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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.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00She was serving drinks at a quiet bar, when the mafia boss marked her as his obsessions.
00:05I'm already lying before the story even starts.
00:08Not to you. To myself.
00:11I keep pretending I'm fine, that my chest isn't vibrating like someone dropped a live wire into my ribs.
00:17I keep telling myself I can hold it together tonight,
00:20that the past can't touch me while I'm behind this polished slab of oak,
00:24lining up glasses like they're little soldiers standing guard over the version of me I'm trying to be.
00:29But survival has a pulse, and tonight it's sprinting.
00:34I'm working the bar alone.
00:36It's early, too early for trouble, but I taste the metallic warning on my tongue anyway.
00:42The kind that tells me someone from the life I ran from is getting close.
00:46The kind that reminds me I've broken promises.
00:49The kind that reminds me that no matter how many shifts I pick up or how many smiles I fake, I'm not invisible.
00:55I wipe a ring of condensation from the counter and try to breathe through it.
00:59You're good, I whisper to myself under the hum of the fridges.
01:03Keep moving.
01:05I don't know how to stand still anymore.
01:07Stillness is where the fear finds me.
01:10The bar is quiet in that bright, too honest way afternoon places tend to be.
01:15Sun spills through the windows, catching on liquor bottles that glow caramel and gold.
01:20There's no drama here.
01:22No shadows to hide behind.
01:23Just clarity pressing against my skin like it's trying to expose me.
01:28What'll you have?
01:29I ask a guy without really looking at him.
01:32Some regular.
01:33Some wanderer.
01:34Someone who won't matter in ten minutes.
01:37I hope.
01:38But my breath snags, because I feel the shift before I see it.
01:42The air thickens.
01:44Conversations in the back slow.
01:46A few stools scrape as people instinctively make space for something they can't name.
01:50Then I see him.
01:51He walks in with the kind of collected ease that doesn't belong to this town.
01:56A precision in his posture.
01:58A calm so deliberate it's unnerving.
02:01Men like him don't enter rooms.
02:03They change them.
02:05He looks around once.
02:06Not scanning.
02:07Not searching.
02:08Just registering.
02:11As if he's stepping into a place he already owns.
02:14I should look away.
02:16I should keep pouring.
02:18Wiping.
02:19Pretending.
02:20But his eyes lock on me like he's been expecting me.
02:24My pulse gives up its steady beat and starts leaping.
02:28No.
02:29Please.
02:30Not someone dangerous.
02:31Not now.
02:33He walks toward the bar like he's tracing a line I drew for him without realizing it.
02:38He sits.
02:39He doesn't ask for a menu.
02:41You're shaking.
02:42He says quietly, almost amused.
02:45My spine stiffens.
02:46I'm not.
02:47You are.
02:48He leans forward, elbows on the counter, voice low enough that it feels like it's meant for
02:53the hollow behind my sternum.
02:55Not scared.
02:56Just holding something in so tight it's pushing back.
03:01I hate that he sees me.
03:03I hate that I don't look away.
03:05What do you want to drink?
03:07My voice is too gentle, too human, too on the edge of breaking.
03:11Whatever you'd make for yourself, he answers.
03:15I freeze.
03:17That's not an order.
03:18That's an invitation.
03:20Nobody asks bartenders what they'd drink.
03:23Nobody asks me what I want.
03:25I reach for a bottle of bourbon, but he lifts a hand lightly, stopping me without touching me.
03:30No, he murmurs.
03:34Not the thing you pour when you want to forget.
03:37The thing you pour when you want to stay awake.
03:40My fingers tremble around the glass.
03:43I don't like this.
03:44I like this too much.
03:47I grab the gin instead, add tonic, a twist of lime.
03:51Nothing complicated.
03:53Something sharp enough to keep the world real.
03:55He watches every movement like it matters.
03:59What's your name?
04:00He asks as I set the drink down.
04:02Doesn't matter.
04:04That's a strange name.
04:06I swallow a shaky, unwanted laugh.
04:09I'm not giving you my real one.
04:12You should, he says softly, eyes flicking over my face like he's reading subtle prints of all the times life hit me.
04:20I think you want to.
04:22God, he's dangerous.
04:23Yes, not because he's armed, because he listens.
