Chapter 174 THE DREAM

Chapter 174 THE DREAM
LEO

My eyes remained fixed on her.
Sienna.
She was really standing there.
Wearing the same clothes she had worn the first day she came to my house months ago.
The same blue jeans. The same white top. I still remember it all.
Nothing about our first meeting ever escaped my memory. They were still freshly buried somewhere inside me.
“Is that really you?” I heard myself say, but I didn’t believe I was even speaking.
It felt as though time had suddenly rolled backwards.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t even blink.
Sarah stood beside me, a broad grin lighting up her face. She was so excited to see Sienna again that her legs seemed to tremble with anticipation.
Sienna was standing there. She couldn’t speak either, just like I couldn’t.
“How did—”
Before I could finish speaking, she ran towards me, letting go of her bags.
Unbelievable.
She jumped into my arms, and I held her tightly against my heart again.
Neither of us spoke. Our bodies remained wrapped around each other, our hearts beating in a slow, steady rhythm. For the first time in a long while, everything felt peaceful again.
We were lost in our own world, not caring about the people watching us.
Sienna slowly lifted her eyes to mine.
Without uttering a word, she kissed me—very deeply.
“I think you should get a room,” Sarah’s voice echoed.
Without hesitation, I scooped Sienna into my arms, keeping her wrapped securely against me as I carried her toward my room.
Sarah followed behind us, wheeling Sienna’s bags.
The sound of the bags stirred something inside me. Peace. Joy.
My stomach churned with butterflies. Somewhere deep inside, I was wishing, hoping that I don’t wake up from this dream if it’s one.
Gently, we arrived in my room, yet I still didn’t want to let her off my hands.
Fear gripped my heart. What if she slipped off my hands again?
What if this is all a dream, and I wake up and find her no longer by my side?
Sarah pulled Sienna’s bags gently toward my wardrobe. I could see she was truly in support of my relationship with Sienna.
The excitement radiating from her face said it all.
Then she smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Before I could say anything, she ran away.
Soon, it was just Sienna and I.
My attention settled back on Sienna.
“Tell me it’s not a dream,” I whispered, my eyes glued to her.
She glanced at me but couldn’t speak at once.
For a few seconds, we kept staring deeply into each other’s eyes.
Standing there.
With Sienna resting in my arms. I wasn’t tired of holding her.
Gently, I reached for her lips again.
The moment our lips met, the world around us faded away. The kiss was slow at first, filled with longing and unspoken emotions, before deepening into something more intense.
My hand met her tiny waist, and I drew her closer, while her fingers curled around my neck.
Heat rushed through us, and every heartbeat felt louder than the last. It wasn’t just a kiss.
Tenderness and hunger blended together, leaving neither of us willing to pull away.
The warmth of her lips sent butterflies tumbling through my stomach, and as she melted into my embrace, every pain I had felt suddenly vanished into thin air.
Finally, I pulled my lips from hers and gently sat on the bed, making her sit on my legs, facing me.
Sienna gasped. I could tell how weak she was already down there. I, too, was hard inside.
My hormones kept fighting me for putting an end to the kisses.
Our breaths increased.
Her fingers traced around my neck again.
We couldn’t speak.
She lowered her eyes, and all I saw was desire—a burning one.
We wanted each other badly.
She bent over me again and wrapped her arms around my waist, her breath thumping.
“I missed you. So much,” she muttered softly.
“Tell me it’s real. Tell me I’m not dreaming,” I repeated, struggling to find any other words.
She slowly lifted her face from my neck and turned to face me.
“No, baby,” she said in a whisper. “I’m here to stay.”
My heart sank. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to believe her words.
I must be dreaming.
How can Sienna just walk freely into my arms again?
Cruz won’t permit that. I know him really well.
That’s why I keep telling myself it’s all a dream—the kind I never want to wake up from.
“You’re not telling me the truth,” my voice cracked.
She remained quiet, only inhaling my fresh breath.
“Do you know how many nights I couldn’t sleep because of you?” she said, almost bursting into tears.
I held her tightly again and kissed her.
Now I believed it wasn’t all a dream. She was real.
“I almost died,” I said while hungrily ravishing her lips. “I went insane also.”
I clenched her cheeks, just looking into her eyes.
“I came because I couldn’t stay away any longer. I went through hell living without you,” she said, broken.
“I’m sorry for everything. I—”
“You’re worth more than everything to me,” she shushed me.
“And Cruz? What about him?” I asked, curious.
Her face darkened. Gently, she stood up from my legs and walked toward the bathroom.
“He disowned me,” she said. “Said I belong to you now.” With that, she pushed open the restroom door and walked inside.
I knew something was wrong somewhere.
Sienna must have gone through a lot. How could Cruz have done such a horrible thing?
Does he despise me so much that he’d rather disown his daughter than see her with me?
That angered me. I wanted to take my phone and call Cruz right away.
By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, I ran to hug her again.
If nothing else, I am grateful to her for choosing to stay with me and fight through every challenge that stood in our way.
She embodied everything I would describe as a strong woman.
“I put you into all of this stress. Did you really choose me over your family?”
She nodded her head without saying a word and then lowered her chin again.
Gently, I cupped her cheeks, pulling her eyes to meet mine, my breath hitching.
“You’re the only person I have in my life now, Leo. My brother… my dad. They stopped talking to me since the time I chose to be with you,” she said, her voice flattening.
My hands fell reflexively from her cheeks, and I carried her to the bed.
Gently, I helped her onto the bed before kneeling in front of her and taking both of her hands in mine.
“My love,” I said, lifting her hands to my lips. “I promise I’ll never hurt you. What we have means too much to me to ever take it for granted.”
She looked at me with something deep in her eyes.
“Then tell me the truth—are you finally ready to let me into your life completely, or will you keep hiding us from the world like I don’t matter enough to be seen with you?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I nodded, more than ready to let the world see the woman who meant everything to me.