After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back

Chapter 318: Confession

The moment the gathering ended, Dian hurriedly brought Nina back to their room.

He carefully helped her sit down before pulling out a durian and dropping to his knees in front of her. "Nina, I was wrong."

Nina lifted a brow. "Oh? And what exactly did you do wrong?"

Dian nervously twisted the edge of his clothes between his fingers. He glanced at her once before lowering his head like a guilty little pup who had been caught causing trouble. "Nina, that merman pearl from before was not mine. It belonged to my brother. I am sorry. I... I did not mean to deceive you."

He had already decided long ago that once they obtained the sacred artifact, he would immediately confess everything about the pearl to her.

If he admitted it early enough, maybe she would not be too angry. Maybe she would still forgive him.

Realization flickered in Nina’s eyes. "So the pearl really was not yours."

Looking at him now, she actually felt a little relieved. At least he had the sense to confess on his own before she had to confront him about it.

Dian’s eyes widened in alarm. "You... you already knew?"

He secretly peeked up at her. She did not seem extremely angry. That meant she probably... probably would not abandon him, right?

A chill of fear crept into his heart. Nina had discovered the truth long ago. Thankfully, he had confessed in time. Otherwise, he would truly have been doomed.

"I guessed," Nina replied calmly.

Dian suck in a sharp breath.

Nina’s temper was far too good. She had known he lied to her, yet she had not even kicked him out of bed while they slept.

But then again, Nina was simply too clever. Nothing could stay hidden from her.

Guilt and remorse flooded his expression. "Nina, I am sorry. We were wrong. We should not have lied to you."

"Then why did you give me Lex’s merman pearl?" Nina asked.

"Since my pearl has not fully recovered yet, and the Dark Abyss only appears for a limited time. We were afraid there would not be enough time to wait for mine, so my brother suggested using his first," Dian explained honestly.

"Then why did you not tell me from the beginning?" Nina asked quietly. "Why lie and claim it was yours?"

"Because we were afraid you would refuse. We were afraid it would affect your chance to obtain the sacred artifact, so we kept it from you."

Dian looked at her cautiously. "Nina, we truly did not do it on purpose. We only wanted to help you obtain the artifact."

Nina let out a soft sigh. "Even so, you should not have deceived me. Especially you. You are my mate. You should be honest with me."

"I know I was wrong. I should not have joined Father and the others in lying to you. I only wanted to help."

Dian’s eyes reddened as he looked at her pitifully. "Nina... can you please not be angry with me?"

Regret gnawed at him endlessly. He never should have gone along with the others in deceiving her. Now she was upset with him. What was he supposed to do?

Nina remained silent.

Although she understood their intentions, she was still upset. She disliked being kept in the dark and forced to accept things after the fact.

More importantly, Dian’s behavior absolutely could not be encouraged.

The moment Dian saw her silence, panic overtook him completely.

Still kneeling, he carefully shuffled closer and gently tugged at the edge of her skirt. "Nina, please forgive me this once, alright?"

Fear consumed him more and more with every passing second. What if she no longer wanted to become mates with him? What if she abandoned him entirely?

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. His voice even carried the faint sound of tears. "Nina, please do not leave me. As long as you forgive me, you can punish me however you want."

He clutched her skirt carefully, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. "Nina..."

Seeing him look so pitiful and heartbroken softened Nina’s resolve a little.

"Since you confessed immediately afterward on your own initiative, I will forgive you this once." Her tone turned more serious. "But there will not be a next time. Do you understand?"

Dian nodded frantically. "I understand. There definitely will not be another time. I would never dare again."

Even if someone beat him to death, he would never join Father and the others in doing something like this again.

His large watery eyes sparkled with eager obedience. "From now on, I will only listen to you."

The way he looked at her was just like a pitiful little puppy trying desperately to admit its mistakes and seek forgiveness.

Nina almost laughed at the sight. She reached out and rubbed his head gently. "Good."

