𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭| 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 |𝟏𝟖+

Chapter 1 | The ones that got away

*** HELLO! ***

This book is dedicated to my best friend, which, unfortunately, I lost.

Enjoy:*
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I hear him calling my name.

"Cali!" My brother's voice cuts through the darkness once more, echoing between the ancient trees.

I run toward it.

Branches whip against my skin as I push deeper into the forest, my feet barely touching the ground. Every breath burns. Every muscle screams.

"Wait! I'm coming!" I shout back, my voice breaking as it disappears into the night.

"Cali! Cali, hurry up! Come on!"

The sound of him is everywhere. Around me. Ahead of me. Inside my head.

My heart pounds violently against my ribs. I run faster.

Because hope is a dangerous thing. And right now, hope is all I have.

The tiny possibility that he came back for me, that after all this time, he returned and is waiting somewhere ahead, is enough to send adrenaline rushing through my veins.

My legs feel heavy. Numb. I can't feel my fingertips anymore.

Sweat trickles down my forehead despite the cold night air, and each breath becomes harder than the last.

Still, I don't stop.

"Wait!" I gasp. "Please! I'm coming!"

His voice drifts through the darkness again, softer this time. "Cali, come with me. Come, and I promise it will never hurt again."

The words hit something deep inside my chest. A wound that never truly healed.

Please.
Please take me with you.

"I want to go with you, brother!" I cry desperately. "Please wait!" I leap over a fallen tree and stumble out of the forest.

The world suddenly opens around me.
A lonely field stretches beneath a silver moon, its pale light spilling across the tall grass like liquid mercury. The forest remains behind me, dark and endless, while the field ahead feels strangely untouched. Sacred.

For a brief moment, everything falls silent.

Then— "Cali..."

His voice is weaker now. Farther away. "Cali..."

Only a distant murmur. A fading memory.

Fear grips my chest. "No," I whisper.

No.
Please don't leave me.

The first lightning bolt tears across the sky.
The crack of thunder follows instantly, shaking the earth beneath my feet.