- 2 days ago
Step into a world of passion, power, and drama. On this channel, you’ll find captivating billionaire romances, intense mafia sagas, and heartfelt love stories that will keep you hooked until the very last word.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm already shaking when I stumble out of the restaurant.
00:02Don't cry, no one will hurt you, ever.
00:05And I swear I feel my whole chest crack open.
00:08My ex is still behind me, still shouting through that fake grin he uses when he wants people to think everything's fine.
00:14Everything in me wants to sprint, vanish, peel myself out of my own skin.
00:19But I just keep walking, because if I stop, I'll fall apart in front of strangers.
00:23And I refuse to give him that.
00:25My phone buzzes again.
00:27Another text.
00:29Another bullet.
00:30Come back.
00:31We're not done.
00:32I hear the door swing open behind me.
00:34His footsteps.
00:35Too quick.
00:36Too confident.
00:38My breath breaks into pieces.
00:40I push into the open-air patio like sunlight can save me.
00:43But it only makes my tears louder.
00:45They slip out before I can bury them.
00:47Hot and humiliating.
00:49Because I don't cry in public.
00:51I don't cry where anyone can witness the pieces of me he spent years cutting down.
00:55I'm gulping air, trying to pretend I'm invisible when I feel a shift in the world.
00:59Not loud.
01:01Not dramatic.
01:03Just...
01:03Pressure.
01:05Like the moment before a storm pulls its first breath.
01:08Someone stops near me.
01:09I don't look up.
01:11I can't.
01:11I'm trying too hard to swallow myself back into my ribs.
01:15Then a voice, quiet enough to unsettle me.
01:19Hey, he says.
01:21You're bleeding feeling all over the pavement.
01:24I blink hard, lifting my head before I can stop myself.
01:27And there he is.
01:28A man leaning against one of the bright umbrellas like he's been sculpted into the moment.
01:33Crisp white shirt.
01:34Sleeves rolled past his forearms.
01:36Sunglasses hooked in one hand.
01:38The other holding a glass of cold water he hasn't touched.
01:41He's too calm.
01:43Too still.
01:44The kind of stillness that hints at danger.
01:46The expensive kind.
01:48The kind that doesn't raise its voice because it never needs to.
01:51He watches me with this unsettling patience.
01:53Like I'm not embarrassing myself at all.
01:55Like he's studying the tremor in my breath.
01:57The way someone else might study art.
01:59I'm not bleeding anything.
02:01I snap too fast.
02:03His mouth curves.
02:04Slow and knowing.
02:05Then why are your hands shaking like they want to run without you?
02:08It's unfair how easily he sees it.
02:11I turn away.
02:12Please, just...
02:13Pretend you didn't see this.
02:16No.
02:17He murmurs.
02:18I don't think I want to.
02:20And something in me stumbles.
02:22Because nothing about him says flirtation.
02:24His voice is too steady.
02:26Too observant.
02:27Like he's reading shards of me I thought I hid well.
02:30Before I can come up with a lie to push him away,
02:33a sharp voice cuts through the quiet.
02:35There you are.
02:37My stomach caves in.
02:38My ex strides out into the sunlight.
02:40His face split in that fake charm he uses on strangers.
02:43His hand clamps around my wrist with this cheerful brutality
02:45that leaves a bruise just from the promise of it.
02:47We're going home, he says through his smile.
02:51I pull back.
02:52My voice barely a whisper.
02:54Let go.
02:55He squeezes harder.
02:56Stop making a scene.
02:58But he stops mid-sentence.
03:00Because the calm man beside me shifts.
03:02Not much.
03:03Just straightens.
03:04Blinks once.
03:05Tilts his head.
03:06Something cold slips into his eyes.
03:08Like a tide pulling back.
03:10My ex notices too late.
03:12You good?
03:12The stranger asks me.
03:14But it doesn't sound like a question.
03:15It sounds like a warning.
03:17I said it's fine.
03:18I manage.
03:19Please.
03:20I don't need...
03:20You do.
03:21He says simply.
03:23My ex scoffs, trying to puff himself up.
03:26Mind your business, man.
03:27This is between us.
03:29The stranger smiles.
03:31It's small.
03:32It's polite.
03:33It's terrifying.
03:35I don't see us.
03:36I see her.
03:37And you're hurting her.
03:39You don't know anything about her.
03:41My ex barks.
03:42The man steps closer.
03:44Sunlight catching the faint ink peeking out from his forearm.
