Chapter 34 - 33 - A World Torn Asunder
"You..." Ashtoria’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Why is it... so big?"
Riven nearly choked. ’What the hell?!’ He stared at her, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "You—you really don’t know?"
Ashtoria shook her head, her slender fingers tracing restless circles on the water’s surface. "I’ve never seen a naked man before."
Never—?! Riven exhaled sharply, trying to steady his racing pulse. But it was impossible. Not with Ashtoria still sitting there, her breathtaking figure half-submerged, the lake’s shimmer clinging to curves he shouldn’t be noticing.
"Are you some sheltered noblewoman or something?" he grumbled, though his voice came out weaker than intended.
Ashtoria frowned. "I just didn’t expect it to... be like that."
Riven went silent. Her words settled in his chest like an unexpected weight. Not out of embarrassment—but from the sudden realization of her ignorance. The woman before him... wasn’t just innocent. She might have been shielded. Too long confined in a world of rules, war, or emotional emptiness—so much so that she’d never learned the natural distance between two people.
"You... really don’t know?" he asked quietly, searching her gaze.
Ashtoria lifted her face, meeting his eyes. Hers were as clear as ever, but there was a faint unease beneath them. "Was I supposed to?"
Riven let out a slow breath, not answering. It felt like speaking to someone from another world. Someone who appeared so composed, so mature—yet secretly carried wounds, ignorance, and a loneliness she didn’t even recognize herself.
He turned away, forcing himself to calm down. But the heat in his veins refused to fade—the longer they spoke, the harder it became to ignore the fire coiling inside him. There was admiration, confusion... and something else, something suffocating.