Chapter 103 Chapter 103
Tessa
I woke up to sunlight and the smell of soup. The kind that made the room feel warm even before I opened my eyes. Garlic, herbs, something slow-cooked. I lay there staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. Everything was quiet in a way that made me feel like I wasn’t supposed to move too much.
My stomach hurt, low and dull. Not sharp like the night before. Just heavy. Like my body was still trying to figure out what had happened. I sat up slowly, and the door opened almost right away.
Alina walked in carrying a tray. She was dressed down, no heels, no sharp jacket. Her hair was loose, and she looked softer than I’d ever seen her.
“You were awake.” She said,
“I think so,” I said. My voice sounded rough.
She smiled and set the tray beside the bed. Soup, toast, and tea. She sat next to me and rested her hand on my arm, light but steady.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I was okay,” I said. It was true. I wasn’t in pain. I was just… empty.
She nodded. “You were resting today. That was it. No arguing.”
I let out a small laugh. “You already told me I wasn’t allowed out of bed.”
She smiled like she meant it. “I did.”
She brushed my hair back slowly, and my eyes burned before I could stop it.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
Her hand paused. “For what?”
“For causing problems. For… everything.”
She cupped my face and looked straight at me. “This wasn’t your fault. Life happened. That was all,” she said, and I nodded even though guilt sat heavy in my chest. She stood up and opened the window. “You’re family now,” she said. “And family gets protected.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She told me Zaiel was still at work. I already knew that. I ate the soup because she watched me and waited until I did.
I woke up again closer to noon. Shea was asleep in a chair by the window, curled up with her phone in her hand. The house was quiet, calm, and too calm.
She stirred when I moved.
“Oh good, you’re alive,” she said. “I was about to poke you.”
“Please don’t,” I said. She stood up and stretched. “Lunch was coming. Aunt Alina is on a mission.” She said,
I smiled. “She is,” she replied.
Shea’s expression softened. “She really is. And she likes you. A lot.” She said
“I hope so.” She gave me a look. “If she didn’t, you’d feel it.”
After she left, I reached for my laptop. I told myself I was just checking. I opened my laptop, and I logged into the Rhyland Global dashboard. My access still worked. I checked search traffic. Everything looked normal. Then I saw it. My name. It wasn’t big. Just a small rise. Enough to notice if you knew where to look.
Related searches followed. Zaiel’s name. His family. No details yet; someone was searching, and searching always turned into something worse. I closed the laptop and leaned back. I told myself it was nothing, but it didn’t feel like nothing.
Dinner was loud, too loud for how tired I felt. Everyone talked over each other. Wedding plans flew across the table like bullets. Alina had opinions about flowers. Rosetta argued about seating. Shea wanted a theme. Michelle wanted chaos. I sat there smiling, nodding, and sipping water. Zaiel sat beside me, one hand resting on my thigh under the table. Grounding. Steady. After dessert, he leaned close.
“We’re leaving,” he said, and I didn’t argue because I needed some peace and quiet. We said our goodbyes. Alinai hugged me like she wasn’t letting go easily.
“Tomorrow,” she said. “You rest tonight.”
“I will,” I promised.
Zaiel
I got her out of that house as soon as I could, because my family was loud. Because she looked tired in a way that worried me. Like she was holding herself together instead of resting. The drive back to Athena Tower was quiet. She leaned against and stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past.
“You okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Just tired.”
Carlo parked in the garage, and we walked inside, my hand on her back the whole way. The elevator ride felt too long. When we stepped into the apartment, she sighed like she’d been holding her breath all day.
“Home,” she said.
I helped her out of her shoes and led her to the couch. She curled up automatically, like she’d done it a thousand times.
“I bought the house today,” I said casually.
She blinked. “You… what?”
“The one you liked,” I said. “The estate. Four point five.”
Her eyes widened. “Zaiel.”
“It was right,” I said. “For your dad. For you.”
She stared at me, then laughed softly. “So now we have to move.”
“Yes.”
“When?” She asked.
“Soon.”
She leaned back and shook her head. “My life keeps changing.” I sat beside her and pulled her into me. “We’ll do it slow.” She rested her head on my chest. “I like that house.” She said,
“I know.” She was quiet for a while.
“I saw something today.” She said.
I tensed slightly. “What?”
“My name is Search Stuff. Nothing big yet,” she said.
I exhaled slowly. “I was handling it.”
“You should’ve told me.” She said,
“I didn’t want you stressed.”
She pulled back and looked at me. “This is my job.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Promise me you won’t hide things.” She said I wanted to say yes without hesitation.
“I’ll try,” I said, but she didn’t smile, and that worried me more than anger would have. Later that night, she fell asleep fast, curled into my side. I stayed awake, staring at the ceiling. New house. Wedding coming. Enemies are quiet but not gone. There were too many moving parts, and I was going to keep her safe. Even if she never knew how much I was holding back.
Tessa
I woke up in our own bed, and for a second I didn’t recognize the ceiling. That always happened after something big. My brain took a moment to catch up, like it was buffering. Then everything slid back into place all at once, and my chest tightened. I turned my head slowly.
Zaiel was still asleep beside me, flat on his back, one arm stretched toward my side of the bed like he’d reached for me sometime during the night and missed. His face looked calm, but I knew better. Even asleep, he held tension like a second spine. I stayed still and watched him breathe.
The ache in my stomach was still there, but softer. More like a memory than pain. I pressed my palm against it and stared at the light creeping through the curtains.
This was real. All of it was real. I carefully slid out of bed, making sure I didn’t wake him. I pulled one of his shirts on and headed to the kitchen. The apartment was quiet; sometimes it felt like we lived above everything messy. I made a coffee and sat at the counter.