CHAPTER 46: _ PRE-AWAKENING CEREMONY

The night creeps in quietly, enveloping the estate in the kind of silence that makes every creak of the old house feel amplified. The moon filters in through the window, the soft ray spilling across the bed where two stubborn creatures are lying far too close to one another for enemies.

Darien shifts, body warm beside her under the covers. Heidi stares at the ceiling, trying to ignore the fact that her pulse is drumming hard, betraying how aware she is of him.

"This is ridiculous," she mutters finally, tugging the blanket higher around her shoulders.

He grunts, in a lazy and frustrated tempo. "What is?"

"This. Us. Sharing a bed like this." She risks a glance, only to find him already smirking in the dim light.

"You’re the one who wouldn’t stop shivering," he drawls. "I was being generous, letting you in. Don’t flatter yourself."

Her mouth opens, but nothing comes out for a moment. Heat rushes to her cheeks. "Oh, so this is a charity cuddle, is it?"

"Exactly." His lips twitch. "I get nothing out of this. Pure sacrifice."

She scoffs at his lying ass. "You’re unbelievably a good liar."

"And yet here you are, clinging to my arm like it’s the last branch on a cliff."

"I am not..." She stops, realizing she is pressed close against him, her fingers curled against the wall of his chest. She forces herself to loosen them, muttering, "You’re making that up."

Darien chuckles and the sound vibrates through the bed, through her

. "Sure, sweetheart. Whatever helps you sleep."

Her chest rises and falls with irritation... or maybe it’s something else. She refuses to name it. Instead, she throws back: "You’re lucky I didn’t shove you to the floor. That was my first plan."

"I’d like to see you try." His voice dips, teasing but edged with challenge.

Her mind betrays her, imagining what it would be like to actually shove him—only for him to pin her down in retaliation. Her cheeks heat up violently, and she rolls onto her side to face away from him.

This is safer. Out of sight, out of mind. Except she can feel him. The solid weight of him beside her, the warmth radiating like a furnace, the faint scent of him makes her insides twist.

Her thoughts flicker to the phone call earlier. To his quiet efficiency, the way he handled it like he was the only one in control of this chaotic world. And then the small detail he’d added before bed:

He’d called his sister, made some kind of arrangement with Daphne. Heidi bites her lip in the dark. He’d told her Daphne might be "a little pompous," that she should overlook it. Apparently, Daphne was sweet underneath all that spoiled-brat sheen.

Heidi isn’t looking forward to meeting her. The idea of being dolled up like some doll for display doesn’t thrill her. And the thought that Darien cares enough to arrange it unsettles her even more.

Because why does he care? Why her?

Her eyelids grow heavy despite her tangled thoughts. His warmth lulls her in, and the rhythm of his steady breaths is strangely comforting. She won’t admit it, not even to herself, but the truth is plain: she doesn’t feel as alone with him near.

She falls asleep there, her cheek pillowed on the crook of his shoulder, both of them clinging to flimsy excuses instead of the truth.

.

.

The first thing Heidi notices is light. Soft golden beams filtering in through the curtains. The second thing is him

. Darien is awake, propped slightly on his elbow, watching her.

Her heart jolts in her chest. He looks different like this. Fewer sharp edges, and fewer storms. There’s something almost... soft in the way his mouth curves in a... smile.

A real smile. Not the mocking smirks he throws around like weapons. A smile so warm it makes her chest ache. Before she can say anything, before she can even breathe properly, he leans down and presses his lips to hers.

It’s gentle and sweet. Something she has never experienced from him before. Did she just receive a morning kiss? Heidi freezes in shock.

And then... he recoils as fast as the kiss comes.

He blinks like he’s just realized what he’s done. "I don’t know why I did that," he mutters quickly, tension snapping back into his body.

Ouch... she wonders why that feels disappointing.

Her face burns. She forces a shrug, even though her heart is racing in her chest. "Forget it."

Forget it? As if she possibly could. But she needs to say it, needs to shove it aside before it unravels her completely.

Darien studies her for a minute, lips pressed tight. He opens his mouth, then shuts it. Finally, he says instead, "You should shower. Daphne will be here any minute."

The reminder is like cold water thrown on her. The ceremony. The dress. The scrutiny. All the nerves slam back into her chest.

She nods quickly. "Okay."

Slipping out of bed, she heads for the bathroom. The water is warm but it can’t calm her buzzing nerves. She scrubs at her skin like maybe she can wash away the memory of his lips against hers, the smile that shouldn’t have meant so much.

By the time she emerges, towel-drying her hair, Daphne has already arrived. Time to meet one of the sisters of the man who fucked her brains out overnight. And why... why does it feel like it’s a hammer placed right above her chest, ready to crush her heart? Not when her precious brother had just planted his lips on hers a while ago.

The sound of heels clicking against marble was the first sign that something dangerous was approaching. Heidi froze on the spot. She’d just been running through a silent replay of Darien’s ridiculous "I don’t know why I did that" from moments ago, trying to convince herself the kiss hadn’t been real. But the sound cut through her thoughts like a blade. She straightened instinctively, pressing her palms against the hem of her shirt as though smoothing wrinkles could armor her nerves.

Darien’s reaction is different. His shoulders sagged with exaggerated weariness, and he muttered under his breath, "Oh, God, here we go." He sounded like a man about to be dragged to court.

Then she appeared.

Daphne.