Chapter 80: Those three words
Zylan stood still, his piercing crimson gaze locked onto Naomi. The room felt heavy with unspoken tension, the silence between them stretching longer than it should. Finally, he broke it, his voice calm yet unyielding, slicing through the air like a blade.
"That’s enough. Let’s go."
His words were simple, but they carried a weight that left Naomi momentarily stunned. Her golden eyes widened slightly, confusion flickering in their depths as she stared at him. Before she could say anything, Zylan shrugged off his jacket in one smooth, deliberate motion and draped it over her shoulders with an ease that belied the turmoil brewing beneath his stoic exterior.
"Wear this," he instructed, his tone brooking no argument.
The jacket was far too large for her, swallowing her slender frame in its warmth. She obeyed without question, slipping her arms into the sleeves. Yet the gesture, meant to comfort, only deepened her confusion. Her mind raced. Had she said something wrong? Was it her fault he seemed so distant?
The warmth of the jacket was undeniable, but it did nothing to soothe the cold knot of uncertainty tightening in her chest. Unable to keep her thoughts bottled up any longer, she hesitated before speaking, her voice soft yet tinged with frustration.
"What? You don’t want us to... do it?"
Her words hung in the air, raw and vulnerable, and Zylan froze as if the question had physically struck him. He continued fastening the buttons of the jacket, his movements slow and deliberate, as though it gave him time to gather his thoughts. His expression remained carefully blank, giving her no clues to the storm that brewed inside him.
"You don’t..." Naomi’s voice faltered as her confidence wavered, her gaze falling to the floor. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling with unspoken hurt. "You don’t tell me anything. I don’t know anything about you—not even the smallest things."
The honesty in her words cut through the quiet like a sharp blade. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Zylan could see the flicker of pain in her golden eyes, a reflection of the insecurities she tried so hard to hide. The sight stirred something deep within him, something he couldn’t quite name.
"Some things are better left unsaid," he finally replied, his voice steady but distant.