04:27I take a small breath.
04:29It's Aria.
04:32Beautiful, he says, like he isn't complimenting me, but tasting the meaning of it.
04:37I'm Cassian.
04:39It fits him.
04:41Sharp lines, understated confidence, the kind of authority that doesn't need to be declared.
04:47I try to be normal, to play the role, to keep this ordinary.
04:51So, Cassian, what brings you here?
04:57He studies me for a full second that tugs across my skin like a fingertip.
05:02You did.
05:02My heart stops so abruptly it feels rude.
05:06I force a smile.
05:08We've never met.
05:10Not in person.
05:12His voice stays gentle, which somehow makes it worse.
05:14But I've been looking for you.
05:17My mouth dries.
05:18There it is.
05:20The trapdoor drops open beneath me.
05:21I step back from the bar instinctively, my hand landing on the edge of the sink for balance.
05:26I taste both adrenaline and disbelief.
05:30I'm sorry.
05:31What?
05:33Cassian doesn't flinch.
05:34Doesn't lean in like a creep.
05:36Doesn't even raise his voice.
05:38He just waits.
05:40Like he knew he'd shock me and is giving me space to absorb it.
05:44Why?
05:46I whisper.
05:46Because you're hiding, he says simply.
05:50And people only hide when they're worth finding.
05:54My throat tightens.
05:56I'm not hiding.
05:58You're lying again.
06:00He says it so matter-of-factly that my breath fractures.
06:03I feel naked.
06:04Exposed.
06:05Like he peeled back the careful layers I've spent years stitching together.
06:09I grip the counter.
06:11What do you want from me?
06:13His gaze warms, slowly, intentionally, like sunrise-coaxing color back into frozen things.
06:20To get you out of whatever fear you're in.
06:23Fear is a strange thing.
06:25It makes you want to run.
06:27It also makes you want to be caught by the right arms.
06:29But I can't let him see how much his words hit.
06:33I'm supposed to be unreachable.
06:35Untouchable.
06:37The woman who disappeared and started over clean.
06:40You don't even know me.
06:42I whisper.
06:44I know enough, he answers.
06:47You walk like you expect someone behind you.
06:50You laugh like you're afraid it'll echo back with a price.
06:53And your eyes...
06:54His focus sharpens.
06:57Your eyes look like you learned strength the hard way.
07:01My breath shudders.
07:03Stop, I murmur.
07:06His voice drops, soft as a vow.
07:09Tell me who hurt you.
07:10I nearly break right there.
07:12Because he sounds like he'd burn the world down for the answer.
07:15I don't need your protection.
07:18You need something, he replies.
07:20And you're hoping I won't see what it is.
07:23I try to step away.
07:24I can't.
07:25My feet betray me.
07:26I hate how safe his calm makes me feel.
07:29I hate that I want to trust him.
07:31I hate that I might.
07:33You should leave, I say, palms sweating.
07:37No, he says.
07:38You should tell me the truth.
07:40The truth will get me killed.
07:43His expression barely changes, but something in his posture hardens.
07:47Not if I'm the one you tell it to.
07:49My stomach dips, sharp and dizzy.
07:52I don't know him.
07:53I shouldn't trust him.
07:55But the way he watches me makes it feel like he's already inside my pulse.
07:59I swallow, gripping the edge of the counter like it's the only solid thing left.
08:04Cassian, I can't.
08:07He leans in a fraction, enough for his voice to slip under my skin.
08:11Then let me keep you alive until you can.
08:15That's when the door opens.
08:16And everything I've run from steps inside.
08:19A man I know too well.
08:21A man who shouldn't be here.
08:23A man who once said he'd find me anywhere.
08:26My body locks.
08:27My blood surges cold.
08:29My mind stutters.
08:31No.
08:32Not him.
08:33Not now.
08:34Not with Cassian watching.
08:36Cassian's gaze flicks toward the newcomer.
08:39Then back to me.
08:40He sees everything.
08:42Every fear.
08:43Every memory.
08:44Every bruise that's ever lived under my heartbeat.
08:47His jaw tightens.
08:49And then, voice low enough to anchor me and break me at the same time, he whispers,
08:54Aria, tell me if I need to end him.
08:58The world tilts.
09:00My knees weaken.
