"You said you love me? Then beg for it. Beg for my love. Show me-prove it again and again until I say yes."
Beatrix is a girl of few words, someone who keeps her emotions locked away, unwilling to let anyone close. After experiencing deep trust issu...
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Beatrix:
I've finally accepted the truth—there's no denying it any longer. I like him. I want to be with him.
Every moment spent with Ethan feels like an awakening, it's as if my heart understands things my mind hasn't caught up to yet. Every time he's near, my pulse quickens, as though I'm being pulled toward something I didn't even realize I needed. His words have this quiet magic, a soothing balm to the turmoil that's always been with me. He had this unsettling power, this ability to pierce my defenses, to make me see, to make me feel things I wasn't prepared to confront.
Now, the carefully constructed walls of my resolve were crumbling, the carefully curated facade dissolving like mist in the morning sun. My thoughts, once neatly organized and compartmentalized, were now a tangled skein, slipping through my grasp. I'd wanted to shield my heart, to preserve it from the vulnerability he evoked with such effortless grace. But as I stood on the precipice, the edge of something unknown and potentially devastating, a strange sense of surrender washed over me.
Perhaps, I thought, it was time to relinquish control, to abandon the futile struggle against the inevitable. Maybe it was time to simply let go, to surrender to the pull, terrifying allure of whatever this was. To fall, even if the fall shattered me into a million pieces.
—---
Emma's voice, sharp and insistent, sliced through the quiet hallway the moment I stepped inside.
"So? How was it?" She bounced on the balls of her feet, a whirlwind of anticipation. "Did you two talk?"
"No," I replied, my voice flat, avoiding her gaze. "He didn't come to class."
"What?" Emma's voice erupted. Why? How could he possibly miss class? Especially with...that opportunity? That dumb guy!"
"Who knows," I shrugged, feigning indifference. "Maybe he finally realized it wasn't worth it."
"Don't give me that," Emma said, her smirk knowing. "I know you're more disappointed than I am."
"No, I'm not," I retorted, pushing past her and into my room, slamming the door behind me.
But Emma was right. A hollow ache settled in my chest, a cold, sharp disappointment that gnawed at me. Why? He'd missed class? The question echoed in the sudden silence of my room.
My mind spun, a chaotic vortex of overthinking and unanswered questions. Maybe he doesn't want to see me anymore... The thought, once a distant, almost laughable fear, now gripped me with startling intensity. Although I knew deep down it wasn't true, it still lodged itself in my chest like a cold knot.
—-
The evening buzzed with the familiar hum of the store, the constant flow of customers keeping me anchored in the rhythm of my shift. I barely had the space to let my thoughts wander, too absorbed in the rush of the evening. But as the final bell above the door chimed and the last customer disappeared into the night, a sudden quiet enveloped me. I exhaled, the tension in my shoulders easing with the release of my breath.
