Chapter 121

I could hear his heartbeat again. I could feel the warmth of his body and the way his arm wrapped securely around my waist.

I had missed this.

I had missed it so much that I would have done anything just to feel his warmth again... just to hear his gentle voice whispering in my ear one more time.

But...

No matter how desperately I longed for him, no matter how deeply I wanted to stay by his side, none of it was worth watching him die because of me again.

So...

"Go away!"

"Stop interfering with my life!"

"I'm nothing but a useless human to you, so find a she-wolf who truly deserves to become your bride!"

"Just let me go... let me be free from you!"

I grabbed his wrist, trying to pull his hand away before lowering my head, desperately searching for the Rava Crystal hidden somewhere among the bushes.

I didn't dare look at his face. I didn't dare meet his eyes. Because I knew... The moment I looked into those sapphire-blue eyes, I wouldn't be able to keep lying anymore.

I tried to step away, my gaze still fixed on the ground as I searched frantically for the crystal. But before I could take another step, his hand tightened around mine.

In a single swift movement, he pulled me back toward him until our bodies were standing face to face.

Instinctively, I lifted my head.

...

Oh, God... I had missed him so much.

Those blue eyes... The same eyes that had always looked at me in exactly the same way.

I had missed them more than I could ever put into words.

I had missed him so much. But I knew...

I couldn't stay with him.

"Let go..." I cried, trying to pull away. Before I could say another word, however, he gently brushed his fingers across my cheek.

His touch was unbelievably careful as he caressed the small scratch left by the thorns while I had been running through the forest.

"I've missed you so much, Layla."

THUMP!

That single sentence shattered everything around me. The crashing waves below the cliff disappeared. The fierce wind roaring through the trees disappeared. The whole world faded away until all I could hear was his soft voice... And all I could see was his face.

"Stop punishing me by disappearing from my life." His thumb slowly traced across my dry, cracked lips before he stepped even closer, erasing every last inch of distance between us. "I can't live without you."

His voice was low and quiet. Yet every word struck straight into my heart.

"I've been so afraid..."

"So afraid that I'd never find you again."

His forehead nearly touched mine as his blue eyes searched mine with a sorrow I had never seen before.

"Tell me, Layla..."

"What do I have to do to make you stay by my side?"

"The thought of losing you... of you leaving me..."He closed his eyes for the briefest moment before opening them again. "...it feels like living in hell."

"I'll do anything."

"Anything you ask of me."

"So please... Stay with me, Layla."

"My human. My only woman. My entire world."

THUMP...THUMP...THUMP.

His voice was so gentle. His gaze was still sharp, just as it had always been, yet this time it carried a sorrow so deep that it stole every word from my lips.

My chest tightened until it hurt. The ache spread through me so violently that I could barely breathe.

Before I even realized it, my vision had become blurred with tears.

I've missed you too...

I've missed you in every lifetime I've ever lived. All I want is to hold you... to stay with you forever. I would give up everything just to remain by your side.

But... I can't watch you lose your life again.

I'm your curse. And if my disappearance is what it takes for you to survive... then I'll disappear from your life forever.

I screamed those words over and over inside my heart.

My tears streamed down my face, carrying a grief too deep for words. Because I couldn't tell him.

I couldn't tell him... What I had seen.

I couldn't tell him that I had lived this life over and over again... all for the sake of saving him.

So...

"I don't want you, Your Majesty."

"I never missed you. I never even thought about you. I..." My lungs felt as though they were about to burst. My voice trembled more with every word, and my breathing became so ragged that it hurt just to force out another lie.

These lies...They were killing me little by little.

"Leave me alone!"

"Stop locking me inside your palace. I'm not your pet. Just let me be free!"

My voice grew weaker. Softer. The words drifted away because of the way he was looking at me.

His gaze stole every bit of strength from my body until my lips refused to move and my tongue felt too heavy to continue telling these lies.

But... He wasn't angry.

I had rejected him. I had denied everything between us. And yet he simply looked at me with an expression filled with such profound longing that it made my heart ache.

