Selene's POV
The cabin was deep in the woods. Miles from anything.
My friend Maya had bought it years ago. A retreat. A place to escape.
She did not ask questions when I called. Just gave the address and said, "Stay as long as you need."
That was Maya. Trusting. Kind. The opposite of everyone else in my life.
Asher parked the rental car behind the cabin. Hidden from the road.
We sat for a moment. Just breathing.
"It's beautiful out here," Asher said quietly.
I nodded. "Maya always knew how to pick them."
We grabbed our bags. Walked to the door. Maya had left the key under the mat.
The cabin was small. One bedroom. A kitchen. A fireplace. Wooden walls covered in old photographs. A porch with two rocking chairs facing the trees.
I dropped my bag on the floor. Walked to the window.
Nothing but woods. Endless green. Quiet.
Asher came up behind me. Wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Remember the last time we were in a cabin?" he murmured.
I smiled. "Vermont. Our first anniversary."
"You burnt the breakfast."
"I did not. I just. Cooked it longer than intended."
He laughed. Kissed my shoulder.
"You were wearing that red sweater. The one I loved."
"You painted me in that sweater."
"Best painting I ever did."
I leaned back into him. Let myself remember.
Vermont had been perfect. Snow. Fireplace. Days in bed.
We stood like that for a long time. Watching the trees. Listening to the birds. Breathing together.
Later, we sat on the porch.
Rocking chairs. Warm sun. A breeze that smelled like pine.
Asher held my hand. Thumb tracing lazy circles.
"Tell me more," he said. "About the years I missed."
I was quiet for a moment.
"They were hard. The first year especially."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You didn't choose to leave. He made that choice for you."
Asher's jaw tightened at Lucien's name. But he said nothing.
I looked out at the trees.
"After you left. After I lost the baby. I was so alone. My family didn't know how to help. My friends didn't know what to say. I spent months in that apartment. Just. Existing."
Asher's grip on my hand tightened.
"One day, I found this little puppy. Abandoned near my building. I took it in. Fed it. Named it Hope."
He looked at me.
"Hope?"
"Because I needed something to hope for. And she gave me that. For a little while."
"What happened to her?"
I swallowed. The memory still hurt.
"She was with me for about a month. Made me laugh. Made me feel less alone. Then one day, Lucien showed up at my apartment. Just to taunt me. To remind me he was watching. He stayed for a few minutes. Said his usual cruel things. Then left."
Asher was quiet. Waiting.
"A few hours later, I found Hope in the backyard. Dead."
Asher went still.
"I didn't see him do it. I couldn't prove anything. But I knew. I knew it was him."
"Selene."
"He wanted me to have nothing. No one. Not even a dog." Tears pricked my eyes. "And it worked. After that, I stopped trying. Stopped hoping. I just. Survived."
Asher pulled me into his arms. Held me tight.
"I'm going to make him pay," he whispered. "For everything. The baby. The years. Hope. All of it."
I cried into his chest. Let myself feel the grief I had buried for so long.
When the tears stopped, I pulled back. Wiped my face.
"He's dangerous, Asher. More than you understand. His family has power. Money. Connections. They've been untouchable for generations."
"Then we touch them."
I almost smiled.
"You don't back down, do you?"
"Not when it comes to you."
He kissed my forehead. Then my lips. Soft. Tender.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
We went inside as the sun started to set.
The bedroom was small. A bed with a quilt. A window facing the woods.
Asher pulled me close. Held me like I was something precious.
"Tell me more about the good times," he said. "I want to remember everything."
I traced his face with my fingers.
"Your laugh. The way you laughed when you were really happy. It was loud. Embarrassing. I loved it."
He smiled.
"The way you painted. You'd get lost in it. Forget to eat. Forget to sleep. I'd have to drag you away from the canvas."
"That sounds like me."
"It was you. All of you. Every messy, beautiful piece."
He kissed me again. Deeper this time.
His hands slid down my back. Pulled me closer. His lips left my mouth, trailed along my jaw, found my neck.
I gasped. My head fell back.
He kissed that spot. The one he always remembered. The one that made me weak.
His fingers found the hem of my dress. Slowly. So slowly. Lifted it. Touched the skin beneath.
I shivered.
"You're cold?" he murmured against my neck.
"No. Never. Not when you touch me."
He smiled against my skin. His hand moved higher. Traced my thigh. My hip. My waist.
I pulled at his shirt. Needed him closer. Needed all of him.
The world outside disappeared. The fear. The running. Lucien.
Just us.
We made love slowly. Tenderly. Like we had all the time in the world.
After, we lay tangled together. The window open. Night air drifting in.
I rested my head on his chest. Listened to his heartbeat. Felt his fingers tracing patterns on my skin.
"This feels different," I whispered.
"Different how?"
"At the motel. That was desperate. Five years of needing you exploding all at once. I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Just had to have you."
He kissed my hair. "I remember."
"This is. I don't know. Slower. Like we're really here. Really together."
"We are really here."
I tilted my face up. Looked at him.
"After the motel, I lay awake for hours. Just watching you sleep. Touching your face. Making sure you were real."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"Because I was afraid. Afraid if I moved, if I spoke, you'd disappear. Like a dream."
He pulled me closer.
"I'm not disappearing. Not ever again."
I smiled. Let myself believe him.
"I could stay here forever," I whispered.
"We can't. You know that."
"I know. But let me pretend. Just for tonight."
He held me tighter.
"Pretend all you want. I'm not going anywhere."
Morning came slow. Golden light through the trees.
We made coffee. Sat on the porch. Watched deer move through the woods.
"We need a plan," Asher finally said.
I nodded. "A lawyer. Someone who can handle this."
"My grandfather had a lawyer. Old family friend. Retired now. But he might know someone."
"We need proof too. More than what we have."
I thought about it.
"There's a safe. In my family's estate. My grandfather kept everything there. But I never had the combination."
"Who does?"
"My mother. But she. She's not well. Lucien has people watching her."
Asher was quiet. Thinking.
"Then we go to the lawyer first. Get advice. See if he can help with the safe."
"It's risky."
"Everything is risky." He took my hand. "But we have each other now. That's more than we had before."
I squeezed his hand.
"Together."
"Together."
We sat in silence. Watching the woods. Listening to the birds.
For the first time since we reunited, I felt something like hope.
Asher's phone buzzed on the table beside him.
We both froze.
He picked it up. Looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He opened the message.
Hello Asher.