09:02Because the man entering the bar is my past.
09:05And Cassian, calm and terrifyingly sure, is offering to become my future.
09:10I don't answer.
09:12I can't.
09:13But my silence might be enough.
09:16I turn to face the man who ruined my life, just as Cassian stands from his stool behind me.
09:22Cassian rises behind me like a quiet verdict.
09:24I don't turn toward him, but I feel the shift in the room, the sudden alertness, the way every pair of eyes pretends not to watch while absolutely watching.
09:33The man who walked in, Tristan, freezes when he sees me behind the bar.
09:38His smirk arrives a second later, oily and self-satisfied, like the universe did him a favor.
09:44There you are, he says, strolling closer, not caring who he bumps or brushes past.
09:50I gotta say, Aria, you make hide-and-seek pretty fun.
09:54My breath curls inward.
09:55Not a full inhale.
09:57Just enough to stay conscious.
09:59Cassian's presence steadies me and shakes me at the same time.
10:03I feel him at my back, not touching, but close enough that I imagine the warmth of him hovering just above my skin.
10:11He's watching Tristan the way men watch something they intend to erase.
10:15Get out.
10:16I say softly.
10:18Tristan laughs.
10:20Still stubborn.
10:22God, I missed that.
10:24My knuckles dig into the bar.
10:26I'm not joking.
10:28He leans his elbows on the counter like we're old friends catching up.
10:32You shouldn't have left.
10:33You made things complicated for me.
10:36For us.
10:37There is no us.
10:39There could be, if you stop running.
10:42His voice hits me like a replay of every moment I tried to pretend wasn't real.
10:45Every bruise I covered with foundation.
10:48Every apology I gave him after he hurt me.
10:51Because fear can rewrite logic until you forget who started the fire.
10:56Cassian's chair scrapes back with a single slow sound.
10:58Tristan glances over my shoulder.
11:01Who's he?
11:02I don't answer.
11:04But Cassian does.
11:06Someone who doesn't like the way you talk to her.
11:09Tristan's jaw twitches.
11:11This is between me and Aria.
11:13Cassian steps beside me close enough that our shoulders almost brush.
11:16Not anymore.
11:19My heart kicks hard.
11:20Cassian isn't raising his voice, but the room reacts like the air pressure changed.
11:25Even Tristan senses it.
11:27I see it in the slight recoil.
11:29The recalculating glance.
11:31The awareness that this stranger isn't just confident.
11:34He's powerful.
11:35Dangerous in a different currency.
11:38Aria.
11:39Tristan says, softer now.
11:41Angling toward pity the way he always does when control slips.
11:45Please.
11:46Can we talk?
11:47Alone.
11:48I shake my head.
11:50No.
11:51Just five minutes.
11:53I'm not here to fight.
11:54I just want answers.
11:56Cassian's hand lands on the counter near mine, fingers relaxed, but the gesture is clear.
12:02She's not alone anymore.
12:04Whatever answers you think you're owed, Cassian says, you're not.
12:09Tristan turns red.
12:11Back off.
12:13Cassian tilts his head slightly.
12:15Make me.
12:16The challenge sits between them like a lit fuse.
12:19I step out from behind the bar before they ignite something I can't undo.
12:23The room blurs, sounds overlapping.
12:25A chair scraping, someone whispering, the thud of my own heartbeat.
12:29Stop, I say.
12:31Voice sharp enough that both men flick their eyes toward me.
12:35Please.
12:36Stop.
12:37Tristan breathes like he's trying to soften himself.
12:39Aria, can we go outside?
12:43I just want to talk.
12:45Cassian stands still, watching me, letting me choose, even though he obviously has an opinion
12:51and a threat coiled behind his ribs.
12:54I swallow hard.
12:56Fine.
12:57Five minutes.
12:58Outside.
12:59Cassian's jaw flexes.
13:00I'm coming.
13:02Tristan barks a laugh.
13:03No, you're not.
13:04I look at Cassian.
13:06Let me handle this.
13:08He searches my face for a long, unbearable second.
13:11Then his voice lowers to something that grazes over my pulse.
13:14If he touches you, Aria, I will end him.
13:19A tremor runs down my spine.
13:21Tristan turns away, walking toward the door like he already won.
