The Forbidden Love of Aesop Sharp

Chapter 32 - Embrace*

An overwhelming torrent of emotions crashed upon me as I found myself standing before him. Interwoven with a tumultuous blend of anger, regret, frustration, and desire, a singular and overpowering emotion seized me, rendering me almost immobile in its grip.

Our eyes locked, and I discerned a mirrored tempest of emotions raging within him. For a suspended moment, time seemed to stand still as we both hesitated to break the silence.

I seized this opportunity to observe him, attempting to decipher what he so often tried to bury deep within himself. His features were drawn, and he appeared more tired, more weary than ever. His hair fell around his face, and his brows were furrowed.

Perplexity and concern were visible in every aspect of his demeanor, including his gestures. He leaned against the doorframe as if dominating the space, imposing his impressive stature. Faced with my silence, his demeanor grew even more stern, but I didn't sense the usual coldness and sense of exclusion; something had changed.

For the first time in years, the gaze he fixed on me wasn't laden with regret and shame. On the contrary, it seemed to betray something deeper, warmer, and more intimate. I felt vulnerable before him, exposed. Nervously, I tightened Sebastian's coat around me to regain some composure.

"I need a drink," I finally declared, breaking the oppressive silence and avoiding his gaze. He nodded, stepping aside, and I crossed the threshold, entering the room that had once been ours. A strange sensation enveloped me as everything seemed so familiar yet so different.

I startled when the door closed behind me and turned toward him, trying to ease the anxieties and fears that these past two days in captivity had intensified in me.

Sharp approached the wooden dresser and, with a confident gesture, seized a bottle resting on a silver tray. Without a word, he poured the golden liquid into two glasses before finally turning toward me, his eyes sweeping over my body from head to toe, pausing at my face.

He made no move toward me and didn't utter a word, forcing me to approach him myself, which brought a tinge of annoyance.

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking one of the glasses and immediately bringing it to my lips without breaking eye contact. The bourbon scorched my mouth, sending warmth down my throat to my stomach. But I didn't mind; pain no longer frightened me.

I finished the glass in one go, under Sharp's piercing and inquisitive gaze, and observed him, daring him with my eyes to do the same. But he didn't yield. Much more measured, he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.

I chuckled and took the glass from his hand. A smirk played on his face as I licked a drop of alcohol that trickled down his glass, moving up to the rim before taking a long sip, nearly emptying it. "You look thirsty," he remarked calmly, uttering his first words since my arrival.

Unable to contain a smile, I gently set his glass on the dresser, turning toward the fireplace. Yet, before I could take a step, he firmly grasped my wrist, keeping me close.

"I thought you were the one who reported me to the ministry," I said lightly, watching his face crumble at my statement.

"I am... but not in the way you might think," he replied, his nails digging into the flesh around my wrist, as if he was afraid, I might escape. "Let me explain."

His voice was firm and determined, but his eyes pleaded with me to listen. "Go on," I responded with a sigh.

"Katie, I didn't want it to happen like this. I trusted the wrong people; I was betrayed..."

A laugh escaped me; I couldn't help it. After everything I've been through in this cursed place, how dare he bring that up. "You've been betrayed?" I raised my voice, gazing at him with anger.