NOVPUBArwen hugged Aiden, moving her hands to slowly caress his back to comfort him.
When she felt his tensed muscles ease up, she pulled away to look back at his face. Through the stream of moonlight, she could see his face, but his expression was not very clear.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked, truly concerned.
Whenever she would wake up from a nightmare, he would coax her back to sleep.
But today, when their situation seemed to have switched, she was quite not sure if she was doing it right.
She hasn't done this before … for anyone. And she wasn't quite good at comforting anyone.
But for him … she wanted to be perfect.
Just the way he was for her.
Letting the pad of her thumb gently caress his cheek, she waited for him to respond.
And Aiden didn't take long. Giving a small smile, he nodded with a hum.
"Good, then," Arwen said, visibly relieved. "Otherwise, I didn't know how to make you feel better."
She had purposely said it dramatically, thinking he would laugh or chuckle a little. But when he didn't, she was at a loss …
Blaming it on the nightmare he had, she didn't mind.
Pressing her hands against his chest, she slowly helped him onto the bed. His eyes widened briefly, but soon he realised what she was doing … and he didn't interrupt.
Letting her press him on his back, he kept his gaze on her.
"It's late," she spoke softly as if explaining to him her intention. "Your nightmare has already ruined your sleep. Let me help you, okay?"
With that, she adjusted herself back in his arms. Putting her face on his chest, right over his heart, she wrapped an arm around him, slowly and gently moving it to pat on his chest.
His heartbeats were clear to her ears, and she could tell, and from the beats she could tell he was still thinking about something.
However, even knowing it, she didn't push him to talk about it.
If he had been comfortable sharing, he would have explained her in detail. But since he didn't, she wouldn't force him and make it uncomfortable for him.
Patting him like that for a while, she finally heard his heartbeat getting even.
When she looked up to check, his eyes were already closed.
He had fallen asleep.
Relieved, Arwen smiled.
Supporting herself on her elbow, she leaned in carefully and pressed a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Have sweet dreams, husband," she whispered.
Then, no longer lying directly on his chest, she pulled a cushion under his arm and rested her head on it, wrapping her arm once more around his torso.
***
It was past midnight when Ryan finally exited his office.
It had no mood to return home, but he couldn't afford to stir up stories by staying all night at the office. So, with a weary sigh, he decided to drive back to his apartment.
But just as he was making his way across the empty executive floor, his steps came to a halt.
In the midst of the darkened corridor, a faint glow spilt out from the corner —soft, yet unmistakable.
His brows tugged in a frown as he stared in the direction for a moment before walking his way there.
"Zenith!" he called out, his voice laced with confusion.
Earlier, when they finished the dinner, he had asked her to leave right after finishing the work. But seeing her still there, he could tell that he deliberately didn't follow his words.
He was already not in the right mood, and when he saw Zenith blatantly going against him, his mood further worsened.
"Why are you still here?" his voice was laced with a note of darkness that wasn't subtle anymore.
Zenith, however, barely registered him. She stirred in her seat, blinking awake as the haze of her sleep slowly left her eyes.
The moment she saw Ryan's brooding face, the last remnants of drowsiness vanished completely.
She jolted upright, not daring to look into his eyes. "Sir, I —I must have dozed up. I didn't mean to. I was —"
She tried to explain.
But Ryan has no intention of listening to her reasons. Flaring, he interrupted her in a more harsher tone.
"Have I been too kind to you that you forgot that following my instruction is your job?"
Zenith flinched, not missing the edge in his tone. He had never talked to her like that, and now that he did, she felt cold sweat tickling down her spine.
She had kept herself prepared for such a situation. But somehow, right now, she wasn't able to defend herself. "Sir, I —"
"Your blatant disrespect is not something I am going to take sitting low, Zenith," he seethed, "Tomorrow, go and collect your termination letter from HR."
His words struck Zenith like lightning. She has prepared herself for the worst scolding, but never had she thought this would come as a consequence.
All she was … worried for him.
She wanted to make sure he was fine. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
But at the cost of her job —she never imagined it.
She stared at him, tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes. But she didn't let them fall —not because she didn't want to appear weak, but because she was trying hard to think if this was all a mistake.
Maybe it was.
She shouldn't have gone out of her way to care for her boss.
But it was too late for the realization.
Looking at Ryan, she nodded to his instruction. "Okay, sir." She then turned to leave, but all of a sudden, she felt lightheaded as her vision blurred.
She tried to catch herself, but her knees felt weak, giving way already. Before she could register what was happening, her hand instinctively reached out to grab the desk —but missed.
Ryan heard the sound and turned instantly. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
"Zenith!"
He rushed toward her, but before he could grab her, she had already collapsed to the floor —unconscious.