03:46A thin line of geometric patterns I can't decipher.
03:49His voice stays soft.
03:51I don't need to know her, he says.
03:52I can see enough.
03:54My ex jerks my arm again.
03:56I gasp before I can swallow it.
03:58And that's the moment everything changes.
04:00Because the stranger's expression doesn't harden.
04:02He barely moves.
04:04But something electric snaps in the air.
04:06A command without words.
04:07And from nowhere, three men appear at the edges of the plaza.
04:10Not running.
04:11Not shouting.
04:12Just...
04:13Materializing.
04:15Like they were always watching him.
04:16Waiting for his signal.
04:18Black shirts.
04:19Sharp eyes.
04:20The kind of posture trained by necessity.
04:22Not fear.
04:23My ex doesn't notice yet.
04:24He's too busy glaring at me.
04:26At the stranger.
04:27At the sunlight daring to witness him.
04:29The stranger lifts his chin a fraction.
04:31His men stop.
04:32My heart slams so hard it almost fractures.
04:35Let her go.
04:37The stranger murmurs.
04:38My ex tightens his grip instead.
04:41Back off, pretty boy.
04:42You want a show?
04:43I'll give you one.
04:44One of the stranger's men steps forward.
04:46Slow and deliberate.
04:47My ex finally notices and tenses.
04:50What the hell?
04:51You don't want this.
04:53The calm man says.
04:54Trust me.
04:56He isn't threatening.
04:57He's telling the truth.
04:58And somehow that's worse.
05:00Are you with...
05:01Them?
05:02I whisper before I can think.
05:04His eyes flick to mine.
05:06There's no apology there.
05:07No denial.
05:08Right now, he says.
05:10I'm with you.
05:11And my whole body goes hot and cold at once.
05:14My ex lets go of me.
05:15Finally realizing the danger he walked into.
05:18His hands shoot up.
05:20Hey.
05:20Hey.
05:21All right, man.
05:22Look.
05:23She's emotional, that's all.
05:24You don't need your...
05:25Your security team or whatever this is.
05:28The stranger steps between us with the casual confidence of someone used to ending situations
05:32without raising his voice.
05:34You're going to walk away, he says.
05:36And you're not going to text her again, my ex laughs.
05:39But he's pale.
05:40Who the hell do you think you are?
05:42The stranger turns his head just slightly, and the men behind him straighten like the
05:46sun just gave them orders.
05:48I think, he says quietly, I'm someone you shouldn't test.
05:53A tremor runs through me.
05:55Because I should be scared.
05:56Any sane woman would be.
05:58But instead, I feel something else.
06:01Safety.
06:02Maybe illusion.
06:03Maybe oxygen.
06:04Something I haven't felt in months.
06:06My ex points a shaking finger at me.
06:08You really doing this?
06:09For some guy?
06:10I'm doing this for myself.
06:12I whisper.
06:14He scoffs, backing away.
06:16Whatever.
06:16You'll regret it.
06:18Then he storms off, fast walking down the street like the sunlight's too bright to hide in.
06:22The men remain still until he's out of sight.
06:25The stranger watches him go, jaw ticking once, only once, before he turns back to me.
06:30You okay?
06:31He asks.
06:32I don't know.
06:33I say truthfully.
06:35He nods, like he expected that answer.
06:38I didn't mean to scare you, he adds.
06:40You didn't.
06:42That earns the slightest tilt of his head, like he's surprised.
06:45Most people don't say that.
06:47I'm not most people.
06:48The corner of his mouth twitches.
06:50Good.
06:50The plaza feels too quiet now.
06:53My pulse too loud.
06:54My eyes sting again, betrayal rising helplessly.
06:57I didn't want a scene.
06:59I whisper.
07:00I just wanted to breathe.
07:02You can.
07:02He says softly.
07:04Right here.
07:04I don't even know your name.
07:06You don't need it yet.
07:08Yet.
07:09My breath shivers.
07:10He studies me, but not the way men stare.
07:13He observes like I'm a code he's already starting to decipher.
07:16Come sit, he says, motioning to the table behind him.
07:19You look like you need water more than I do.
07:22I should go.
07:23You could, he agrees.
07:25But you're still shaking.
07:27I glance at my hands.
07:29They betray me.
07:30You stepped in.
07:31I murmur.
07:32Why?
07:33His gaze holds mine.
07:35Unflinching.
07:36Warm in a way I don't understand.
07:38Because someone should, he says.
