𝓐𝓵𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽

Sunlight slipped through the curtains, tracing warm lines across my skin. I stayed still, eyes closed, because the strongest warmth didn’t come from the morning—it came from his nearness. The sheets rustled beside me, anchoring me to this moment as my thoughts drifted. Memories of childhood flooded in uninvited. Nathaniel had always been out of reach. Dark brown hair casting shadows over gray eyes that made my heart stumble whenever they met mine. He was my older brother’s best friend, the constant presence at the edges of my life. From the moment we met, my heart was his. As a child, I wished for impossible things—that my first love experiences would lead back to him. He understood me without words, sensed my worries before I named them. When my brother wasn’t around, he became my shield—ending arguments, stopping me before I did something reckless, showing me the line between right and wrong. He was a boxer, fighting in underground matches I was never allowed to see. All I knew were the scars on his skin and the darkness they tried to hide from me. Back then, it was only a crush. Love felt like a word too heavy for a child. Growing up changed everything. I became a woman who showed her feelings openly—confident, charming, flirtatious. I tested his limits the way he once teased mine. But he never crossed the line… until that one night. My eyes fluttered open to his hotel room. My head throbbed—I had drunk too much. My brother was getting married, and he was the best man. I remembered the glances other women gave him, the happy couple, and the ache in my chest—not jealousy, but loving someone who kept his distance. One glass after another, until he took it from my hand and led me away. I told him I loved him. And then—had I fallen asleep in his arms? Now, with morning light warming my skin, I didn’t know if this was a beginning… or the moment everything would finally fall apart.