Manipulated Court

New life

After what felt like an eternity, April's body jerked. A violent cough racked through her as water spilled from her lips. Her eyes fluttered open, disoriented and wide, as if she was still falling. The room blurred before her, the world spinning from the adrenaline and shock of what had just happened. Her breaths came in ragged, frantic gasps, and her heart pounded like a drum in her chest.

Suddenly, a tall, familiar figure rushed from her bedside, his voice breaking the silence like a storm.

"By the Cauldron, April!" Nyx's voice was filled with both relief and panic. He dropped to his knees beside her, his face stricken with worry. His trembling hands cupped her cheeks, brushing away the droplets of water still clinging to her skin. His thumb traced over her damp lips as he tilted her face toward his, his eyes scanning every inch of her to make sure she was truly awake, truly alive.

"April—are you okay? Can you hear me?" he asked restlessly, his words tumbling over themselves, his voice thick with emotion.

She blinked up at him, her mind struggling to keep up with the events. Her lips parted, but no sound came out, the sensation of drowning still fresh in her lungs. She swallowed hard, trying to focus on Nyx's face, on his deep, urgent eyes searching her for any sign of injury.

His hands, trembling with fear and guilt, didn't leave her face. He gently stroked her wet hair, brushing it back from her forehead. "Don't ever do that again," he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of the moment. "Don't ever leave me like that."

April tried to respond, but her body was still shaking from the fall, the plunge into the icy water, and the suffocating grip of unconsciousness. Her fingers twitched at her sides, as if trying to reach for him, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

She had felt the weight of her world slipping away, and now, here he was—Nyx, pulling her back. But the emptiness inside her hadn't left. Not even the fall had been able to chase it away.

April's breathing steadied, though her body still trembled. The weight of the fall, the suffocating darkness beneath the water, and the despair that had led her to the precipice still lingered in her bones. She felt the deep, gnawing void within her—an emptiness that no amount of air in her lungs could fill.

But as she lay there, Nyx beside her, his hands cradling her face with a tenderness she had never known, something shifted. Despite the heaviness pressing on her heart, a flicker of light appeared in the distance. It was faint, barely noticeable amid the fog of her pain, but it was there—a bright bridge, like a thread of hope winding its way toward her.

Somehow, she could see it now—a connection, a line bridging the space between her and the beautiful male kneeling beside her. His stormy eyes, filled with anguish, guilt, and something she couldn't yet name, held her steady in that moment. And she understood, with startling clarity, that she would never truly be alone again.

Nyx cared for her.

Despite the chaos that had ripped through her life, despite the pain he had caused her, she could feel it now. Nobody would ever care for her as much as Nyx did, and, for