Reina felt the warmth of him, steady and real, grounding her in a way she hadn't expected.
Her chest tightened.
Not from fear this time—
but from something softer.
Something fragile.
I'm not alone anymore…
That thought echoed quietly in her mind.
When everyone else had turned away… when she had been standing on the edge of losing everything—
Rui Griffin had reached out.
Not just as a stranger.
Not just as a powerful man.
But as someone who chose to stand behind her.
To protect her.
To give her a chance to rise again.
Her fingers tightened around him, holding on as if she was afraid he might disappear.
Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes before she could stop them.
Rui stilled immediately.
He lifted his head, noticing the change, and gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, catching the tears.
"My dear… does it still hurt?" he asked, his voice low, careful.
Reina shook her head faintly.
"It's not that…"
She couldn't quite explain it.
The pain she felt wasn't physical.
It was the unfamiliar weight of being cared for.
Of being treated as someone precious.
Rui studied her, his expression shifting. Whatever intensity had been there before softened, replaced by something steadier.
He leaned down, pressing a quiet kiss to her forehead.
"You don't have to force yourself," he murmured.
Reina looked at him.
Really looked.
And for the first time, she noticed the restraint in his eyes—the way he was holding himself back, waiting for her, choosing not to cross a line she hadn't clearly given him permission to cross.
That realization made her heart ache.
Slowly, she reached up, her fingers brushing against his cheek.
"I'm okay," she said softly.
Then, after a brief hesitation—
"I trust you."
Those words changed the air between them.
Rui exhaled, something in his expression easing, as if a tension he hadn't acknowledged finally released.
He rested his forehead lightly against hers.
"Then stay with me," he said.
There was no urgency now.
No pressure.
Only a quiet understanding.
Reina closed her eyes, letting herself lean into him—not out of fear, not out of obligation, but because she wanted to.
And as the distance between them faded once more, the world seemed to fall silent around them—
leaving only warmth,
and the fragile beginning of something real.