Drayven knew what he was doing was wrong. Stupidly wrong. Yet no matter how many times he reminded himself of that truth, he could never bring himself to stop. Every time he touched her, his mind betrayed him, cruelly painting the image of Veloria in her place. Every time he looked at her, it was Veloria's face he saw the woman he had once loved with everything he had and the same woman who had left behind a hollow ache that refused to fade. She was never meant to be anything more than a temporary escape. Someone he could use to numb the pain, someone who could silence the loneliness that followed him like a shadow after Veloria disappeared from his life. That was what he told himself from the beginning. She was supposed to be nothing more than a distraction, a way to survive the nights that felt too quiet and the memories that refused to let him breathe. But somewhere along the way, things changed. He began to depend on her presence. The warmth of her company slowly seeped into the cracks Veloria had left behind, easing the suffocating emptiness in his chest. The loneliness that once haunted him every night seemed quieter whenever she was around, and before he knew it, her presence had become something he had grown used to. Something he needed. He tried to push her away, convincing himself that distance would fix everything before it spiraled into something far worse. He tried to treat her coldly, hoping that the indifference would drive her away and end the dangerous attachment between them. But he had been wrong. Because instead of leaving, she stayed. And instead of forgetting her, he found himself sinking deeper into the comfort she unknowingly gave him. Now the thought of her disappearing from his life felt far more terrifying than the guilt that constantly longer live without.