13:25He hasn't.
13:27Outside, the sun is still high, bright enough to erase shadows, bright enough to make everything
13:32too honest.
13:33The parking lot stretches empty.
13:36The air smells like asphalt and someone grilling two buildings over.
13:40He stops near a faded parking line and faces me.
13:43You look good.
13:44I cross my arms.
13:46Say what you came to say.
13:48He studies me, eyes shifting like he's searching for weaknesses he used to take advantage of.
13:53But I'm not that girl now.
13:55Fear still exists.
13:57It always will.
13:58But distance taught me a different kind of strength.
14:02A quiet, stubborn one.
14:05You ran, he says finally.
14:07You left me with a mess.
14:09I left because you scared me.
14:11He flinches.
14:13I never meant to.
14:15You know that.
14:16No, I say.
14:18What I know is that every time I forgave you, you hurt me worse.
14:22What I know is that you only say sorry when you need something.
14:26And what I know is that the next time you got angry could have killed me.
14:30His face darkens.
14:31Who filled your head with that garbage?
14:34My heartbeat, I whisper.
14:37Every time it tried to outrun yours.
14:39He steps closer, not touching me, but close enough I smell the familiar cologne I used to
14:44love.
14:45The scent rises like a ghost.
14:47Come back, he says quietly.
14:50I can be better.
14:52No.
14:54He clenches his jaw.
14:56Because of him?
14:57I blink.
14:59Cassian?
14:59I met him ten minutes ago.
15:02Tristan scoffs, but something about the name hits him wrong.
15:05Like he recognizes it.
15:07Like it's pulling up a memory he doesn't want to acknowledge.
15:10How do you know him, I ask.
15:12He shakes his head too quickly.
15:14I don't.
15:15Tristan.
15:15I don't, he snaps, then drops his voice.
15:19Look, you don't know what kind of world you're stepping into with someone like him?
15:23My skin prickles.
15:25What does that mean?
15:27He hesitates.
15:28And in that hesitation, Cassian appears at the door.
15:31He doesn't interrupt.
15:33He doesn't storm over.
15:34He just stands there.
15:36Hands in his pockets.
15:37Like he showed up to let me know he's not leaving.
15:40Not abandoning me to a moment I've feared for too long.
15:43Tristan notices and grows agitated.
15:46Seriously?
15:47He's babysitting you?
15:49He's not babysitting.
15:51I steady myself.
15:53He's respecting that I'm scared.
15:55And you think I don't respect you?
15:58Tristan shoots back.
15:59I came all this way to talk.
16:02You came all this way to take control again.
16:05Words ripple between us, raw and overdue.
16:09Tristan's expression tightens.
16:11You're making a mistake.
16:13I breathe out slowly.
16:15I made a mistake staying with you as long as I did.
16:18His face collapses into something wounded.
16:21Desperate.
16:21Aria, I loved you.
16:25I flinch because the truth in his voice burns in complicated places.
16:30Tristan wasn't all bad.
16:32People rarely are.
16:33He gave me good memories, too.
16:35Small ones.
16:36Rare ones.
16:37But enough to confuse me for years.
16:40But love without safety is a loaded weapon.
16:43I step back.
16:45You loved the version of me who didn't know how to leave.
16:48He goes silent.
16:51Cassian steps outside now, walking toward us.
16:54Not fast.
16:55Not threatening.
16:56Just steady.
16:58Tristan stiffens.
16:59Stay right where you are.
17:02Cassian ignores him completely and stops beside me.
17:05Time's up.
17:07I close my eyes for one long second.
17:09Tristan points at him.
17:11You don't get to decide that.
17:13Cassian's voice is calm.
17:15I'm not deciding anything.
17:17I'm reacting to her heartbeat.
17:19I choke on air.
17:21Tristan scoffs.
17:22What, you think you know her now?
17:24Cassian looks at me, not him.
17:27I don't know her yet.
17:28But I know panic when I hear it.
17:30The way he says it, quiet, certain, protective in a way that doesn't claim me,
17:35it splits something open in my chest.
17:38Tristan watches my reaction, sees too much, and his face twists with jealousy.
17:43You moved on fast.
17:44I moved on the moment fear no longer felt like home.
17:48I whisper.
