Chapter 178 My Angel | 071
NOELLE
The rest of the day drags by in a haze. I sit through the final lectures in a fog, nodding at Blue when she whispers something about the hunters on campus and nodding at Blair when she chatters about the pool party. I keep glancing at my phone. I turned it back on after the fight, but the screen stays blank. No messages. No calls. Nothing from Azren.
Every time I close my eyes, I see his face in that corridor. And the hurt in his eyes… I can’t get it off my mind.
By the time the last class ends, I'm practically vibrating with the need to fix this.
I grab my bag, mutter a quick goodbye to Blair, and hurry towards the exit. All I can think about is getting home, apologizing, crawling into his arms and telling him I didn't mean to hurt him.
The penthouse is too quiet when I burst through the door.
"Azren?" My voice echoes off the marble. But I get no answer whatsoever.
I check the kitchen, the living room, and our bedroom. The bed is still made from this morning. His coat isn't on the hook. His keys aren't there.
My stomach knots tightly.
I pull out my phone with shaking fingers and call him. It rings three times, going straight to voicemail.
"Baby... it's me," I whisper, pressing the phone hard to my ear. "I'm home. I'm sorry about earlier. I was upset and I said things I didn't mean. Please come home. I need to see you. I love you. Call me back, okay? Please."
I hang up and immediately call again. It goes straight to voicemail again.
Worry burns in my chest. He's never ignored me like this.
I wander into the closet, my heart hammering. His shirts hang in neat rows, dark and expensive, carrying that faint coconut-and-smoke scent that always makes my knees weak. I pull one off the hanger and bury my face in it.
The black fabric is cool against my hot cheeks. I slide down the wall until I'm sitting on the floor, my knees drawn up, clutching the shirt with everything in me. I inhale deeply, over and over, letting his scent fill my lungs.
Tears prick my eyes.
"I'm sorry," I whisper into the fabric. "Please come home, Az. I can't breathe without you here."
The tears keep coming. I press the shirt tighter to my face, my shoulders shaking with heavy sobs. The penthouse feels too big. Every second without him feels like I’m prodding a physical wound.
My phone rings out all of a sudden.
I snatch it up so fast I almost drop it.
I answer with a shaky breath. "Hello?"
"Noelle, sweetheart," Danika's voice is warm but laced with concern. "Have you heard from Azren? He isn't answering my calls. I've tried three times now."
A sob rips out of me before I can stop it. "Mum..."
The word slips out naturally, raw and desperate. Danika has felt like family for weeks, but calling her that now makes me feel even more vulnerable.
"I did something bad," I choke out, my tears rolling freely. "We had a fight. I told him he was controlling me. I said he didn't trust me. He looked so hurt, Mum. Then he just... walked away. He told me to have fun tonight and left. He hasn't come home. He won't answer my calls. I'm so scared I pushed him too far this time."
Danika is quiet for a moment, then her voice comes gently, like a soothing hand on my back.
"Oh, my sweet girl. Azren loves you more than he knows how to handle sometimes. My boy carries so much darkness, and you're the only light he's ever had. He's probably out there fighting his own demons right now. But he will come back.”
I nod even though she can't see me, wiping at my wet face with the sleeve of his shirt.
"What if he doesn't this time?" I whisper. "What if I really broke something?"
"You didn't break him, darling. You challenged the walls he's built for years. That's terrifying for a man like Azren. Give him a little time to calm the storm inside. And when he comes home, he needs to hear that you're not leaving. That you choose him, even when he's difficult."
Her words wrap around me like a hug. I clutch the phone tighter.
"Thank you, Mum," I manage through fresh tears. "I... I really needed that."
"Anytime, my dear. Call me if he still hasn't come home in a few hours. We'll figure it out together. Now go wash your face and try to rest. He'll feel it when you're hurting."
The call ends softly.
I sit there on the floor for a long time, Azren's shirt balled in my lap, my tears still slipping silently down my cheeks.
The penthouse stays quiet.
And the worry in my chest only grows heavier with every passing minute.
