ARSHILA POV
Rayen Aren Tavarian.
Four years old. Chubby cheeks, bed hair, pajamas with tiny dragons on them, and the most serious expression I've ever seen on a child. He's standing right outside our room like some miniature royal guard, clutching a stuffed wolf that looks like it's been through a war.
I blink at him. "Rayen? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
He shakes his head, slow and tragic, like I just said something deeply offensive. "No."
I crouch in front of him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "No? Then what are you doing here, mister rebel?"
He lifts those huge Tavarian eyes—dark, heavy, and way too knowing for a four-year-old. "I want to stay with you."
My brain short-circuits. "With me?"
He nods, small and sure. "You'll go tomorrow, right?"
The words hit weirdly hard for something so innocent.
He sniffs, hugging the wolf tighter. "I'll miss you."
Fuck. My heart. This tiny Tavarian weapon just melted my spine in one sentence.
I smile, helpless. "Oh my god, you little emotional terrorist."
"Hmm?" He blinks up at me, confused.
"Nothing," I say quickly. "Come here, munchkin."
Before I can even pick him up, a voice from behind cuts in, low and steady.
"Get him inside."
Zayan.
Of course.
He's still sitting on the bed, sleeves rolled up, one arm resting casually on his thigh like he didn't just sound like an order wrapped in velvet.
I roll my eyes but scoop Rayen up anyway, his little body warm and solid against me. He smells like baby shampoo and sugar cookies. I shut the door softly behind us and lock it.
Rayen immediately makes himself at home—aka flops on the bed like he owns it.
Zayan watches him, amusement flickering through his face, the kind that's rare and dangerous because it makes him look human.
"It's almost midnight, man," he says, leaning forward, forearms on his knees. "What are you doing here, huh? You don't know kids are supposed to sleep early if they want to grow tall?"
Rayen pouts, all attitude. "I am tall."
Zayan raises a brow, barely hiding a smirk. "You're two feet of chaos."
"I'm four feet."
"You're not even close," I mutter.
Rayen gasps, scandalized. "You're mean!"
"Yeah, well," I say, dropping onto the window seat again, "I've been told that before."
He squints at me, like he's trying to process how an adult could be this stupid. Then he looks back at Zayan. " Zay, she's rude."
Zayan tilts his head toward me. "Trust me, kid, I know."
"Hey!"
Zayan just smirks. "You keep proving my point, babe."
I flip him off behind Rayen's head. Zayan sees it, his lips twitching into a grin that he quickly hides by rubbing his jaw.
Zayan leans back on his hands, eyes still on the kid. "Where's your mom, champ?"
"In our room."
"Should I call her?"
Rayen's eyes go wide like Zayan just threatened to burn down his Lego castle. "No! I don't want to go."
I bite back a laugh. The kid's tiny but stubborn like he inherited the whole Tavarian DNA line of attitude.
"You don't have to sleep?" I ask, raising a brow.
"I just woke up."
I narrow my eyes. "At midnight?"
He shrugs. "I was thirsty. Then I wasn't sleepy anymore."
Zayan sighs, the kind that sounds both annoyed and fond. "Then you can stay here."
I whip my head toward him. "What?"
Rayen lights up like Christmas. "Really?"
"Yeah," Zayan says, leaning forward, forearms resting on his knees, voice calm and final like it's already decided.
I blink. "You're going to sleep with him?"
Zayan's lips twitch. "We, actually."
"Excuse me?" I stare at him like he just said he's joining a circus. "Why we? I'm not included in your midnight babysitting."
Rayen frowns, looking between us. "Why not? A husband and wife should be sleeping together, right?"
And my brain just—glitches. Completely. Static. Dead air.
Zayan's mouth curves, slow and deadly, eyes flicking toward me like your move, sweetheart.
I stutter. "It—uh—it depends on the environment."
Rayen tilts his head, all innocent curiosity. "The environment?"
"Yeah," I say, voice tight. "Like… the humidity and oxygen levels… or something."
Zayan's chuckle is so low it could melt iron. "Humidity and oxygen levels. That's a new one."
I shoot him a glare sharp enough to cut steel. "Shut up."
Rayen doesn't buy any of it. He pats the mattress right beside Zayan, little palm smacking the blanket. "Sit here."
"I'm fine here," I say, still perched on the window seat like it's a life raft.
"Sit," he says again, tapping harder, frown deepening.
Oh, so the Tavarian command gene activates early, huh.
I glance at Zayan. He's already watching me—elbows on his knees, posture lazy, but that look in his eyes isn't. It's sharp. Focused. The kind of look that says he's enjoying this way too much.
"Sit," he echoes softly, voice low enough to make my stomach clench.