07:40And I was here.
07:41My throat aches.
07:42My whole life no one stepped in.
07:44Not when it mattered.
07:45He pulls out a chair.
07:46Not with pressure.
07:47With patience.
07:49I sit.
07:50He slides the cold glass toward me.
07:52I wrap my fingers around it like it's an anchor.
07:54The sunlight bounces off the table, painting him in gold he doesn't seem to notice.
07:58You're safe, he says.
08:00And something inside me breaks quietly.
08:03Because I want to believe him.
08:04I want to believe something.
08:06You don't even know me.
08:08I whisper.
08:09I know what I saw.
08:11I swallow.
08:12And what was that?
08:14He leans back, studying me with a steadiness that feels like a hand on my spine.
08:17A woman who's been through enough.
08:20My breath catches.
08:22Before I can reply, my phone buzzes again.
08:25His eyes drop to the screen.
08:27Your ex?
08:28I nod.
08:29He reaches out, slow enough for me to stop him, and places two fingers over my phone.
08:33Give me the phone, he says quietly.
08:36My pulse surges.
08:37Why?
08:38Because you're done being scared.
08:40I'm not.
08:41You are.
08:41His voice is soft power.
08:43A promise disguised as gentleness.
08:46I can make him stop, he adds.
08:48Right now.
08:49Something in his tone sends a shiver through me.
08:51Not threat.
08:52Truth.
08:53I meet his eyes, and my voice comes out small.
08:56What are you?
08:58He smiles.
08:58Not warm.
08:59Not cold.
09:00Just real.
09:01Someone very capable, he says.
09:03And someone who doesn't like seeing you hurt.
09:06My chest tightens.
09:08My fingers hover over the phone.
09:10If I hand it to him, everything changes.
09:13If I don't, nothing changes.
09:16He waits without pushing, giving me the space no one ever gave me before.
09:20I take a trembling breath, and I place the phone in his hand.
09:24His expression shifts.
09:26Barely.
09:27But enough.
09:28You did the right thing, he says softly.
09:31What are you going to do?
09:32He lifts his gaze to mine, steady as sunlight.
09:36Whatever it takes.
09:37And before I can ask what that means.
09:40Before I can swallow the fear and the want swirling inside me.
09:44I see his men move into formation behind him.
09:47Sharp silhouettes against the bright afternoon.
09:49Like they've been waiting for him to speak.
09:51Like the world is about to tilt.
09:53He stands slowly.
09:55Phone in hand.
09:56Stay here.
09:58He murmurs.
09:59This part isn't for you.
10:01I grab his wrist without thinking.
10:03Wait.
10:04He turns, eyes hitting mine with quiet force.
10:08You're safe, he repeats.
10:10I promise.
10:12But there's something else in his voice now.
10:14Something I didn't hear before.
10:16This isn't random.
10:17This means something.
10:18To him.
10:19To me.
10:20To whatever I just stepped into.
10:22My breath trembles.
10:24What's your name?
10:25I whisper.
10:26He leans close enough that I feel his words more than hear them.
10:30You'll know it, he says.
10:31When you're ready for what comes after this.
10:34Then he lifts my phone.
10:35And his men close in around him.
10:38My ex has no idea what's coming.
10:40And neither do I.
10:41I don't remember getting into his car.
10:44I remember the moment right before it.
10:46The way his men looked at him like the sun itself waited for his orders.
10:49The way my phone felt too small.
10:51Too dangerous.
10:52Too final in his hand.
10:53And then somehow I'm in the back seat of a sleek black SUV with tinted windows.
10:59The world outside glittering too bright for the way my pulse keeps scraping my ribs.
11:03He sits beside me.
11:04Not close enough to touch.
11:07Close enough that I feel the gravity around him.
11:09Steady and impossible to ignore.
11:11His driver pulls into traffic with the kind of smoothness only money or loyalty can buy.
11:15I wrap my arms around myself.
11:17I shouldn't be here.
11:19He glances at me.
11:20But you are.
11:21That's not the same thing.
11:22It's enough.
11:24My throat tightens.
11:26Where are we going?
11:27To my place.
11:29I choke on air.
11:30No.
11:30Absolutely not.
11:32You're not safe anywhere else right now.
11:34And I'm supposed to trust you because...
11:36What?
11:37You scared my ex into silence?
11:39Not silence.
11:40He looks out the window.
11:42Calm to a frightening degree.
11:44Into distance.
