NOVPUBA week had passed since Raelynn had made her request, and to her surprise, Elion had honored it without fail. Every day, he shared one fact about himself—sometimes something trivial, other times something unexpectedly personal. It started with the basics: where he was born, his favorite food, his preferred way to take his coffee.
Then, as the days went on, the details grew more intimate. His pet peeves. His favorite animal. His shoe and clothing sizes. Raelynn never thought she would have such familiarity with him, and yet, here they were—an odd, almost domestic routine forming between them.
But it wasn’t just the daily exchange of facts that changed things. Each night, before they went to bed, Elion taught her to play the piano.
At first, Raelynn didn’t think she would do well. In fact, she was sure of it. She had never played the piano before—never even touched one, apart from that one time at a mall exhibition where a grand piano had been on display. She had stood near it then, watching as some talented kid played a complicated melody while a small crowd gathered to admire him. That had been the closest she had ever been to a musical instrument.
But the moment his hands gently guided hers over the keys, showing her the proper way to position her fingers, she found herself drawn in. His voice, deep and steady, filled the quiet space between them as he corrected her movements. There was patience in him that she hadn’t expected, and even though he wasn’t overly affectionate, his presence felt… constant. Steady. And strangely comforting.
Still, despite their growing routine, a quiet worry gnawed at the back of her mind.
Axel.
She hadn’t been able to contact him at all. No messages went through, no calls connected. At first, she thought it was just a bad signal or a simple inconvenience. But as the days dragged on with no response, unease settled deep in her stomach. It didn’t feel like a coincidence anymore. Whenever she brought it up, Elion had been quick to reassure her, insisting she needed rest, that she shouldn’t stress herself with unnecessary worries. He had subtly convinced her to stay indoors for now, to focus on her health. And somehow, she had listened.
But now, she wasn’t sure if she should have.
It had also been a week since she started taking the medicine from Zake. And thank God—the pain hadn’t come back. Better stay that way.
Tonight, like every night, they were in the music room. The air smelled faintly of aged wood and the lingering trace of Elion’s cologne—a crisp, cool scent that Raelynn had grown oddly familiar with. She sat on the bench, her fingers gliding over the keys as she followed the melody he had taught her. The notes hung in the air between them, gentle and lingering, like an unspoken conversation neither of them dared to voice aloud.
Elion sat beside her, one hand resting against the polished wood, the other draped casually over his knee. His eyes weren’t on the keys but on her, watching her every movement with quiet intensity. He had the kind of gaze that felt like it could strip away layers, leaving nothing but bare truths in its wake.
"You’re improving," he murmured, his voice a low rumble.
Raelynn let out a small, breathy laugh. "You say that every night. I’m starting to think you’re just flattering me."
Elion smirked, tilting his head slightly. "I don’t flatter. If you were terrible, I would tell you."
She rolled her eyes, her fingers continuing their dance across the keys. But even as she played, her mind kept drifting. To Axel. To the unanswered messages. To the uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right.
"Elion," she said suddenly, her fingers slowing on the keys. "About Axel—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a sharp pain tore through her stomach.
The breath was stolen from her lungs as an unbearable, searing pain coiled through her body. Her hands slipped from the keys, hitting the piano with a unharmonious clash of notes. She gasped, gripping the edge of the bench as her vision blurred at the edges.
Elion was at her side in an instant, his hands steadying her before she could collapse. "Raelynn." His voice was sharp, edged with concern. His eyes darkened as they scanned her face, searching for an answer. "What’s wrong?"
She clenched her teeth, her breath coming in short, uneven pants. "I—" She sucked in a shaky breath, gripping the fabric of her dress over her stomach. The pain wasn’t fading. It was growing worse, spreading like fire through her veins. "I don’t know. It just—hurts."
Elion’s expression darkened, his hands tightening around her shoulders. "Did you take your medicine?"
"I did," she rasped out, her head falling forward as another wave of pain tore through her. A cold sweat broke out across her skin, dampening the nape of her neck. Her limbs trembled, her body struggling to endure whatever was happening. "But it—hurts so much."
His jaw clenched. "Hold on."
Elion swiftly scooped her into his arms, cradling her as though she weighed nothing. Raelynn barely registered the movement, her mind fogged by the agony coursing through her. Her breathing grew more erratic, her vision swimming.
"Elion…" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Panic crept into her tone, raw and unguarded. "Something’s wrong."
"I know," he murmured, his grip on her tightening as he strode toward the door. His voice was controlled, but she could hear it—the slight tremor beneath the calm, the barely contained urgency.
Her fingers weakly grasped at his shirt, her breath coming in shallow pants. "I—I don’t know how much longer I can—"
"Don’t say that." His voice was firm, unyielding. "You’re going to be fine."
She wanted to believe him. She really did. But as the pain clawed deeper, consuming her from the inside out, she wasn’t sure if she could hold on much longer.
The world around her blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges of her vision. The last thing she felt was Elion’s arms tightening around her, his voice calling her name before everything went black.