17:50There's no cruelty in my voice.
17:52Just truth.
17:55Tristan's expression cracks.
17:57So that's it?
17:59That's it.
18:00He stands there, breathing hard, trying to figure out if he should yell, cry, grab me, apologize, or walk away.
18:06He chooses the one thing I didn't expect.
18:10He leans in slightly and whispers.
18:13Be careful, Aria.
18:15Men like Cassian, they don't save women.
18:17They claim them.
18:19My stomach drops.
18:21What do you know about him?
18:22I ask again.
18:24Tristan shakes his head and steps back, retreating toward the door.
18:28Ask him.
18:29He leaves with that poison lingering in the air.
18:32Cassian waits until the door shuts.
18:35Are you okay?
18:37No, I whisper, voice breaking for the first time since this whole nightmare began.
18:42But I'm...
18:44Stand in.
18:45He nods once, approval softening the hard edges of his expression.
18:50Good.
18:51Let me take you out of here.
18:53I can't just...
18:54You can, he insists.
18:56This isn't safe anymore.
18:58We pause, both of us breathing in something new and unspoken.
19:03Why did Tristan tell me to be careful of you?
19:05I ask.
19:07Cassian studies me for a beat, deciding something.
19:10Because he knows exactly who I am.
19:13My throat tightens.
19:14And who is that?
19:16He exhales like telling me is a bruise he's pressing on.
19:20I'm the man who ruined his brother.
19:22My pulse lurches violently.
19:24What?
19:25I whisper.
19:27Cassian steps closer, not dominating, just anchoring.
19:31Aria.
19:32His family and mine have been at war for years.
19:35And Tristan is not here by accident.
19:37He came because you matter to him.
19:39And now you matter to me.
19:41The words land like a confession wrapped in danger.
19:45Tell me he didn't hurt you, Cassian says softly, almost pleading.
19:50I shake.
19:51He did.
19:53Cassian closes his eyes briefly, pain moving through him like a ripple.
19:56Then he opens them.
19:58Steady.
19:58Resolute.
20:00Then he just made this war personal.
20:03My breath catches.
20:04My ribs clench.
20:07Cassian?
20:08He lifts a hand, not touching me, just offering the possibility.
20:12Come with me.
20:13Before Tristan comes back with someone else.
20:15I stare at him.
20:17I stare at him.
20:18The calm storm.
20:19The quiet danger.
20:20The man who saw through my lies in seconds.
20:24My voice leaves me in a torn whisper.
20:26Where would we go?
20:28Where would we go?
20:29Cassian's eyes hold mine, unblinking.
20:32Somewhere they can't reach you.
20:34Somewhere you can finally breathe.
20:36And I make the choice that changes everything.
20:39I take his hand.
20:41As soon as our palms touch, Cassian's phone vibrates.
20:44And the look he gives the screen makes my entire body go cold.
20:47I don't remember the exact moment I stopped shaking.
20:50I only know it wasn't immediate.
20:53Healing never is.
20:55It's been three months since I left the bar with Cassian.
20:58Three months since Tristan's warning.
21:01Three months since Cassian looked at his phone and his expression changed in a way that still echoes inside me.
21:07I didn't run from him after that moment.
21:10But I did freeze.
21:11And Cassian?
21:12He didn't chase me.
21:14He read the fear in my breathing and stepped back, letting space expand between us like a clean wound.
21:21He said,
21:22You don't have to trust me today, but stay alive long enough to decide.
21:25So I did.
21:27I stayed alive.
21:28I moved apartments.
21:29I changed my shift schedule.
21:31I told my manager the bare minimum.
21:33I walked with my shoulders squared even when my ribs quivered on the inside.
21:38Cassian didn't contact me during those months.
21:40Not once.
21:42Not a text.
21:42Not a message through someone else.
21:45Not even an anonymous sign he was watching.
21:48But sometimes, crossing a street or closing the bar alone, I felt a presence.
21:54Not threatening.
21:55More like insurance.
21:56Like the world had built a thin cushion between me and the things that used to reach me.
22:01People assume safety is loud.
22:03It isn't.
22:04It's the quiet that comes after years spent flinching.
22:07Now, in this new apartment that still smells like unpacked cardboard and lemon cleaner,
22:12I sit on the floor with a mug of tea cooling between my palms.
