I was there before I could even think, the world fading into neon and night streaks, my heart stuck in my throat, the wind hurrying past me. I shouldn't be here, every nerve in my body told me, but my arms—my arms would not let go of him. His steady strength grounded me in the chaos, and the shirt felt soft under my palms. It was reckless. dangerous. But every time his bike turned or his speed increased, I felt something strange burst inside of me: terror, freedom, and an unidentifieddesire.
I opened my eyes to see the blur of the city fading into shadows and starlight as the wind blew past. As the night sky, adorned with stars that seemed too good to be true, stretched endlessly above me, I gasped. As his warmth grounded me in the wild rush of freedom, my fingers coiled closer to the material of his black shirt.
The bike slowed, then halted at a weathered wooden fence. As I stepped down, Sylus swung off effortlessly, his movements sharp, precise. He pushed the gate open with one hand and, without a word, waited for me. My legs felt numb, heels sinking slightly into the grass, but I followed because how could I not? Inside, a garden unfolded like some hidden secret. The air smelled of earth and faint blossoms, crickets humming softly in the distance.
Below us, the dim lights of the city glowed faintly like embers refusing to die, while above us, the stars glittered like a song. I had not yet the courage to name it, but it felt like a duet between the earth and the sky, a place carved out of silence. With his tall frame silhouetted by the low light, Sylus leaned against the boundary railing.
He appeared to be part of the night sky itself, but the city below him was alive and luminous. Yet, as though eternity had been stolen and preserved here, unaltered, my gaze caught the reflection in the glass stars entangled with shadows.
"What even is this place…? It feels unreal. Beautiful. Eternal." my voice soft and calm He didn't look at me at first, just exhaled cold fog into the night air, his voice low, rough-edged yet strangely tender. "It's my secret spot. Not many know it exists. An old lady used to live here, she cared for this garden with her whole heart. She was… kind. Gentle. The kind of warmth you don't forget." His jaw flexed, eyes shadowed as he kept them fixed on the city below.
"Before she died, she left this place in my care. Said I reminded her of the grandson she never had. Her family left her behind, but… she never made me feel unwanted." For a moment, silence wrapped around us, heavy yet fragile. My throat tightened, my chest aching with something I didn't understand. He looked carved out of stone and shadow, yet this piece of him was human, breakable, almost tender.
Sylus's POV ~
Her soft, tentative hand slipped over mine, but it struck with more force than any blow I had ever experienced. In the beginning, she didn't even look at me. As though designed to hold the stars themselves, her bright, wide eyes were fixed on the skyline, catching every glimmer of the night.
That dress… Despite the danger and allure of the red wine spilling into the darkness, nothing could compare to her. Her eyes were soaking up every bit of the world around us, her lips parted in the gentlest breath, her hair tangled with the wind. timeless. It was the word that hit me hard.
For years, I thought beauty was something you could capture, sculpt it, paint it, sleep with it, break it. But looking at her now, I realized I'd been wrong all along. This ache in my chest, this fire licking through my veins, this desperate need to freeze her in this exact second—this was beauty. This was eternal.
And in that moment, I understood. She was the only one who could ever define the word beautiful. No painting. No diamond. No fleeting thrill. Just her. Ella.
I wanted to ask how someone could be this enchanting, and how the universe allowed it. But when she turned, when she smiled at me with her head tilted slightly, whispering,
"Thank you," I swept away. Inside, I Melted. Because how do you thank a storm for destroying you? How do you thank fire for burning you alive?
And yet, I knew… I'd let her do it again. A thousand times. She admired the beauty stretched before her, while I admired the beauty standing beside me. the kind of beauty that ruined a man, that turned sense into madness. Eternal. If there was ever a definition of the word, it wasn't in the skyline, or the flowers, or the glowing heavens above.
It was her. Always her. And as she sighed softly, leaning forward to drink in more of the view, I realized something cruel and undeniable. She'd never know how breathtaking she looked in that moment. And I… I could never forget it.
The city lights flickered beneath them like restless fireflies as we sat on the cool grass. As Ella's phone played softly, the music melted into the night air and slipped between silent words and breaths. The lyrics drifted between us as her head tipped back slightly and her lashes brushed her cheeks.
"I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you. I Don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of youI've been sleepin' so long in a twenty-year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight…"
Her hum was low, as if she was unaware that she was humming. Fuck, it passed right through me. daylight. That was her. That's what she was doing to me. pulling me out of the darkness where I had been content to rot. forcing me to see things I didn't want to see. Things I didn't deserve. I gritted my teeth and forced my eyes away, but it was ineffective. I remained observing her. the shape of the words on her lips. The poison of my world did not affect her. She was destroying me without realizing it. Slowly... Totally..