11:45Distance doesn't stop a man like him.
11:47He turns back to me.
11:49I do.
11:50There's no arrogance in it.
11:52No threat.
11:53Just truth.
11:54Slid into the seat between us like a loaded promise.
11:56It terrifies me.
11:58It steadies me.
11:59Maybe that's the worst part.
12:01I sink back into the seat.
12:03Fingers twisting the hem of my shirt.
12:05You still haven't told me your name.
12:07I know.
12:08He says quietly.
12:09I will.
12:11When?
12:12When the ground stops shifting under your feet.
12:14I shake my head.
12:16You talk like you're reading ahead in my life.
12:19He smiles.
12:20Small.
12:20Sideways.
12:21Like he can't help it.
12:23Maybe I am.
12:24The car pulls into an underground garage.
12:27Bright white lighting reflects off marble and metal.
12:29Everything pristine.
12:31Everything curated.
12:32I swallow.
12:34This is...
12:35Yours?
12:36Yes.
12:37The doors open with a quiet hydraulic sigh.
12:40He steps out first before offering his hand to help me out.
12:43I don't take it.
12:45So he lets his arm fall naturally, saying nothing.
12:48Punishing nothing.
12:49Expecting nothing.
12:51I hate how that disarms me more than if he'd insisted.
12:54We step into a private elevator.
12:56It's glass and steel, rising on cables I can't see.
12:59My stomach lifts as we ascend.
13:02The city stretches beneath us, a bright mosaic of motion and color.
13:06Everything looks too alive while I'm barely holding myself together.
13:09He watches me instead of the skyline.
13:11You're not used to people protecting you, he says softly.
13:14Don't start analyzing me.
13:16I'm not.
13:18He tilts his head gently.
13:19I'm just...
13:21Noticing.
13:22Noticing.
13:23Like I'm a bruise he wants to understand before touching.
13:26The elevator opens into his penthouse.
13:29And for a moment, I forget how to breathe.
13:32It's all sunlight and open space.
13:34Floor-to-ceiling windows turning the world into a canvas.
13:37Soft leather.
13:38Pale wood.
13:39Subtle gold accents.
13:41Nothing gaudy.
13:42Nothing loud.
13:43Just intention.
13:45And too much quiet.
13:46He walks in like he belongs to it.
13:49I stand at the threshold like I'm trespassing in the life of someone I should never get close enough to need.
13:54Take a seat, he says gently.
13:57Anywhere.
13:59I move slowly toward a pale gray couch, sinking into it like it might swallow me.
14:04He pours water into a tall glass and hands it to me.
14:06I take it without looking at him.
14:09You should rest, he says.
14:10I can't.
14:12Try.
14:12I can't.
14:14My voice cracks before I catch it.
14:16He sits across from me, elbows resting loosely on his knees.
14:19Talk to me.
14:20No.
14:21Then sit here.
14:22Breathe with me.
14:23I let out a humorless huff.
14:24You're very sure of yourself.
14:26No, he says.
14:28I'm sure of what I see.
14:29And what do you see?
14:31A woman who's been surviving too long.
14:33My throat closes.
14:35Don't.
14:35I whisper.
14:36Don't what?
14:38Don't make it sound...
14:39Noble.
14:40He leans back slightly.
14:42Survival isn't noble.
14:43It's exhausting.
14:45I blink fast, because tears threaten again, stupid and raw.
14:48He notices.
14:49Of course he notices.
14:51You can cry, he says.
14:53No one's here but us.
14:55I hate that he says it gently.
14:56I hate that it breaks something open.
14:58I don't even know why you're doing this, I whisper.
15:01He studies me for a long, quiet moment.
15:04You want the truth?
15:06Yes, I breathe.
15:08I saw you, he says.
15:09Really saw you.
15:11And something in me.
15:12Stopped.
15:13The admission drops between us like warm static.
15:15I go still.
15:17You don't know me, I say again.
15:19Weaker this time.
15:20I know pain when I see it, he replies.
15:23I know courage disguised as collapse.
15:25And I know what a woman looks like when she's been fighting alone.
15:28My chest aches as if someone pressed a hand into the center of it.
15:31He stands and moves to the kitchen island.
15:33Have you eaten?
15:35I'm not hungry.
15:36You should eat anyway.
15:38I said I'm not.
15:39He opens a cabinet with a soft click.
15:42I didn't ask.
15:43I narrow my eyes.
15:45You can't just...