…
Morning light filters weakly through the curtains, but the first thing I register is the ache in my back and the stiffness in my neck.
I blink slowly, confused. I'm on the floor of the closet, still clutching Azren's black button-down. My eyes feel swollen from crying. The shirt is damp in places from my tears.
For one terrifying moment, a blast of panic hits me.
He didn't come home.
But then, I feel it.
A soft, warm blanket draped carefully over my body. One that definitely wasn't there when I fell asleep.
My heart skips a beat. He came back. He saw me like this... broken on the floor... and instead of waking me, he covered me.
"Azren?" I call out, my voice hoarse and small. "Baby?"
I push myself up, the blanket pooling around my waist, and listen.
Then I hear it.
Drip... drip... drip...
It’s coming from the bathroom.
My stomach drops. I scramble to my feet, my legs shaky, and hurry across the bedroom. The door is slightly ajar. I push it open with trembling fingers.
The sight that greets me steals the air from my lungs.
Azren is sitting on the tiled floor of the shower, fully clothed, his back against the glass wall. Water pours down on him from the rain shower head he must have left running. His black shirt and pants are soaked through, clinging to every line of muscle. His head is tilted back, his eyes closed, his dark lashes wet against pale skin. Water streams over his face endlessly.
"Azren!"
I rush forward, dropping to my knees beside him without caring that the water immediately drenches me too. My hands cup his face, my thumbs brushing over his sharp cheekbones.
He's burning up. His skin feels like fire under my palms.
His eyes flutter open weakly. Those beautiful blue irises are dulled and ringed with red.
"Angel..." he rasps, his voice cracked and raw.
Tears flood my eyes instantly.
"What happened?" I choke out. "Baby, what happened to you? You're so hot... you're burning—"
He exhales shakily, leaning into my touch.
"Cold water..." he whispers. "Please...”
I fumble desperately for the handheld shower head, tears already dripping down my cheeks and mixing with the water raining over us. My hands shake so badly I almost drop it twice. When I finally turn it on and aim the cold spray directly at his chest, steam rises from his soaked clothes and skin, hissing.
He sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, a low, pained groan tearing from his throat as his body jerks.
I sob harder. "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry—"
With trembling fingers, he starts unbuttoning his shirt. The fabric parts to reveal his chest, and my breath catches in horror. The dark runes from the veil ultimatum are glowing bright and angry across his skin, pulsing like living brands. They look infected, the edges glowing an ugly red.
"It's my fault," I cry, my voice cracking completely. "I pushed you away. I made you think I didn't trust you—that I didn't want you protecting me. I was scared and angry and stupid, and now you're like this because of me—"
Azren's arms come around me suddenly, strong despite how weak he looks. He pulls me flush against his soaked, burning chest, tucking my head under his chin like I'm something precious and fragile.
"Shhh, Angel," he murmurs, his voice hoarse but impossibly gentle. One large hand strokes slowly down my wet hair, petting me like a frightened child. "It’s not your fault. Never your fault. I’m sorry. I hurt you too. I’m so sorry.”
I clutch at his open shirt, sobbing into his neck as the cold water continues to pour over both of us.
"I thought you weren't coming home," I whisper. "I slept on the floor holding your shirt because I missed you so much it hurt. I'm so sorry, Azren. Please don't shut me out again. I can't lose you. I love you. I love you so much it scares me sometimes."
He keeps petting my hair, slow and soothing, even as his body trembles under the cold spray. His other arm tightens around my waist, holding me close.
"You're here," he breathes against my temple, his lips brushing my skin. "That's all I need. My quiet. My peace. Don't cry, baby. Please don't cry. I came back. I'll always come back to you."
The runes on his chest still pulse angrily, but his hold on me never wavers. For a while, he rocks us gently under the water, whispering soft apologies of his own between each stroke of his hand in my hair.
“I went to see Nyxara yesterday,” he finally croaks, and I stiffen, pulling back slightly to meet his gaze.
“W-what did she say?”
“There’s a way to fix the veil,” he breathes, and my eyes go wide.
“How?”