22:16No curtains yet.
22:18The evening sunlight spills across the hardwood, warm and unfiltered.
22:22My knees are pulled to my chest, and for the first time in years,
22:25my body is not braced for someone else's temper.
22:28I'm not healed.
22:29I'm just...
22:31breathing without asking permission.
22:33That's enough for now.
22:34Except today won't be quiet.
22:37I can feel it in the air, charged like someone whispered a truth nearby.
22:41My phone buzzes on the counter.
22:43Unknown number.
22:45My chest tightens.
22:46I stare at the screen for a long second before answering.
22:50Arya.
22:51His voice, low and controlled, lands like a memory I'm not ready for.
22:55Cassian.
22:56I whisper.
22:57A pause.
22:58Heavy.
22:58Worn.
22:59Are you safe?
23:01Yes.
23:02Another pause.
23:03Softer this time.
23:05Good.
23:05I swallow.
23:06What happened that night?
23:08Your phone?
23:09Your face?
23:10There was a betrayal inside my circle.
23:12One that involved Tristan's family.
23:15He breathes out.
23:16Steady but tired.
23:18I didn't want you in the middle of it.
23:20You left without saying anything.
23:22I stayed away, he corrects gently.
23:26Because you needed space to find your footing.
23:29If I'd stayed, you would have built your healing around me.
23:33And I didn't want to be the reason you stood.
23:35I wanted you to stand because you could.
23:38My throat closes.
23:39He saw me that clearly.
23:41He gave me the one thing no man before him ever offered.
23:45Distance that wasn't abandonment.
23:47Cassian.
23:48I say his name like a confession.
23:51I'm nearby, he says.
23:53But I won't come to you unless you ask.
23:56The words ripple through me, soft as silk, heavy as gravity.
24:01Are you in trouble?
24:02I ask.
24:03A quiet, humorless laugh.
24:05I've been in trouble since the day I was born.
24:08Cassian.
24:09He sighs.
24:11It's handled.
24:13The war between my family and Tristan's is finished.
24:16Permanently.
24:17You're not in danger anymore.
24:19I swallow.
24:21Did you?
24:22No.
24:23He says firmly.
24:24I didn't kill Tristan.
24:26I didn't need to.
24:27His father pulled him out of the city.
24:29Far from you.
24:30Far from everything.
24:32Relief settles into me slowly.
24:34Like warm water after a winter day.
24:37Aria.
24:38He says quietly.
24:39Can I see you?
24:40My heart is a fist unclenching.
24:43But it doesn't race.
24:44It doesn't panic.
24:46It just expands.
24:48Like it's finally making room for something it denied too long.
24:52Yes.
24:53I whisper.
24:54Come.
24:55He breathes in sharply, as if my answer cost him something to hear.
25:00Five minutes.
25:01The line clicks dead.
25:04I stand there, trembling not from fear but anticipation.
25:07I'm not the same woman he left.
25:09Fear hardened into clarity.
25:11Pain settled into something usable.
25:13Silence taught me where my boundaries live and what I'm unwilling to lose again.
25:18When the door knocks, I don't freeze.
25:21I open it.
25:23Cassian stands there in the bright evening, looking both familiar and changed.
25:28His hair is a little longer, his jaw rougher with stubble, like time traced itself across
25:33him intentionally.
25:35His eyes land on me with a quiet impact that tightens my lungs.
25:39He doesn't smile.
25:40He softens.
25:41Hi.
25:42He murmurs.
25:43Something in me slips loose.
25:45Hi.
25:46He steps inside when I move aside, but he stops just a few feet in, letting me decide
25:51the distance.
25:52You look...
25:53He trails off, gaze drifting over my face with something like awe.
25:58More here.
25:59I laugh softly, unexpectedly.
26:02I feel more here.
26:05He nods once, as if this was the outcome he prayed for but never assumed.
26:09We stand in the golden stretch of sunlight, neither of us speaking.
26:13Not because we're afraid of the silence, but because we're finally allowed to feel it.
26:19Then Cassian looks at the floor for a second, collecting himself.
26:23And when he raises his eyes again, they're honest in a way that feels expensive.
26:28There were moments these past months when I wanted to come to you, he says.
