Chapter 218: Oscar’s Lullaby
Evaline:
My eyes fluttered open slowly. The darkness around me felt unfamiliar at first, though a faint golden glow was flickering nearby - a lone candle burning on the nightstand. The flame barely chased away the shadows in the massive room, but it was enough to cast soft silhouettes across the walls.
The room was filled with warmth, but the warmth surrounding me was different.
And I soon realized why.
Strong arms were wrapped around me from behind, cocooning me in a blanket of safety and comfort. The familiar scent was wrapped around my senses. His heartbeat was thrumming against my back, steady and grounding, and the bond between us was gently pulsing like a second heartbeat inside my chest.
Oscar.
He was awake. I could feel it, not just from the way his thumb was brushing softly against my arm in slow, absent circles, but through the silent awareness humming between us.
I vaguely remembered him carrying me to the bed, and it seemed like I ended up falling asleep while wrapped in his protective embrace.
I shifted slightly under the blanket, just enough for my hand to find his resting on my waist.
"You are awake," he whispered. His voice was low and deep, rumbling behind me like distant thunder on a quiet night.
I turned in his arms, blinking up at him as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. His face came into view, half-cast in candlelight, the other in shadow - yet every inch familiar, every angle painfully beautiful. A soft smile touched his lips.
"It’s not even midnight," he said, brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek. "You have only been asleep for half an hour."