Chapter 21

[ 477 words ]

Chapter 21:

Without realizing it, I cried myself to sleep.

Boom!

A crack of thunder seemed to burst right beside my ear. I jerked awake from the nightmare and shot upright in bed, my heart pounding so violently it felt ready to tear out of my chest.

In the dark, I dragged in silent breaths, my forehead soaked with icy sweat.

Whenever I shut my eyes, I saw my father’s face in the moments before he died.

It had been a stormy night after the company collapsed. Just like this, with thunder shaking the sky, he had ended his own life in despair.

The pain of losing someone you love was the kind of wound that never truly closed.

The dizziness came back, along with fierce palpitations that made it almost impossible to breathe.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Thunder kept rumbling without pause, and now and then lightning cut through the curtains, flooding the room in a harsh, ghostly white.

I clenched my teeth, trembling so badly I couldn’t stop, my nightdress damp all over with sweat.

Making myself leave the bed, I groped blindly through drawers and boxes. My shaking fingers finally closed around a bottle of medicine.

I tipped two pills into my mouth and forced them down dry, without a drop of water.

But medicine didn’t take effect that fast.

I curled up on the bed again, clutching the edge of the blanket so hard my knuckles turned pale. I whispered, “Just hold on a bit longer, Lianne. When morning comes, it’ll be okay. Nothing will happen.”

Then, all at once, the doorknob turned with a soft click.

Every nerve in me drew tight in an instant. Like a frightened cat, I fixed my eyes on the door, barely breathing, too scared to move.

The door opened, and a tall figure made his way toward the bed.

It was Ethan.

I quickly squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to be asleep, but the violent shaking running through me exposed every bit of my fear and weakness.

The second the covers were lifted, that familiar sandalwood scent drifted into me.

“Still awake?” His deep voice sliced through the dark.

Without opening my eyes, I answered stubbornly, “I was asleep. The thunder woke me up. I’m fine. You can go.”

He didn’t reply and seemed ready to get up and leave.

At that moment, panic rushed straight through my chest.

Even though reason told me to drive him away, my instincts were crying out for him to stay.

I didn’t dare ask him not to go; I only tightened my hold on the blanket without thinking.

The second I heard the soft click of the door shutting, fresh tears burned at my eyes.

Of course, he had always been half-hearted with me; even one extra question seemed like too much effort for him.

But in the very next instant, the mattress dipped a little as a burning chest pressed against my back.

Ethan hadn’t gone anywhere; he had only stepped away to close the door.

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