Chapter 20 Touched
The last whispered “letém mi go…” faded between them.
Silence settled. Warm. Heavy. Close.
Leitana’s forehead still rested against his chest, her breath brushing his shirt in soft, uneven puffs. She wasn’t shaking anymore, but she clung to him like her fingers were stitched into his body.
Ravial didn’t move.
Not because he was being gentle.
But because he was afraid…
AFRAID…
that if he let go even an inch, something in him might snap.
Something so unheard off.
Her eyes lifted slowly, searching his face in the dark.
“Ravial…?”
The way she said his name, small, unsure, trusting him despite everything
it struck him lower than any blow ever had.
He cupped her jaw, thumb brushing the last wet tear on her cheek.
“You should’ve told me,” he said, voice low.
“You should’ve said you feared small spaces.”
She blinked, confused. “How I wan tell you… when everything around me just..”
She squeezed her eyes shut again, a tiny shiver running through her.
“...start to choke me?”
His jaw flexed.
He hated that.
Hated the fear on her face.
Hated himself for causing it.
No.
He hated the elevator.
The building.
The damn electricity.
Everything that dared make her cry.
He leaned closer, his forehead brushing hers lightly, too lightly for a being like him.
“You won’t cry like that again,” he murmured.
Her breath hitched. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can,” he said simply.
Because in his mind, he already had: He would rip the world apart before letting anything hurt her.
A tiny silence lingered between them, thick and fragile.
Then….
Her small fingers tugged his sleeve.
“Ravial… I still want to piss.”
He closed his eyes.
Of course.
Of course THIS girl would say that right after he vowed something borderline criminal in his heart.
He huffed a breath, half a laugh, half disbelief and pulled her closer by the waist.
“Little lamb,” he said, voice rough, “if you say that one more time while you’re in my arms, I might actually lose my mind.”
She blinked, whispering,
“…but I really want to.”
“Then the sooner the elevator moves, the better,” he muttered darkly.
He reached for the emergency panel, still holding her with one arm, refusing to let even air come between them. He pressed a switch, and the backup system clicked…
A faint hum stirred. Lights flickered. The elevator jolted.
Leitana squealed and latched onto him again.
He caught her easily, steadying her with both hands now.
“It’s just coming back online,” he murmured, softer this time.
“You’re fine.”
She peered up at him, cheeks still wet, lashes trembling.
“…You sure e no fall?”
“If it falls,” he said, tilting her chin up, voice dropping dangerously,
“I’ll make sure I hit the ground first.”
Her eyes widened.
She didn’t know whether to be moved or terrified.
The elevator lights strengthened, humming back to life.
She sagged in relief.
But Ravial didn’t let her go.
Then she froze her eyes going wide.
Then…
“Oh my God….” she squeaked, jerking back from his chest.
Her hands flew to her face.
Her eyes were puffy.
Tears everywhere.
A bit of snot on her upper lip, shiny and embarrassing.
She wiped frantically, rubbing her cloth, her sleeve, anything…
“Oh no, no, no…Ravial I look stupid— I look like goat, I cry too much, no no please don’t look…” she babbled, scrubbing harder.
He didn’t even blink.
“Stop,” he said quietly.
She froze mid–face-wipe.
His gaze lowered to her trembling hands…then lifted to her blotchy cheeks…and something in his expression went dark.
Soft.
Possessive.
“I saw you cry,” he murmured.
“Every tear. Every breath. All of it.”
Her soul left her body.
“And?” she whispered.
“And I don’t mind.”
A slow step toward her.
“In fact…”
His voice dropped to a sinful whisper.
“I like knowing you trust me enough to cry.”
Her knees almost folded.
The doors slid open with a soft ding.
A group of technicians stood there, wide-eyed.
“Sir! Miss! We apologize. System glitched…”
They tried to explain, heads bowing, hands wringing.
Ravial didn’t spare them one single glance.
He walked straight past them, holding her wrist gently but firmly, like she was something fragile he refused to let anyone touch.
Her legs wobbled.
Immediately, he scooped her up.
One arm under her knees.
One under her back.
Lifted like she weighed nothing.
“R…Ravial!” she squealed.
“Put me down! People dey look!”
“They can look,” he said, jaw tight.
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m not shaking….”
Her leg twitched.
“That’s a shake,” he said, and kept walking.
She hid her face in his shoulder, dying inside.
He carried her all the way to the restroom hallway, stopping right at the door.
Gently, he set her down.
“You can go,” he murmured, brushing her cheek with the back of his finger.
“I’ll wait here.”
Then he leaned on the wall beside the door…
Like a dangerous guardian.
Tall.
Brooding.
Eyes on anyone who dared pass by.
Like a man protecting something he considered his.
She darted into the restroom.
As soon as she stepped out of the restroom, eyes still a little red, Ravial pushed off the wall and walked straight toward her.
Before she could say anything, he held out a chilled bottle of water.
She blinked.
“Where… where you get that one?”
His expression didn’t change.
“I made one of the staff fetch it.”
Her eyes widened. “Fetch? How quick?”
He shrugged, it didn't matter.
“When I tell people to move, they move.”
She swallowed. Hard.
Of course.
He hadn’t left the hallway, she knew he hadn’t.
He was right there the whole time like a silent guard dog.
Which meant…
Some poor staff member must’ve sprinted like their life depended on it.
Then he added“You cried too long, your body lost water.”
“Ehn?” she blinked.
He held up a cold bottle.
“Drink.”
She stared at him strangely touched.
He unscrewed the cap and lifted it toward her lips.
“Drink,” he repeated, softer.
She swallowed a sip.
A second.
A third.
He watched her the entire time, gaze intense, thumb brushing her chin when a drop slipped down.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
Her heart exploded.
The bottle dropped a little as she whispered, flustered,
“Ravial… why you treating me like, like I’m something special?”
He leaned in, voice barely above a breath.
“Because you are.”
Her
lips trembled.
Her chest fluttered.
Her knees wobbled again.
He smirked, slight, wicked.
“Still unsteady?”
He slid an arm around her waist.
“Want me to carry you again?”
She slapped his chest lightly.
“NO!”
But the way she looked at him…
Oh, it told him everything.