15:46He turns, meeting my gaze with something almost tender.
15:49Let me take care of you for five minutes.
15:52Just five.
15:53My breathing stutters.
15:55Why?
15:56Because nobody else has, he says.
15:58And you're shaking again.
16:00I look down.
16:00My hands tremble in my lap like tiny earthquakes.
16:04I curl them into fists.
16:05But it doesn't stop anything.
16:07He plates simple food.
16:08Bread.
16:09Fruit.
16:10Cheese.
16:11Like he's done this before.
16:12Then he brings it to me.
16:14Not pushing it onto my lap.
16:15Just placing it on the table within reach.
16:18I tear off a piece of bread because refusing feels childish.
16:21My stomach surprises me by welcoming it.
16:24He sits again, quieter this time.
16:27We hover in this strange space.
16:29Half warm.
16:30Half terrifying.
16:32I feel watched in a way that's not predatory.
16:34More like he's guarding every inch of air around me.
16:37Finally, he speaks.
16:38You didn't ask what I did with your phone.
16:41I freeze.
16:42I'm scared to.
16:43Nothing irreversible, he says.
16:45Yet.
16:47Yet, I echo.
16:48That's not comforting.
16:49He nods once.
16:51Good.
16:51I don't want you comforted by violence.
16:54I study his face.
16:55But you'd use it anyway.
16:56For you?
16:57He doesn't look away.
16:59Yes.
17:00My breath catches.
17:01You shouldn't say things like that.
17:04Why not?
17:05Because I might believe you.
17:06His jaw flexes just enough to betray something real.
17:09Then believe me.
17:11I swallow nothing.
17:12My throat too tight.
17:13You don't even know my last name.
17:15I will.
17:17He says softly.
17:18When you're ready to tell me.
17:20There's something dangerous about the patience in his voice.
17:23Not the violence I expected.
17:25Something deeper.
17:26Something I could fall into.
17:28I stand abruptly.
17:29I need air.
17:31He gestures toward the balcony.
17:33Take it.
17:34I step outside.
17:35The sunlight hits me so hard it feels like a shock.
17:38Down below, the city buzzes with bright mid-afternoon motion.
17:41Cars.
17:42People.
17:43Life moving without me.
17:45He stays inside.
17:46Giving me space without disappearing.
17:49A strange mercy.
17:50I grip the balcony railing.
17:52My ex's grip still burns on my wrist.
17:54An echo of a bruise I don't need to look at to know it's there.
17:57I hear footsteps behind me.
17:59I don't flinch.
18:01He stops beside me.
18:02Leaving just enough room that I feel safe.
18:04Not cornered.
18:06You okay out here?
18:07He asks quietly.
18:09I don't know.
18:10Do you want to go home?
18:11No.
18:12I whisper before I can stop myself.
18:14He nods like he expected that.
18:16Then stay.
18:17I'm not staying here forever.
18:19You don't have to.
18:21I inhale deeply.
18:22Why did your men surround him like that?
18:24Because I told them to.
18:26That's not an answer.
18:28It's the only one that matters.
18:30I look at him finally.
18:32Really look.
18:33His eyes aren't just calm.
18:34They're calculating, yes, but there's something wounded behind the steel.
18:38Something that doesn't want to show itself but slips out anyway.
18:41Who are you?
18:42I breathe.
18:43He considers his reply before giving it to me.
18:46Someone with power.
18:47He says.
18:48Enough to keep you safe.
18:50That's not a name.
18:51I know.
18:52There's a beat.
18:54A long, fragile beat.
18:55Are you in the mafia?
18:57I whisper.
18:58He doesn't blink.
18:59Doesn't flinch.
18:59Doesn't play coy.
19:01Yes.
19:01He says quietly.
19:03The sunlight stays bright.
19:04Defiantly bright.
19:05But something in me shadows anyway.
19:07I grip the railing harder.
19:09You should have told me.
19:10You weren't ready.
19:12You don't get to decide what I'm ready for.
19:14I do.
19:15He murmurs.
19:16When your fear is louder than your heartbeat, yes.
19:18Yes, I do.
19:19I turn toward him sharply.
19:21I'm not scared of you.
19:23He steps closer.
19:24I know.
19:26But I should be.
19:27Also true.
19:28A breath escapes me.
19:30A tremor.
19:30A warning.
19:31A confession.
19:32You're dangerous.
19:34Yes.
19:35And I'm in your penthouse.
19:36Yes.