And somehow, I move.
Slowly. Carefully. Like I'm approaching a lion I don't trust.
The bed dips under my weight, and I swear the air shifts the second I sit down.
Rayen grins, satisfied, and climbs up higher, wedging himself right between us like a little king who just arranged his kingdom.
I keep my gaze on the blanket. Not on Zayan. Definitely not on the heat radiating from his side.
Zayan doesn't move away. He's close—too close. I can feel the faint brush of his arm near mine, the warmth seeping through his shirt, the faint smell of his cologne and danger.
Rayen adjusts his wolf plushie, muttering something about dragons, completely unbothered by the tension thick enough to choke on.
Zayan leans slightly, his voice barely a whisper. "You good?"
I glance at him, eyes narrowing. "Perfectly."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
He smirks, slow and knowing. "Then stop holding your breath."
I blink. "I'm not—"
Except I am.
Fuck.
Rayen kicks his tiny feet under the blanket, face half-buried in his plush wolf, eyes still sparkling with the kind of curiosity that should come with a damn warning label.
"You guys are newlywed, right?" he asks, voice innocent, but the way he looks between us makes my soul leave my body for a second.
Zayan doesn't even blink. "Something like that."
I scoff. "Kid's got a big mouth for someone who barely reaches my waist. We've been married for almost four months."
Rayen frowns like I just told him Santa pays taxes. "Four months? Then why don't you have kids yet?"
I choke. Actually choke. Like air just betrayed me. My hand flies to my chest and I'm coughing like an idiot while Zayan immediately straightens, jaw ticking.
"You can't talk like that," Zayan says, calm but firm, voice dropping into that warning tone that usually shuts grown men up.
Rayen doesn't even flinch. "Why not? You have to love each other to have kids."
And just like that, silence. A heavy, nuclear silence that makes me want to dig a hole in the ground and die in it. My head snaps toward Zayan, and he's already looking at me, that little muscle in his jaw doing the thing—the silent clench that means he's fighting a laugh or a scream. Can't tell which.
Zayan leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "Who said that?"
Rayen shrugs, smiling all proud like he's about to drop divine knowledge. "My parents. They love each other a lot. They always kiss and giggle."
My entire soul short-circuits. Kiss and giggle. My God.
I stare down at the blanket, eyes wide, praying for a power cut, an earthquake, divine intervention—anything. "That's… nice, Rayen." My voice sounds weirdly tight, like I just swallowed a cactus.
Zayan's mouth curves. The bastard is enjoying this. "That explains why they had you."
Rayen beams. "So if you kiss someone, you'll have kids?"
I freeze. Zayan freezes. The air stops moving.
Zayan blinks slowly, like he's debating whether to lie, deflect, or just jump out the damn window. Then he leans back, looking way too casual for someone who's clearly dying inside. "Yeah, something like that."
Rayen lights up like it's Christmas morning. "Then you should kiss and give me a baby!"
The room goes silent again. Like, nuclear-dead silent.
I swear, even the clock on the wall stops ticking.
The silence stretches for a full beat. Two. Maybe ten. Long enough for my soul to crawl out of my body and leave a note saying you're on your own, bitch.
Zayan doesn't move. Doesn't even blink. Just stares at the kid like he's trying to process whether that sentence actually happened or if we've both slipped into some alternate universe where toddlers request live demonstrations of conception.
I clear my throat, the sound way too loud in the quiet. "Haha… okay, champ, time for bed, yeah? You've done enough psychological damage for tonight."
Rayen narrows his tiny eyes like a detective in a cartoon. "No. I won't sleep until you kiss and give me a baby."
I blink. "You what now?"
He crosses his arms, the audacity in that small frame is fucking insane. "You said kissing makes babies. So kiss. I want a baby brother."
Zayan drags a hand down his face, exhaling like he's suddenly aged twenty years. "Now?"
"Yeah, now," Rayen says confidently, like he just ordered room service.
Zayan's brows lift, tone dry. "You mean if we kiss right now, you'll get a baby immediately?"
Rayen nods so hard I swear his head's about to fall off. "Yes!"
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh. Zayan glances at me, sees it, and mutters under his breath, "Don't."
"I'm not," I whisper, absolutely lying.
Zayan looks back at the kid. "How old are you, man?"
"I'm four," Rayen says proudly, chest puffing out like he just declared his kingdom.
"Four," Zayan repeats, nodding slowly. "Right. And which class are you in, champ?"
"I go to big school. Nursery."
Zayan hums thoughtfully, like he's about to conduct an interrogation. "Impressive. Big school, huh? You learning all this stuff there? About kisses and babies?"