And all I could think was "I don't want to look at anything else either. Not when she exists."
Ella's POV ~
Another song faded in, softer, slower, "Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes. Tell myself it's time now, gotta let goBut moving on from him is impossible When I still see it all in my head In burning red Burning, it was Red…"
The words struck me hard and deeply. I took a deep breath and looked at the city, but I could no longer see it clearly. I understood because the truth was. Red. Even though it hurts to burn, you can't put out that fire. No matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of that ghost.
As I twisted the grass between my fingers, my hands trembled and my chest constricted. When my mind betrayed me with the echo of someone else, the pain of something incomplete, and something that was still scratching at me, I dared not look at Sylus.
But the strangest part? When I finally dared to glance sideways, it wasn't the old ghost I felt anymore. It was him. Red was him.
One top button of his shirt was undone, revealing a sculpted chest, and his hair was messy and blowing in his eyes. Every part of his face, the bend of his collarbone, and the faint lines of strength in his shoulders were kissed by the moonlight. The red liquid in his wine glass caught the dim glow of the city lights below as it sat idly in the grass. Like a storm that had chosen to stop and allow me to observe, he appeared effortless, dangerous, and breathtaking.
He drained the final drop of ruby from the wine glass and placed it in the grass after bringing it to his lips one last time. As he drew closer to me, his movements controlled, silent, and purposeful, my heart skipped a beat. His hands were behind my nape before I could react, their fingers firmly but gently pressing against the base of my skull. My eyes grew wide, and I let out a sharp breath. What was he doing?
WHAT-kiss? My inner self was in chaos, but before I could think he tugged me slightly forward. My head came to rest against his chest, his shoulder against my temple, and instinctively, my eyes fluttered shut.
His warmth surrounded me, steady and reassuring, but with that unavoidable edge of danger. The world—the stars, the city, the music—blurred into the heat of this moment of suspension as my breath mixed with his. Beneath my ear, his heartbeat throbbed, powerful, unwavering, and incredibly close, quickly undone. I wanted to back off and think things through, but his grip held me in place and his presence overpowered everything else. I was unable to. I was suspended, caught between fear, longing, and the undeniable pull of him.
Sylus's POV ~
Her head resting on me... Christ. My chest hurt in more ways than I could have imagined. Her pulse was rapid and trembling, and I could feel it, and each beat made mine race.
"Please don't move away." The roar of my own heartbeat nearly sucked the words out of my throat. Just enough to keep us together, I squeezed my hands at the back of her neck.
With a low, rough voice that trembled with something I never let anyone see, I whispered, "Please… just… don't move away." It was intolerable as her hair touched my lips and the subtle aroma of her shampoo blended with the night sky. I wanted to let the world go and fully embrace her.
"Can I just hold you for a moment?" The idea roared inside of me, raw and desperate, a need I was no longer able to control. I wasn't sure I'd make it through the madness that tore at my chest if she moved away, even a little. Once more, the force of my own need made my voice nearly hoarse.
"Please… Or my thoughts would eat me alive," I breathed, the words heavy with desire, with fear, with the violent obsession I felt every time she was near. Her warmth against me, her fragility, made everything else, the gala, the world, fade into nothing.
She was all I could see, all I could feel. And if she moved away now… I'd lose my mind
"This… this place," I muttered into the void between us in a low, tremulous voice, "sometimes… it makes me feel like… the only person who ever made me feel unwanted… is gone." As if I've been missing her daily." I didn't care the fact that the words were rough and raw before I could stop them. I wanted her to hear it. I needed her to be aware of my internal fracture.
She didn't flinch. She did not pass judgment. Rather, she pressed in closer, her arms encircling me tightly and her hands gently caressing me as if she could smooth out every sharp edge of my soul. For the second time, I allowed myself to feel the relief, the ache, and the longing as I buried my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled in her scent.
Her arms around me… God. Everything inside me twisted, melted, and roared all at once. The warmth, the softness, the way her fingers traced my back as if she could smooth out every jagged piece of me I couldn't breathe fast enough.
Here she is. She is indeed present. "You're not unwanted… not to me," she said, cutting the fog that I had been carrying for years. They were more than words. They served as a lifeline and a silent anchor that drew me back from the brink of every dark thought I had ever thought of. I let the weight of my chest rest against her as I gently pressed my forehead against hers. The only thing that made sense in this world was her aroma, her warmth, and the soft rhythm of her breathing; it was all intoxicating and intolerable.
I can't… I can't let go. Her touch made the ache in my chest sharper and sweeter all at once. I wanted to speak, to confess everything, to claim her in a thousand ways I'd never dared, but words would ruin it. Actions… maybe actions could do it?.