19:37And this feels like a mistake.
19:39No.
19:40The way he says it.
19:41Quiet.
19:41Unshakable.
19:42Undoes something in my spine.
19:44You brought me here for safety.
19:46I whisper.
19:48But this feels like something else.
19:50He reaches out, slow enough to let me stop him, and brushes a single strand of hair from
19:54my cheek.
19:56I brought you here.
19:57He says.
19:58Because I can't stand the thought of him touching you again.
20:01My breath shatters.
20:03I don't understand why you care.
20:05I say.
20:06That's because you see yourself as someone easy to leave.
20:09His voice softens until it's almost painful.
20:11But I don't.
20:13My eyes sting again, helpless.
20:15And what happens now?
20:17I ask.
20:18He exhales, the sound heavy with something he's been holding back.
20:22Now, he says, you tell me what he did to you.
20:26I flinch.
20:27No.
20:28You can whisper it, he murmurs, or break it, or choke on it.
20:32But you don't have to carry it alone anymore.
20:34My knees weaken.
20:35Why are you doing this?
20:36Yes, I whisper again.
20:38Desperate.
20:39He finally gives me the truth he's been keeping in his pocket like a lit match.
20:42Because the moment I saw you outside that restaurant, he says,
20:45I knew I'd burn the world before I let it break you again.
20:49My heart stops.
20:51I don't know how long I stand there,
20:53breathing in his confession like it's air I wasn't supposed to taste.
20:56But then...
20:58His phone buzzes.
20:59He checks it.
21:00His face changes.
21:01Tightens.
21:01Freezes.
21:02What?
21:03I ask.
21:04He looks at me with an expression that chills me to the bone.
21:06He's coming back, he says.
21:08And he's not alone.
21:10My pulse slams.
21:11How do you know?
21:12He turns the phone toward me.
21:14A photo.
21:15My ex.
21:15With two unfamiliar men.
21:17Headed toward my apartment.
21:19Get your shoes, he says.
21:20We're leaving.
21:22But...
21:23I'm not risking you.
21:24I don't want to drag you into...
21:25You already did, he says.
21:28And I'm not letting go.
21:29But...
21:30He steps close.
21:31Voice a low oath.
21:33Stay with me, he says.
21:34Or he'll get to you first.
21:36Fear spikes through me.
21:38But beneath it...
21:39Something else.
21:41Something warm and devastating and impossible to deny.
21:44I nod.
21:45He grabs his keys.
21:46His men rush into the elevator.
21:48And as he takes my hand for the first time,
21:50heat flares straight through me.
21:52This is real too, real too fast, too dangerous.
21:55And I'm already in it.
21:56I'm...
22:00The world doesn't end with an explosion.
22:04It ends quietly.
22:06With a locked door.
22:07A man pacing.
22:09My breath caught in the space between fear and fate.
22:12He brought me to another place.
22:14Somewhere deeper.
22:15Higher.
22:16Safer.
22:17I don't know.
22:18A different elevator.
22:19A different view.
22:21A different part of the city glowing too bright for the way my pulse shakes.
22:24His men fan out silently.
22:27Every step rehearsed.
22:28Every gesture sharp as certainty.
22:30I'm sitting on the edge of his bed.
22:32Knees pulled tight to my chest.
22:34While he's in the other room talking in a voice I've never heard before.
22:37Short.
22:38Clipped.
22:40A warning pressed against teeth.
22:42They found my ex.
22:44Found the two men with him.
22:46Found evidence of what they planned to do.
22:48I heard enough to know it would have been worse than fear.
22:51Worse than bruises.
22:53Something a woman doesn't come back from.
22:55I close my eyes and let the truth settle like dust in my lungs.
22:59He saved my life.
23:00More than once now.
23:01The thought cracks me open.
23:03Not in the way fear does.
23:05In the way relief hurts.
23:06I've never had someone stand between me and the world without asking for something in return.
23:11I barely understand the shape of it.
23:14His voice cuts off mid-sentence.
23:16Silence.
23:17Thick and humming.
23:18Then footsteps.
23:19Slow.
23:20Waited.
23:21The door clicks open.
23:23He enters the room and everything inside me stills.
23:26His white shirt is gone.
23:28Replaced by a clean black one.
23:30Sleeves rolled to the elbows.
23:32His hair slightly messed like he ran a hand through it too many times.
23:35His jaw tight.
23:37Eyes sharp.
23:38Movements restrained like he's holding himself together for me.
