Chapter 133: Tangled Dreams
Naomi couldn’t understand why the tears wouldn’t stop. They kept streaming down her face as she hugged him tightly. His hands gently caressed her hair, trying to soothe her, but the sobs only grew stronger, more intense, as though they were coming from deep within her soul.
"Why can’t I stop crying?" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
She didn’t know why, but it felt like an unbearable weight pressing down on her chest—something hidden, something forgotten. A lost promise? A buried memory? The sorrow ran so deep, beyond what she could grasp, and it consumed her. The more she tried to understand, the harder she cried—not from pain, but from a sorrow so profound, so unshakable, that it shook her to the core. It was like being trapped in a whirlwind of emotions, each one feeding into the next, too tangled to unravel.
Her breath hitched as hiccups broke through her sobs. He rubbed her back in slow, comforting circles, his voice soft and gentle as if to shield her from the storm within.
"It’s okay, love. It’s okay," he whispered.
She clung to him, her voice trembling. "I don’t... I don’t know why. I don’t know who he was..." Her mind swam with blurred images. "His hair... long and black. He promised... he promised not to cut it."
Zylan’s body tensed at her words, the shift in his demeanor immediate. His hands cupped her cheeks, his eyes searching hers with an intensity that sent a shiver through her. "Was it in your dream?"
She nodded, the memory of the dream still vivid in her mind, like a ghost that refused to leave. Her heartbeat quickened, her body trembling in his arms, though she couldn’t say if it was from fear or something else, something far deeper.
His gaze darkened slightly, and though his lips curled into a reassuring smile, it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "It’s going to be alright," he said gently. He tapped her back, attempting to ease her trembling form, but the faint crease in his brow betrayed his true concern. His usual calmness was slipping, revealing the depth of his unease.