Chapter 264: Self-preservation
Nova’s POV
When I woke up, everything was too quiet.
At first, I wasn’t even sure where I was. My eyes opened to unfamiliar shadows stretching across a ceiling that wasn’t mine. It took a few seconds before memory trickled back in—his apartment, his bed, his arms around me.
Eldur.
Just his name made my chest tighten.
I turned my head slowly and saw him beside me, still asleep, silver hair tousled like he’d just stepped out of a fairytale and accidentally fallen into reality. His lashes were absurdly long for someone so sharp-edged. His features—elegant, otherworldly, like he belonged to another time.
I watched his chest rise and fall, and for a moment, I let myself remember how it felt to be held like I mattered.
But then... the weight hit me.
I sat up slowly, careful not to wake him, and slid out of bed. Every step across the room felt like I was walking through mud. My clothes were in a neat pile on the chair. I grabbed them like they were evidence of a crime and started dressing as quietly as possible.
We hadn’t done anything—not really. Just... held each other. But that was what scared me the most. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep in his arms. I hadn’t meant to feel so safe, like I belonged there. That kind of comfort didn’t come without consequences. And I knew better.
I knew what happened when you let yourself believe someone like Eldur could be permanent.