23:41Is it done?
23:42I whisper.
23:44He doesn't answer right away.
23:45Instead he sits in the chair across from me.
23:47Leaning forward.
23:48Elbows on his knees.
23:49Hands clasped.
23:51It's handled.
23:52He says finally.
23:53Handled.
23:54Such a deceptively simple word.
23:56My throat goes tight.
23:58You mean...
23:59They're...
24:00No?
24:01He cuts in gently.
24:02They're alive.
24:03But they won't come near you again.
24:05You promise?
24:06He meets my gaze unblinking.
24:09I don't make promises I don't keep.
24:11A tremor slips through me.
24:12Small.
24:13Involuntary.
24:14He notices.
24:15Of course he notices.
24:17He stands.
24:18Moves closer.
24:19Then stops like he's giving me a choice.
24:21I look up at him.
24:22Are you angry?
24:24At who?
24:25Me?
24:26He tilts his head.
24:28Why would I be angry at you?
24:30Because this isn't your fight.
24:31His expression shifts into something fragile and fierce all at once.
24:35It became my fight.
24:37He says softly.
24:38The moment you looked at me like you didn't expect to be protected.
24:41I drop my gaze.
24:42Breath shaking.
24:43I didn't.
24:45I know.
24:46It's hard for me to believe in...
24:48This.
24:49My voice cracks.
24:50In someone caring.
24:52He kneels in front of me.
24:53Slow.
24:54Careful.
24:55Like approaching an injured animal he doesn't want to spook.
24:58His hands rest on his thighs.
25:00Not reaching for me.
25:01Even though I can feel the tension of wanting to.
25:04I'm not asking you to believe in me.
25:06He says quietly.
25:07Just breathe near me.
25:09Breathe near me.
25:11It hits somewhere deep.
25:12Somewhere tender.
25:13I exhale shakily.
25:15I'm trying.
25:16And you're doing it.
25:18He murmurs.
25:19My eyes burn.
25:20I feel stupid.
25:21For what?
25:22For crying.
25:23You're not crying.
25:24He says.
25:25You're emptying out everything no one else let you say.
25:28I cover my face with my hands.
25:30It's too much.
25:31He gently pulls my hands down.
25:32Not forceful.
25:33Just enough to let me see him.
25:35No.
25:36He says.
25:37It's everything you never got.
25:39Something inside me collapses.
25:41Quietly and completely.
25:43Does this end now?
25:44I ask.
25:45Voice small.
25:46All of it?
25:47Yes.
25:48He whispers.
25:49You're safe.
25:50But what about you?
25:51Your world?
25:51Your enemies?
25:52He shakes his head.
25:53You're thinking too far ahead.
25:55I'm scared to think at all.
25:57You can.
25:58He murmurs.
25:59Here.
25:59With me.
26:00A beat of silence.
26:02I inhale.
26:03Exhale.
26:03Repeat until it stops hurting.
26:05Then.
26:06You still haven't told me your name.
26:09He closes his eyes for half a second.
26:11Like he's been waiting for the moment he could give it to me.
26:14When he opens them.
26:15They're softer.
26:15My name is Luca.
26:18Luca.
26:19A name that settles into me with a strange, inevitable weight.
26:22I sit with it for a moment.
26:23Rolling it through my mind.
26:25Letting it breathe against everything he's been already.
26:28Luca.
26:29I whisper.
26:30Yeah.
26:32You should have told me sooner.
26:34I know.
26:35He says.
26:36But I didn't want you to hear the name before you knew the man.
26:40I swallow around the ache forming in my chest.
26:42I know the man.
26:44His jaw tightens.
26:46Do you?
26:48Yes.
26:48I meet his gaze.
26:50I know the man who stepped in when no one else even paused.
26:53The one who saw me crying and didn't treat me like a spectacle.
26:56The one who didn't touch me without asking.
26:58The one who let me breathe.
26:59A shadow passes behind his eyes.
27:03Don't make me into something pure.
27:05I'm not.
27:06I whisper.
27:07I'm making you into something human.
27:10His breath leaves him in a slow, fragile sound.
27:13He reaches up.
27:14Slow.
27:15Like giving me space to stop him.
27:16And tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
27:19His fingertips skim my cheek.
27:21Barely there.
27:21You don't know what that does to me.
27:23He says.
27:24I think I do.
27:25I whisper.
27:27His hand drops, like staying would burn him.
27:29He stands abruptly, pacing toward the window but not looking outside.