26:32When I wanted to fix things I had no right to fix.
26:35But you were learning how to walk again, Aria.
26:39If I touched you too soon, I would have ruined something sacred.
26:43My throat tightens.
26:46I thought you didn't care anymore.
26:48He steps closer, slowly, deliberately, closing half the distance between us.
26:54Aria, he whispers.
26:56I cared enough to stay away.
26:58The words hit like a soft blow to the chest.
27:02I'm not broken anymore, I say quietly.
27:05I never thought you were broken.
27:07His voice is sandpaper and warmth.
27:10You were injured, healing.
27:12There's a difference.
27:14I inhale, shaky.
27:16And now?
27:17He slides his hands into his pockets, a gesture that keeps him grounded instead of reaching for me.
27:23Now, he says, I'm standing in front of a woman who chose herself first.
27:28And that makes every choice she makes next real.
27:31My pulse steadies.
27:33Not racing.
27:34Not spiraling.
27:35Steady.
27:37Cassian.
27:38I whisper.
27:39Are you still involved in that world?
27:42He doesn't lie.
27:44Not in the ways I used to be.
27:46Will danger follow you?
27:47It might, he admits.
27:49But not toward you.
27:51Never toward you.
27:52I step closer until our breaths mingle in the warm air.
27:57This isn't a fairy tale.
27:59I murmur.
28:00No.
28:01He studies my face.
28:02It's something else.
28:04What?
28:05Two people learning how to stop running.
28:08A tremor rolls through me.
28:09Not fear.
28:11Recognition.
28:12I place my hand on his chest.
28:14Slow.
28:14Cautious.
28:15Claiming my own pace.
28:17His breath catches under my palm.
28:19But he lets me lead.
28:21This doesn't mean I need saving.
28:23I say softly.
28:24He covers my hand with his own.
28:25Gentle but certain.
28:27I know.
28:28It means you're choosing me anyway.
28:31Emotion swells in my throat.
28:34You said you were in trouble the day you were born.
28:36I whisper.
28:38His lips curve slightly.
28:40I was.
28:42I step closer.
28:44Then let me be where your trouble rests.
28:46The expression that moves through his face is quiet devastation followed by something like reverence.
28:52He pulls me into his arms.
28:54Not fiercely.
28:55Not possessively.
28:57But like gathering sunlight after months of cold.
29:00My forehead rests against his collarbone.
29:03His hand curls at the back of my head.
29:06We breathe each other in.
29:08Not as rescues.
29:09Not as storms.
29:10But as two people who finally found a place to land without shattering.
29:14After a long, slow moment, he speaks.
29:18I'm not your obsession, he murmurs.
29:20I'm your consequence.
29:22And your beginning.
29:23I smile against his chest.
29:25I smile against his chest.
29:26Then stay.
29:28He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes.
29:31I didn't come here to leave.
29:34We stand in the sunset glow of my half-furnished apartment, owning the quiet that used to terrify me.
29:39The danger is over.
29:40The story isn't.
29:43Because healing isn't an ending.
29:45It's a doorway.
29:47Cassian brushes his knuckles across my cheek.
29:50Soft, deliberate.
29:51A promise without theatrics.
29:53You rebuilt yourself, he whispers.
29:56Now let me build a life with the woman who survived.
29:59My heart opens in a slow, warm ache.
30:04Okay.
30:05I breathe.
30:07But we go slow.
30:09He nods.
30:11Slow feels like forever when it's the right person.
30:14We stay there in the fading light.
30:16Not needing dramatic declarations.
30:19Not needing perfection.
30:20Just two people who learned the hard way what love shouldn't be.
30:24Finally choosing what it can be.
30:26Not a weapon.
30:27Not a rescue.
30:29A choice.
30:30And I choose him.
30:32Every quiet, steady, terrifying, beautiful part of him.
30:36We stand together.
30:38Finally unbroken.
30:39Not starting over.
30:41But starting forward.
30:43If this story pulled you in, and you want more whispered confessions,
30:47raw hearts, and dangerously tender men,
30:52tap follow, drop a comment, hit like,
30:54and share it with someone who loves a little heat woven into survival.
30:57Your support keeps these stories breathing.
31:00And trust me, the next one is already stirring.
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