion as she continued to milk the cow.

It was the next day and Aisha craved some fresh milk. Rosalia said she would get it from the stable. 

But Aisha insisted that she wanted to go there herself. 

"Mothers?" Aisha repeated back to her as she tried to think about what she was talking about. 

A picture of a mother breastfeeding her child came to mind, making her immediately stand up to her feet. "Oh, no! Will they also do that to my breast?"

She peeked down at her ample chest and then immediately covered them with her flailing arms. 

"Oh my gosh, don't you have powdered formula here? Or even a breast milk bank?"

The servant's frowning face was already enough to answer her question.

With a terror-stricken face, she ran away from the stables.

"Wait, my lady! Here's your fresh milk!" Rosalia followed close behind.

Fortunately, the dining hall was just nearby. 

It has beautiful fabrics hanging on the wall. The morning light sifted in through the narrow windows, cascading a bright ambiance on the place. 

Aisha huffed and puffed as she sat at the end of the long table. Her arm reached out to the edge of the table as the picture still haunted her. 

Now she saw herself with numerous lady servants squeezing her breast like the servant a while ago milked the cow. 

But only a drop fell from it. She was screaming and stomping her feet in pain. 

"It cannot be! I need to get away from here!" Her face crumpled like a piece of waste paper. 

Then she shook her head vigorously as she tried to shake away the thought in her mind. 

"Don't worry, my lady. That's not how mothers give milk to their newborns. The milk will just flow naturally from you, especially if you bond with them," Rosalia gave her a reassuring smile.

Then she poured out the warm milk into a glass and gave it to Aisha. "This would calm you down," she continued to comfort her. 

Aisha's pulse slowed down, making her heave out a sigh. 

"Really? I don't have any idea. I'm the only child of my mom. And as I can remember, the maids only fed my stepsister Julia with powdered formula. I never once saw my mom breastfeed," Aisha babbled on, now feeling relaxed somehow. 

As she recalled her family, she remembered how she used to be. A free-spirited girl who enjoys her freedom. 

"I must not be enticed with those sweet lips of the King. I will be true to my resolve!" She immediately stood up and declared with a lifted chin.

The other servants' heads jerked back in surprise at her words.

But they immediately returned to their bowing position. 

However, Rosalia was bolder in conversing with her since she was her personal lady assistant. 

"What do you mean by the sweet lips of the King, my lady?" She asked.

Both her eyes fluttered rapidly. 

As she did so, flashes of vision from Lake Visum and now, the vacant servant's quarter, came to her mind.

King Leandro was very passionate in kissing her, making her temperature heat up at that moment.

Her cheeks flushed and lifted into a wide grin as she looked down. Her body swayed back and forth as her fingers flew to her pressed lips.

Her other servants' eyes went wide open in excitement. 

"Well, the King and I…." she purposely left the word hanging. 

The servants leaned forward as they awaited the continuation of the sentence.

"We're conversing a lot, and he always encourages me. You know, sweet lips," she winked at them, making their shoulders drop in disappointment. 

Aisha chuckled at her own joke. She may be spirited. But she wanted to keep her privacy with that matter. 

Still, she couldn't help but ask them, "Well, since we're talking about lips now. Let me ask you a question that's bothering me. Let's say a Gaean guy kisses a girl. Does that mean that he has feelings for her?"

"I'm just asking if there is a difference between my world and yours, you know," Aisha immediately blurted out in defense. 

There was silence for a few seconds before someone had the boldness to speak up.

"I think Gaean men kiss Gaean women for different reasons,  my lady. They can do that because they have deep feelings for that woman," one of the servants answered her. 

Aisha's head nodded exaggeratedly.

"Or it could be they are smitten with that woman because of her physical features," another one commented.

Aisha pout her lips as she scowled. 

"Another reason could be the woman must have seduced him to kiss her," one of them also added. 

The other servants nodded their heads.

But Aisha immediately stood up and reacted, "I did not do that!" 

The other servants gazed at her with their foreheads scrunched. 

Asha coughed and cleared her throat. "I've been having an itchy throat lately." She coughed again. 

Then she added, "What I want to say is we should not do that. Let the men come to us," she grinned in an awkward smile. 

The servants all nodded their heads in agreement. 

"Why don't you finish your breakfast, my lady? We only have five days left before your wedding," Rosalia coaxed her, making Aisha's jaw drop in bewilderment.

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Because with the right person, sometimes kissing feels like healing.