Rayen shakes his head. "No. I see my mom and dad. They love each other a lot. They always kiss. And my nana says that's how you make babies."
Zayan's face twitches. I can literally feel the twitch from where I'm sitting.
He clears his throat. "Well, if your grandfather hears you saying that, he'll punish us."
Rayen tilts his head, frowning. "Punish you? For kissing?"
"Yeah," Zayan says, deadpan. "Very illegal activity in this household."
Rayen bursts out laughing. "Nah, he won't. He always kisses Nana."
That's it. That's the kill shot.
Zayan chokes—actually chokes—like he just swallowed air wrong, hand flying to his chest, coughing out something between a gasp and a growl.
I lose it. Completely. My laughter rips out before I can stop it. "Oh my god—"
He shoots me a look that could kill a grown man. "Don't."
I can't even breathe at this point, half-bent over, clutching the blanket. "You—you said he'd punish us!"
"I didn't fucking expect that comeback!" Zayan snaps, voice low but cracking at the edges, and somehow that just makes it worse.
Zayan runs a hand through his hair, exhales like he's at the end of his patience, and stares at the miniature chaos ball sitting cross-legged between us. "Alright, champ," he says, voice low and tired but still calm, "you gotta sleep now. We'll, uh—make a baby tomorrow, okay?"
My mouth drops open. "What the fuck, Zayan—"
But Rayen's face crumples instantly, lip wobbling. "Nooo. I want a baby now!"
"Oh, for fuck's sake—" Zayan mutters under his breath, dragging a palm down his face.
And then Rayen starts crying. Not cute sniffles—actual tears, wails, hiccups, the full Tavarian meltdown package.
"Don't cry," Zayan says, trying for patience, voice all smooth and commanding again. "You're a grown-ass man."
"I'm four!" Rayen screams through his tears, hiccupping dramatically.
"Exactly. A big four. Which means you don't cry like a baby."
"I want a baby!"
The sound that escapes me is half groan, half hysterical laugh. "What the hell do you want now?"
He sniffs hard, face red, eyes wet. "A baby."
Zayan leans back, jaw tight, expression unreadable for a second before he sighs. "Alright. Fine."
I blink. "Fine what?"
He turns to the kid. "I'll give you one."
Rayen freezes, mid-sniffle. "Really?"
"Yeah," Zayan says, dead serious. "But listen, even if I kiss her and the baby doesn't come, you have to sleep. Okay?"
Rayen's eyes widen, little head bobbing up and down. "Okay!"
"Bro—" I start, eyes wide. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"
Zayan stands up, smooth and calm, like he didn't just say the most insane shit ever. "Come here."
"No—"
He reaches out and grabs my wrist. His fingers are warm, firm, and my pulse jumps immediately like my body didn't get the memo that this is fake. "You have to pretend," he murmurs, voice dropping to that dangerous low register that messes with my brain every single time.
"What?" My voice cracks. "Pretend? I can't pretend to—"
"Kiss!" Rayen interrupts, bouncing excitedly on the bed, completely oblivious to the nuclear tension in the room.
I shoot Zayan a glare. "You created this fucking monster."
He tilts his head, mouth curving like he knows exactly what he's doing. "Guess I'll have to handle it, then."
And before I can even breathe properly, he tugs me closer.
Not gently—firm enough that I stumble right into him. My chest brushes his, and suddenly, there's no air. Just heat. His hand slides up my arm, fingers lingering for a second too long. My heart's doing parkour in my ribs.
He bends slightly, head tilting down toward me, and for a second—just a fucking second—it doesn't feel like pretend. It feels real. Too real. His breath grazes my cheek, warm and steady, smelling like mint and something darker underneath it.
I don't even realize I'm clutching my dress until my knuckles go white.
He's looking straight into my eyes, and fuck, there's something there—something unreadable, too quiet, too intense.
"Zayan…" I whisper, barely a sound.
He doesn't respond. Just tilts his head more. His nose almost touches mine now, our breaths colliding in that small space that shouldn't exist but somehow does. My heart's going rogue, my body screaming run, but my feet don't move.
He's so close I can see the flecks of gold in his eyes, the tiny twitch in his jaw, the subtle rise and fall of his chest.
And
then—
📍
Sneak peek at Next week chapter
The bed dips.
Fuck.
My entire body goes rigid.
I open my eyes just enough to look, slow, careful, like I'm afraid the air itself will crack if I move too fast.
She's there.
Right fucking there.
Sleeping beside me.
_________
You can read 10+ chapters with exclusive contents like spicy chapters and side characters pov and bonus scenes on my exclusive account.check my bio for more details 🤍
See you next week 🤍