A gentle smile touched his lips as he slowly brushed my tangled hair back from my face with unimaginable tenderness, treating me as though I were the most precious thing in his life.

"Let me go!"

"What are you doing?"

"I've already rejected you!"

"I'm the human you used to despise! You should be angry! You should leave me! You should find a she-wolf who's worthy of becoming your mate!"

"So why are you still here?!"

You'll die if you stay with me.

Please... let me go.

Please don't make me watch my own hell all over again.

I'm begging you... let me disappear from your life.

The words screamed inside both my heart and my mind, but no matter how desperately I shouted at him, he didn't show even the slightest hint of anger.

He didn't loosen his embrace. He didn't step away. He simply kept holding me, looking at me with a tenderness so overwhelming that it hurt far more than any cruel words ever could.

"I love you, Layla."

THUMP!

Silence... The entire world fell silent the moment those words left his lips.

His voice was low and soft... And as his warm fingers gently wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks, I felt something inside me shatter.

"I kept making excuses every time I wanted you by my side. I denied every feeling I'd had for you since the very first moment we met."

A faint, bitter smile crossed his lips.

"I even hurt you with my own words..."

"And after you left... I regretted them every single day." His forehead rested lightly against mine, his sapphire eyes never leaving mine for even a heartbeat.

"The only person I've ever wanted..."

"...is you."

"I even went to war because I wanted to search for you in the Human Kingdom."

"I missed you so much." His arms tightened around me as though he feared I would disappear if he loosened his hold for even a second. "And no matter what happens..."

"I will never let you go again."

Everything around me fell completely silent.

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. The only person left in my world... was Alexander.

His confession pressed so heavily against my heart that I could barely breathe. More than anything, I wanted to return his love. More than anything, I wanted him to know that I loved him just as deeply.

The bitterness inside me felt like a blade splitting my chest wide open.

No words would come.

All I could do was cry.

I didn't know what I was supposed to do anymore.

How could I change a fate that refused to be changed, no matter how many times I tried?

How was I supposed to save Alexander... when I was one of the reasons he died?

But...

No matter how desperately I tried... I couldn't hide what I felt for him anymore.

I had missed him so much that I would have given up everything just to have him hold me like this again. To have him gently stroke my back while I cried without restraint.

To have him wrap me in his arms as though he could chase away every nightmare and every fear that had haunted me.

I missed this man more than I treasured my own life.

I couldn't imagine living without him.

What was I supposed to do?

I could only weep in his embrace.

My hoarse sobs spoke more clearly than words ever could, revealing just how much I had suffered during the months I spent running away from him.

There was nothing left for me to say. It was as though every answer had already been poured into the tears I couldn't stop shedding.

The wind swept fiercely across the hill. The waves crashed endlessly against the cliffs below.

My sobs gradually weakened until only quiet, broken breaths remained.

Even then, Alexander never loosened his embrace. He held me tightly, surrounding me with a warmth so gentle that, before I even realized it, my exhausted body finally understood... I was safe.

The darkness came without warning. The exhaustion I had been forcing myself to ignore finally claimed me, and I collapsed unconscious in his arms.

The last thing I saw before everything faded away was Alexander lifting me into his embrace, his sapphire eyes filled with unmistakable worry as they searched my face.

...

Doom...!

As darkness swallowed me whole, I found myself dreaming once again.

It was a dream that felt achingly familiar. I stood alone in an endless void, and this time I saw a figure I recognized immediately.

"Your Majesty... Draconis Aurum." I lowered my head, feeling utterly drained, my body and soul weighed down by exhaustion.

The golden dragon lowered his enormous head and looked at me with calm, gentle eyes.

"Remember this, human..."

"The dragons now stand on your side." His deep voice echoed through the darkness with quiet authority.

"Call upon us... When the time comes." The words lingered in the silence before everything slowly dissolved into darkness once more.

I didn't know why the Dragon King had appeared in my dream again.

But perhaps... The existence of the dragons could become the one thing capable of changing the cruel fate that had bound me for so long.

...

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday. I've been feeling really burned out and overwhelmed trying to continue this story. 🥺 Even so, I'm still doing my best and I hope you like it. 🥺💙