Death of a Bachelor (COMPLETED)

#47 Heart Racing

Never in a million dreams did Lewis ever imagine that he would one day kneel in front of someone, holding a ring with shaking hands and a heart racing in his chest. Love had always been something he avoided—something that felt too heavy, too permanent, too risky. For most of his life, he had convinced himself that love like this wasn’t meant for someone like him. He lived fast, moved constantly, and guarded his heart carefully.

The separation of his father and mother had a huge impact on Lewis—more than most people ever realized. Even though, both of his parents eventually found happiness in their own separate lives, the experience left a lasting mark on him.

As a child, he often felt caught between two worlds. The rules, expectations, and routines were different in each home, and he had to constantly adjust, learning how to please both sides without fully understanding why things had changed. He loved them both deeply, but the confusion never truly went away.

Deep down, even as he grew older, there was always a quiet fear buried inside him—a fear that one day, history might repeat itself. What if love wasn’t enough to keep people together? What if no matter how much you cared, it still ended in heartbreak? These thoughts made him question the idea of commitment, of building a family, of trusting someone enough to believe in “forever.”

He used to tell himself that he would never settle down, never let anyone in too deep, and certainly never become someone who needed another person to feel whole. He had built his life around independence, freedom, and control. Commitment wasn’t part of the plan. Love, at least the kind that lasted, didn’t feel safe.

But this year—this short, life-changing span of months—everything changed for Lewis. Simone came into his life, and little by little, those old rules stopped making sense. The walls he spent years building began to crack, not because he was weak, but because she saw right through them.

She never asked him to change—but somehow, he did. Her presence shifted something inside him. Her laughter softened his edges. Her strength made him want to be better. Her love made him brave enough to imagine a future different from the one he always assumed he’d have.

Now, all the promises he made to himself—the ones about staying unattached and guarded—no longer mattered. They were replaced by a new kind of promise. One he was ready to make not out of fear, but out of love. Out of hope. Out of everything she made him believe again.

Simone sat quietly in the shade of the garden, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves around her as she held her brush with steady hands. Her canvas was halfway filled with warm strokes of sunlight, soft shadows, and the strong figure standing just a few feet away.

Lewis stood completely naked among the tall grass and wildflowers, his bare skin glowing in the afternoon light, surrounded by the soft colors of nature—wildflowers, tall grass, and distant hills. He stood without fear or hesitation, fully open to her gaze.

He was her muse now.

His eyes staring at her, keeping his straight face. His heart swelled as she glanced at him once more. The peaceful countryside wrapped around them like a secret world—silent, private, and far away from the noise of the outside life they both knew too well.

Simone sigh her eyes were finally fixed on him, the way the light danced across his shoulders and the calm strength in his posture. His presence and the calmness he carried. Her gaze moved up to meet his, and for a moment, the rest of the world disappeared.

She stared into his deep, dark brown eyes—eyes she had fallen for long before she ever dared to admit it. There was something grounding in them, something safe and strong, something that made her want to wake up every morning just to look at them again.