"Even if you ran, I'd find you. And you'd smile when I did."
~Annie Flame~
Chapter 10 - Their kind of love
The night had settled like velvet around them, soft and dark. Reen lay curled under the sheets, her head resting on Eiden's chest, fingers tracing lazy circles over his skin. Everything felt slower now, like the world had exhaled and left them alone in its silence.
"You're warm," she murmured, almost drowsy.
"It's yours to keep," he corrected, voice low.
Reen blinked, startled, and pushed up slightly to look at him. His gaze was calm-clear. No games and no walls. Just him. And for once, he wasn't hiding behind smug smiles or teasing lines.
"You're serious?"
He nodded once. "Deadly."
She swallowed, heart flipping like a coin in her chest. "Why now?"
"Because I can't fake it anymore," he admitted. "I've been trying to stay in control. I thought if I acted like I didn't need you everything will turn out fine soon enough. Like I could play this however I wanted and not get burned."
Her fingers paused on his chest. He caught her hand, holding it between them.
"But the truth is..." He breathed in. "I fell for you. Somewhere between your teasing and your fists, somewhere between your silence and the way you looked at me like I was more than what they made me... I fell."
Reen's throat tightened. Her heart was kicking against her ribs.
"And I know what I did," he continued, softer now. "The lies, the manipulation, the guilt... I used it. I let it keep you close. But none of that was ever stronger than what I felt for you. What I still feel. You're my only light in those dark days. When no one was there for me. And the moment I realized it. It was too late to go back and pretend nothing happened. I love you so much that I can't even think about living without you."
Reen interrupted,"No! I did you wrong too. I hide the truth for so long. I was also guilty of a lot of things..."
Reen closed her eyes, inhaling slowly. The past pulled at her. The secret job. The way both betrayed each other at some point. She knew that she wasn't that innocent too. The fact that she was paid to protect him... and ended up losing herself in the process.
She opened her eyes again, met his. "You know," she whispered, "you're a bit of a bastard."
"I do," he smiled faintly.
"But so am I," she added. "I was supposed to play a part. But you... you made me forget the script."
"So," he said carefully, "what now?"
Reen tilted her head. "You want an answer right after all that?"
"Yeah." He looked nervous. Just like in the past how he used to get all nervous around her. And it suited him.
She leaned in, brushing her lips against his with the softest touch-just enough to make him hold his breath.
"Then fine," she whispered. "Here it is. I love you, Eiden. I think I always have. Even when I hated you."
He kissed her like a man starved. Like he needed her breath in his lungs to survive. And she kissed him back like he was her punishment and her salvation all at once.
The morning light leaked through the curtains, touching the bed like a secret.
Eiden lay there, tangled with her. No more masks. No more guilt. Just two broken people who found something sharp and soft in each other.
She traced letters into his skin with her fingertip.
"What are you writing?" he asked, eyes still closed.
"Nothing," she smirked. "Just marking you."
"As yours?"
"As mine."
He smiled, sleepily, possessively. "Then don't disappear."
"I won't," she whispered, curling closer. "Not unless you stop making me tea."
Eiden laughed at Reen's remarks
"Even if you beg me to stop loving you, I'll carve you into my bones first. I won't let you go even if it means going to the depths of hell together."
Reen smiled.
And with that, the chaos quieted. The shadows didn't vanish, but they curled around them like old friends.
She stayed.
He healed.
And love, dark and dazzling, finally took its throne.
Well it was just "Their Kind of Love".
They never wanted a fairytale-They wanted a tragedy with their name bleeding through every page.
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The End