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Chapter 5: Fever and Flame (Final Scene)
Their bodies tangled beneath soft sheets, the storm still raging outside.
Ava lay curled against Elias's chest, her fingers splayed over his heartbeat. She wasn't sure how long they'd been like that—silent, breathing, skin against skin—but time didn't feel real anymore.
He was warm beneath her, solid and still. His arm curled protectively around her back, and for once, the silence between them didn't feel dangerous. It felt earned.
She closed her eyes.
For the first time in years, she felt safe.
But it was fragile. Too fragile.
Because safety, she'd learned, was always temporary.
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Chapter 6: Shatter Me Gently
She didn't sleep.
Not really.
Every time her eyes closed, her heart stirred restlessly. She didn't want to forget the way Elias had touched her—like she was something precious, not a possession. Something his, yes, but not because he claimed her like territory. Because she had let him in.
And that terrified her.
Elias shifted beside her in the early morning haze. His breathing was steady, but his hand remained splayed over her bare spine, even in sleep.
Possessive.
Instinctive.
Obsession doesn't sleep, even when he does.
Ava pulled away slowly, careful not to wake him. The cold air rushed over her skin as she slid from the bed, wrapping a throw blanket around her shoulders. Her legs trembled—weak from what they'd done, and even weaker from what it meant.
She padded softly to the window, staring out into the gray dawn. The city below was quiet, washed clean by the night's storm.
But her mind was anything but.
She had let him in.
Let herself fall.
And now, the weight of it pressed against her chest like panic.
Behind her, the sheets rustled.
"Ava…"
She closed her eyes.
His voice was raspy with sleep, but filled with something else. Something raw.
"I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.
Elias sat up slowly, the blanket slipping from his chest. He watched her from the bed, eyes half-lidded, filled with the ghost of last night's fire.
"You left," he murmured.
"I needed air."
He stood, grabbing a robe and crossing to her without hesitation. His hand found her back, his touch so gentle she almost leaned into it.
But she didn't.
"I meant what I said last night," he told her. "None of that was just sex. It wasn't casual. Not with you."
"I know," she replied softly. "That's why I'm scared."
He went still. "Of me?"
"No," she said, then corrected herself. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know."
His silence was deafening.
She turned to face him. "You look at me like I'm the center of your world. Like I'm something you'd destroy just to keep. That kind of love—if it's even love—isn't safe."
His jaw tightened. "It's not love. Not yet. It's—"
"Obsession."
He flinched, as if she'd struck him.
Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn't back down.
"I can't do this again, Elias," she said, her voice breaking. "I can't survive another man who says I belong to him just because he feels too much."
"I'm not Ethane."
The name burned between them like acid.
She shook her head. "No, you're not. But you could be. That's what terrifies me."
A beat of silence. Then two.
Finally, Elias spoke, voice hoarse. "You think I'd hurt you like he did?"
"I think you already are," she whispered.
He staggered back like her words had gutted him.
"I gave you all of me last night," she said, her voice trembling. "Not because I was yours. But because I thought maybe I could be free with you. Maybe I could heal."
His eyes glossed over with pain.
"And now?" he asked, barely audible.
"I don't know," she breathed. "You say you want me, but it feels like you want to own me. Like I can't even breathe without your shadow following."
He sank onto the couch, head in his hands.
"I don't know how to love the way you need," he said quietly. "All I've ever known is want. Need. Possession."
Her voice cracked. "Then maybe we're both broken."
She turned away, but before she could walk out, his voice stopped her cold.
"Do you think I don't see you?" he asked. "You wear strength like armor, but I see the cracks. The way your hands shake when you think no one's looking. The way you flinch at silence."
Her whole body froze.
"You're not asking for love," he continued. "You're asking for peace. And I... I don't know if I know how to give that. But I want to learn."
Her breath hitched.
"I want to try," he whispered. "Even if it means letting you go."
She turned slowly.
His eyes met hers—raw, red, stripped of ego.
"I don't want obsession," she said.
"Then I'll burn it out of me," he swore. "For you."
She walked to him slowly, trembling, tears falling freely now.
She knelt in front of him, their knees touching. "If we're going to have any chance, Elias… it has to be real. It has to be healthy. Or it'll kill me."
He reached out, touching her cheek so gently it made her sob.
"Then let me unlearn everything I thought love was."
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