𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐇𝐈: 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑-𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 ♡

【8】 Babe!

"Heaven isn't a place you go to when you die, It's inside the person that's worthy dying for."

The words, torn from the pages of the second book of Cat & Mouse Duet, 'Hunting Adeline' by H.D. Carlton, resonated deep within me.

God, this book was phenomenal. Absolutely intoxicating.

All I could think was-just give me one Zade Meadows.

While some of them may say that Zade is the worst book character based on the first book, I say try reading the second book for him.

Ugh, people have this weird habit to judge so quickly.

A sudden heat rushed to my cheeks, a tell-tale blush spreading.

Why was my mind, without permission, conjuring Ruvit's face just now?

God, this boy was driving me utterly crazy.

His image, sharp and vivid, burned behind my eyelids.

I could still recall the very first day we met.

The way our initial encounters had been a whirlwind of clashes, the sharp wit of our fights, the playful sting of our teasing, and so much more.

With a definitive snap, I closed the book, laying it carefully on my cabin table.

My feet, as if guided by an unseen force, carried me to the glass window.

Rain.

The world outside wept, a deluge mirroring a storm within.

I ripped my gaze away, my eyes recoiling from the pane as if burned.

Rain held that visceral fragment of my past, a memory so sharp it could drive me crazy, a wound I desperately tried to keep buried.

Suffocation.

I felt like a cold, heavy hand squeezed my chest, stealing my breath.

♡

"I loved you so much, but you left me alone in this cruel world." The unspoken words tore through me.

Tears, hot and uncontrollable, spilled from my eyes as I stared at his photo on my phone, a ghostly image frozen in time.

I had a family, yes. A loving family.

Sweet parents, a caring elder brother, and an annoying younger brother I cherish a lot.

But still, an aching void remained within me, a desolate emptiness that pulsed without him.

What was the point of accumulating so much money, building an empire, when I couldn't have you in my life?

It felt like a cruel joke.

"How ironic? Gifted with the power of speech, yet cannot find words how to describe you."