FORGIVE ,

[I DID NOT COPY THIS. THIS IS MY NEW ACCOUNT.]

'"You treat me like you actually care."
Akaza's voice came out low-almost disbelieving-as his arms coiled around her waist, firm and possessive, like a serpent refusing to let go. His grip was warm, grounding, but it carried the quiet desperation of someone who didn't quite understand tenderness.

Yoso scoffed, the sound cutting through the air like a blade. She twisted slightly in his hold, just enough to meet his gaze. Her eyes-cold, unflinching-bore into him with a look that could've burned straight through his skull.

"Maybe I do," she said, her tone sharp enough to draw blood. "Or maybe you just can't handle the thought that I care about something-anything-other than power."

Her words dripped with venom, laced with a challenge that would've made anyone else recoil. But not Akaza. He didn't flinch, didn't loosen his grip. If anything, the corner of his mouth twitched upward, the faintest ghost of a smile-like he'd found something worth fighting for in her defiance.

_