Salvation lies within the recesses of her heart. Can he claim it as his own?
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╰┈⫸ 𝑺 𝒀 𝑵 𝑶 𝑷 𝑺 𝑰 𝑺:
𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢'𝐬 life takes a harrowing turn on her best friend's wedding day when an anonymous man crashes the ce...
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When my eyes opened, I saw nothing for a moment. It felt as though my brain had deliberately stopped functioning. And it scared me shitless until someone shook me gently, pulling me back from the oblivious daze I had fallen into.
Rafael held my gaze like a man crazed, his attention singularly fixated on me. Silence fell between us, stretching long enough for me to know he wouldn't speak first. I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
The world seemed to snap back to him as he blinked, then closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. He stared intensely into mine, a frown deepening on his face as he registered my expression, which hovered somewhere near annoyance. "You fainted. And... now you're awake."
Realization hit me as my memories flashed back in vivid detail: going for a walk, stumbling upon a kennel, encountering a dog. My expression immediately paled as the fear came crashing back within me.
Rafael, sensing the swing of my mood, shifted slightly, catching my wrist when I tried to get up from the bed.
I tried freeing myself from his grasp until his calm tone broke through my panic. "There's nothing here, Queen. You don't need to be scared."
I snapped my head toward him, scoffing at his words. "Let my damn wrist go before you break it by force."
That made him release his hold, his frown deepening as his eyes studied me. "I'm not going to break anything of yours."
I needed him to leave. He couldn't see me like this-in my vulnerable, fearful, miserable state. What was he even doing here?
"Get out."
He eyed me like I was drunk, and I hated it. "Do you not understand a word I say, Rafael? What are you, a damn caveman?"
He remained quiet, his gaze unsettling as it assessed me before locking onto my face again. Then he tilted his head. "Are you, perhaps, scared that I'll make fun of you?"
This time, I frowned, the ridiculous question rendering me speechless. "I'm not scared. I'm just telling you to get out."
"You had a panic attack an hour ago. You were shivering like a leaf caught in the cold in my arms. And now you want me to leave you alone?"
That was him? He was the one I'd rushed to, practically begged for help because of a silly phobia that had triggered my nerves?
Oh my God.
It was humiliating.
"I didn't even know I was in your arms." I muttered.
He sighed as though he was dealing with a child. What? "Yeah, because you fainted and were too busy crying."