27:33I wasn't supposed to feel this.
27:34He says.
27:35Voice low.
27:36Not today.
27:37Not like this.
27:39You think I was?
27:40His shoulders tense.
27:41You're shaking again.
27:42Because my world just...
27:44changed.
27:45He turns to face me.
27:47So did mine.
27:48My breath stutters.
27:50Luca.
27:51He crosses the room in two long strides and stops right in front of me.
27:54I'm not asking for anything.
27:56He says.
27:57Not your love.
27:58Not your trust.
27:59Not your future.
28:00Nothing.
28:01His voice breaks on the nothing.
28:03I just need to know you're okay.
28:04I reach for his hand before I can stop myself.
28:08His fingers wrap around mine like instinct.
28:11I'm okay.
28:12I whisper.
28:12Because you got there in time.
28:15He sits beside me.
28:16Hands still in mine.
28:17Our fingers threaded like they've been waiting their whole lives to meet.
28:21What happens after this?
28:22I ask.
28:23Whatever you want.
28:24He says.
28:25No more danger?
28:27No more danger.
28:28No more running?
28:29No more running.
28:31He echoes.
28:32And us?
28:33The word sounds fragile leaving my lips.
28:35His thumb moves once over my knuckles.
28:38We move slowly.
28:39Carefully.
28:40You heal.
28:41I stay.
28:42You stay?
28:43If you want me to.
28:45I look up at him.
28:46Sunlight hitting the edges of his hair.
28:48Softening the edges of a man who's spent his life sharpening himself.
28:51I want you to.
28:53I say.
28:54Barely audible.
28:55He closes his eyes.
28:56Just for a heartbeat.
28:58Like I just rewrote something inside him.
29:00Then I'm here.
29:02He whispers.
29:03We sit there.
29:04Hand in hand.
29:05Breath in breath.
29:06For a long, steady moment.
29:08No chaos.
29:09No threats.
29:09No chase.
29:10Just quiet.
29:11Just peace.
29:12Just truth.
29:13Weeks pass.
29:14Bright ones.
29:15Unfamiliar ones.
29:17Ones where I learn to breathe without waiting for someone to hurt me.
29:20I go back to my own place eventually.
29:22But it doesn't feel haunted anymore.
29:24He fixed the locks.
29:25He fixed the alarms.
29:27He fixed the ghosts.
29:28He never forced himself into my days.
29:30He just...
29:31Remained.
29:32A presence.
29:33Instead of a shadow.
29:35A calm.
29:36Instead of a storm.
29:37Healing isn't a straight line.
29:38But he holds the jagged parts without cutting himself.
29:41And me?
29:42I start laughing again.
29:44Sleeping again.
29:45Living again.
29:46One afternoon, weeks later, he shows up at my door.
29:48I open it.
29:49And for the first time, I don't flinch.
29:51He smiles.
29:52Small.
29:53Real.
29:54You look good.
29:55I feel good.
29:56I know.
29:57I step aside.
29:58Come in?
29:59He hesitates.
30:00Only if you want me to.
30:02I wouldn't open the door if I didn't.
30:04He moves inside.
30:05Standing in the sunlight.
30:06Looking like something impossible made ordinary.
30:09Luca, I say.
30:10Yeah?
30:11Stay.
30:11That one word rewrites him.
30:13Softens him.
30:14Anchors him.
30:16He exhales.
30:17Slow and steady.
30:19Always.
30:20He pulls me into a hug.
30:21Not claiming.
30:22Not consuming.
30:23Just holding.
30:24And for the first time, being held doesn't feel like surrender.
30:27It feels like survival turning into something better.
30:30Something I never thought I'd get.
30:32I whisper against his chest.
30:34You saved me.
30:36His voice folds around me like a vow.
30:39No.
30:40He murmurs.
30:41We saved each other.
30:43And for once.
30:44I believe it.
30:46End of story.
30:47Hey, love.
30:48If this story pulled you in,
30:50if you felt her fear,
30:52her healing,
30:53her quiet gravity pulling toward him,
30:55don't slip away just yet.
30:57Tap like, drop a comment,
30:59and hit subscribe.
31:00Your reactions aren't just numbers.
31:02They're the heartbeat that keeps these whispered,
31:04confessional romances alive.
31:07Stay with me for the next story.
31:09I've got more truths to tell,
31:10and I want you here for every breath of them.
31:12I want you here for every breath of them.
Be the first to comment