The Blackwood Curse

Chapter 33

Sarah's POV

I couldn't speak. The intensity of his stare, the weight of his words, left me paralyzed. He leaned in, his face inches from mine, his breath warm against my skin.

"I've been watching you, protecting you," he continued. "I've tried to fight it, to bury it, but I can't anymore. Not when I see the way he treats you. Not when I know the danger you're in."

His hands slid slightly, his thumbs brushing against my sides in a way that made my pulse quicken. There was something almost possessive in the way he held me, as if he was staking a silent claim.

"I would never let anything happen to you," Axel whispered, his voice low and intimate, each word wrapped in unspoken promise.

His lips were so close to my ear that his breath sent a shiver down my spine. My knees felt weak, my resolve wavering under the intensity of his gaze.

"Axel, please," I managed, my voice barely above a whisper. "This... this is wrong."

His eyes softened, but the desire in them didn't waver. "I'm not asking for anything, Sarah," he said. "I just needed you to know."

For a long moment, neither of us moved. The room seemed to hum with unspoken tension, the space between us charged with something I couldn't name. Then, slowly, Axel released his hold on me, stepping back but never breaking eye contact.

"Lets go" he said.

Axel's POV

The night wrapped around us like a velvet shroud, thick with tension and the weight of words left unsaid. The mansion, its gothic spires slicing into the starless sky, loomed behind us as Sarah followed me into the gardens. The air was sharp with the scent of damp earth and autumn leaves, the perfect cover for secrets whispered in the dark.

I had to tell her. She had to know how i feel for her- that it wasn't lust, it wasn't just attraction or some passing feeling.

We stopped beneath the ancient oak tree, its gnarled branches casting shadows that danced in the pale glow of the moon. Sarah's breath rose in soft clouds, her lips slightly parted as she turned to face me.

"What's wrong, Axel?" she asked, her voice low but steady.

I hesitated, the words battling inside me. But there was no more time for silence, no more time for hiding. I had to say it. For both our sakes. "Sarah, I-" My heart beat faster, and I could see her bracing for whatever was coming next, like a storm was about to break.

I'm in love with you, Sarah," I said, the words raw and unfiltered, as if torn from the deepest part of me. "Hopelessly, irrevocably in love with you."

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, she stood frozen, as if the weight of my confession had rendered her immobile.

"I've loved you since the first time I saw you," I continued, my voice thick with emotion. "Before you were pulled into this cursed family, before you became Eren's wife. And every day since, I've been dying a little more inside."

"I know it's wrong," I continued, my voice dropping to a whisper, "but I can't help it, Sarah. I'm not asking for anything from you. I just needed you to know. The truth, before you leave to see your aunts"

"Axel..." Her voice was barely a whisper, her eyes shimmering with an emotion I couldn't quite place.

Her face was pale, her eyes searching mine, a mix of confusion and something deeper that I couldn't name. She didn't speak for a long moment, and I thought for a second she might turn away completely, running from me and everything I had just laid bare.