Chapter 2: Lost Between Reality & a Dream
Eyelids softly fluttered open, revealing the hazel eyes. Aveline barely registered the ceiling of her bedroom.
'Gasp!'
She gasped loudly, sitting up abruptly, her wide eyes darting across the room. The ceiling above her was familiar, but it felt... wrong. Her mind reeled.
Was it a dream?
Or did Damien arrive on time?
Before she could even grasp reality, she felt movement beside her. A warm hand gently cupped her head, steadying her trembling form.
"Nina..."
The voice was smooth, velvety, instantly soothing. For a moment, she almost melted into the warmth of it. But then she turned and met those dark brown, almost black, eyes staring at her with quiet concern.
Her breath caught in her throat. Damien.
His presence was overwhelming, familiar yet foreign at the same time. Exhaustion lined his handsome face, his sculpted features softened by the dim glow of the bedside lamp. She could smell the lingering scent of alcohol in his breath, overpowering the classic leather cologne he always wore.
She wasn't sure what was real anymore. The burning sensation of the injection, the suffocating pain in her chest, the betrayal, it all felt too vivid to be a nightmare. And yet...