When Yao next awoke, it was in a hospital. By the looks of it, it was in the middle of the night, and Arthur was snoozing by his bedside, his head was resting on his arms on Yao's bed.

"A…" That was when Yao realised that his throat was dry, so he reached for the jar of water on his bedside table.

However, Yao's movement woke Arthur up. "Yao!" he gasped as he sat up. "Don't move – let me get that for you."

Yao sat silently as Arthur poured him a cup of water. "I brought you to the hospital just in case – I don't know what Gilbert did to you… But the doctor says you just have to sleep it off," Arthur told Yao as the smaller man downed the cup of water. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, considering the circumstances, aru," Yao replied.

"I'm sorry Gilbert did that to you," Arthur hung his head. "He was a business partner of mine, and when he lost all his shares, he began blackmailing me for money," he explained. "I never thought he'd bring you into this."

Yao smiled softly at Arthur. "It's okay, aru – I vowed to stick with you for better or for worse, didn't I? That means sharing your burdens, aru."

Arthur chuckled nervously. "Which brings me to another matter – our wedding."

Yao looked away sadly. "I know it's a sham and was arranged for the benefit of our families, aru…"

"Yes!" Arthur interrupted him. "Initially, it was like that, and I couldn't wait till the ten years were up and I could divorce you. I'm truly sorry for how I've treated you since our wedding," he told Yao. "But I've grown to come to terms with it, and I've realised that…" There was a pregnant pause as Yao looked expectantly at Arthur. "Iloveyou."

"What, aru?" Yao couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked carefully at Arthur.

"I love you," Arthur repeated. He was becoming very red at his confession.

Yao folded his arms delicately. "You have a fine way of showing it, aru."

Arthur buried his face in his hands ashamedly. "I know!" he cried. "At first, all I wanted to do was to make your life a living hell, so that you'd distance yourself from me, and so that I didn't have to see you," he explained. "But you didn't – you were kind, understanding, patient – it drove me up the wall trying to make out what you were thinking!"

Yao giggled. "At least I know that worked, aru," he muttered.

"Slowly, I began falling in love with you. I don't know when it started, but I did." Arthur took the Asian man's hand and kissed it gently. "Will you allow us to be a proper married couple, and allow me to show you what it's like to be loved?"

Yao looked thoughtful. He didn't know what exactly it was that he felt for Arthur. But Yao knew that he didn't dislike him despite how Arthur treated him. In fact, strangely, he was quite fond of Arthur's nature. "Yeah, aru. I'd like that," he replied with a small smile.

Arthur grinned and leaned forward to kiss Yao on the lips. Their first kiss as a married couple since their wedding. "I promise I'll treat you like a king from now on," Arthur murmured as he hugged the smaller man tightly.

Yao didn't say anything. Instead, he rested his head contentedly on Arthur's shoulder, breathing in Arthur's musky scent as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.