Atlas>>>
The morning began in a flurry of motion. Maids scurried through the halls, their hushed conversations and hurried footsteps filling the air as preparations for the evening ceremony pressed on. A subtle anxiety clawed at the edge of my mind, but I shoved it aside. There was no room for hesitation today.
Iris was still asleep when I checked on her. Her petite frame was curled into the pillows, the morning light casting a golden hue across her delicate features. She looked so peaceful, almost fragile, in the stillness of her slumber. The exhaustion from the past days of preparation had clearly taken its toll, yet she never once complained.
I found myself standing there longer than I should have, watching her. Something about the sight of her like this stirred an ache deep within me—a need to protect her, to claim her, to keep her all to myself. It was irrational, considering this was all just an arrangement, a contract. And yet, it felt dangerously real.