Dian instantly broke into a smile. A tear slipped from the corner of his eye, transforming into a shimmering blue pearl the moment it fell.

Just now, he had nearly been scared to death. He truly thought Nina was going to abandon him.

Thinking of Lex, Nina sighed. "Can the merman pearl inside my body still be removed and returned to Lex? Will this affect him in any way?"

"It can be returned," Dian said softly. "But after that, my brother’s merman pearl can never be given to another female again. Still, my brother said he did it willingly, so you do not need to compensate him for anything."

Nina frowned.

What was she supposed to do now? She did not want Lex’s future to be affected because of her.

If his merman pearl could only ever belong to her, then did that not mean he no longer had any other choice besides her?

If they had told her the truth from the beginning, she really might have refused. She had never wanted to bind herself to a male because of something like this.

But throughout this entire period, she had witnessed everything Lex had done for her.

Her feelings toward him had always been somewhat different from the others. Their first meeting had left a terrible impression on her, which was why she had unconsciously kept him at a distance and often overlooked him.

She had never intended for their relationship to grow into something deeper. In truth, she had been avoiding that possibility altogether.

Yet now, when she truly faced all the sacrifices he had made for her, she realized she was not completely unmoved after all. It was simply that she had never allowed herself to take that step forward before.

After thinking carefully about it, she realized that if Lex had confessed his feelings openly back then, perhaps she would not have rejected him entirely.

And now, maybe it was time for her to reconsider the relationship between them.

"Tomorrow, I will talk to Lex again," Nina said at last.

Dian nodded obediently before asking cautiously, "Nina... how are you going to punish me?"

He felt it would seem more sincere if he asked on his own initiative.

Nina pinched his cheek. "Go kneel on the durian yourself. Also, Yanai no longer has to wait until after you officially become mates. He moves ahead of you now."

Since he had confessed honestly, she decided not to punish him too harshly this time.

Dian’s handsome face instantly crumpled with misery. "Understood."

He had been pushed further back in line again, even though his merman pearl was almost fully restored.

Seeing his expression, Nina teased him deliberately. "What? You have objections?"

Dian shook his head so quickly it was almost frantic. "No. Absolutely not. I will go kneel immediately."

How could he possibly dare complain? This punishment was already incredibly light. Back when his brother made a mistake, he had practically been beaten half to death.

Thinking about it carefully, Nina truly spoiled him quite a bit.

A trace of sweetness quietly bloomed in his heart as he looked at her.

As for the durian, he had already prepared it the moment he returned.

Dian stood and was just about to go kneel when Nina suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Wait. Go back to the sea and finish restoring your merman pearl first before accepting punishment."

Otherwise, leaving the pearl unrestored would remain a hidden danger.

"Alright... then I will return to the sea first," Dian replied reluctantly.

Nina nodded. "Do not come back until it is completely restored."

"I understand."

Dian looked at her one last time before lowering his head and walking out.

He sighed repeatedly to himself. He needed to hurry and finish restoring his merman pearl so he could come back sooner.

With that thought in mind, his pace unconsciously quickened.

***

Meanwhile, Lex and Lani had been searching everywhere for Dian. After a long while, they finally spotted him in the garden.

Lani quickly stepped forward and grabbed him. "Dian, where did you run off to just now? I have been looking for you forever."

Dian instinctively took a small step backward, his guard immediately rising. "Why are you looking for me again?"

This time, he absolutely refused to join them in hiding things from Nina. Otherwise, she really might abandon him for good.

Lani’s gaze shifted uneasily. He glanced around and noticed several males patrolling nearby. "This is not the place to talk. Let us return to the sea first."

Since he needed to go back anyway to restore his merman pearl, Dian followed them without resistance.

No matter what they said, though, he had already made up his mind. He was not going along with any more schemes.

Together, Lex and Lani brought Dian back beneath the sea.

After hesitating for a long moment, Lani finally spoke. "Dian, there is something your father needs to discuss with you."