Under The Oak Tree Manga -

That night, beneath the shadow of the great oak tree that watched over Anatol, the beast and the dove finally met not as hunter and prey, but as two wounded souls seeking shelter in each other's warmth. The floor remained empty. The bed, for the first time, held not a lord and a lady, but a man and a woman who had chosen, at last, to be brave.

That was the moment something inside him snapped. Not with anger, but with a desperate, hollow ache. He was failing. He was so terrified of breaking her that he was starving them both. He had built a cage of courtesy around her, and she was wilting inside it. Under The Oak Tree Manga

He turned and walked into the library.

Her face paled. "Oh. I… I am s-sorry." She bit her lower lip, a gesture that drove him mad. "Is… is there anything I c-can do?" That night, beneath the shadow of the great

Her hands clenched the book. He saw the battle within her—the stutter that choked her words, the fear that paralyzed her tongue. She wanted to say something. He could feel it. But the words died in her throat. That was the moment something inside him snapped