LOGINANNELISE POVThe mall doors slid open behind me and the evening air hit my face in a soft, cooling wave. My arms were already tired from the shopping bags, but I kept walking anyway, letting the rhythm of the city guide me back toward the hostel. Everything felt slightly louder than it should, footsteps, distant horns, overlapping conversations that did not have anything to do with me.I was adjusting the strap of one of the bags when I noticed the building across the street.It wasn’t fancy in the way malls or restaurants tried to be. It was simple, more intentional. A glass front with warm lighting spilling through, paintings visible even from outside. Some leaned against walls, others hung with careful spacing.An Art Gallery.I slowed without thinking. I didn’t plan to go in, I just crossed the street, and once I got closer, I couldn’t hold myself from going through the door. The moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere changed, It felt curated, like even silence had been placed on
The house had grown too quiet for a man like Cassius Vale.Silence used to be a luxury, something he chose after long days of commanding rooms filled with voices that mattered in their own words but not in his. Now it pressed against him like punishment. It followed him from one corner of the mansion to another, in rooms she spent more time in.He stood at the balcony again, the same place he had returned to every evening since she left. His hand rested against the railing, fingers curled tightly around the cold metal as his gaze remained fixed on the driveway below.It had stayed that way… Empty.There was a time he would have laughed at the idea of waiting for anyone. Cassius Vale did not wait. People waited for him. They arranged their lives around his time, his presence, his schedule.Yet here he was, looking out like a man who had misplaced something he could not replace.His phone sat in his other hand, screen dimmed. He unlocked it for what felt like the hundredth time that hou
“So you’re telling me you’re moving into the hostel on purpose?” Kelsey said as she leaned over the armrest, one long leg stretched out carelessly, her fingers running through her red hair as she stared at Annelise like she had just heard something ridiculous. “Voluntarily,” she added, raising a brow.Annelise let out a small laugh, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Yes. I want the full Uni experience.”“Bold,” Jasmine muttered from the seat behind, adjusting her seat belt, her tone somewhere between impressed and amused. “I could never. I like my personal space too much.”“Hostels build character,” Yvette chimed in, lifting her coffee cup slightly. “Also, statistically, people who live in campus housing tend to adapt faster socially during their first semester.”Kelsey glanced at her shaking her head. “There you go again always sounding like a walking documentary.”Yvette shrugged, completely indifferent. “Information is comforting.”Annelise smiled faintly, her eyes movi
The first thing Cassius noticed when he opened his eyes was the stillness of the room.It wasn’t unusual for the room to be quiet in the mornings. Annelise had developed the habit of waking earlier than him over the past weeks, moving about silently, careful not to disturb him. He had grown used to reaching for her and finding the space beside him empty, knowing she was somewhere in the house.This morning felt different… Empty in an unfamiliar way, so silent you could hear a pin drop.Cassius remained still for a moment, staring at the ceiling as the faint memory of the previous day returned.He turned his head toward her side of the bed. The sheets were smooth.His gaze lingered there longer than necessary before he pushed himself up, his heart already beating slowly as the idea of what might be happening dawned on him.“Anne?” He called, his tone controlled as he tried to contain the anxiety slowly building up.He got out of bed as he didn’t get a response, pulling on a shirt as he
Two weeks had passed…The house was quiet again, but not in the way it used to be.Annelise moved through the house like she no longer belonged in it. She woke up early, sometimes before the sun rose, and stayed in bed staring at the ceiling, her mind running in circles she could not escape. When she did get up, she kept herself occupied with small, meaningless tasks that filled the hours but gave her no sense of comfort. She avoided the rooms they had once shared so easily, avoided the painting room he had designed for her.She avoided him.Cassius noticed the difference.He noticed the way her body tensed whenever he got too close, the way her shoulders stiffened when his hand brushed against hers, the way she subtly pulled away as if his touch burned. He noticed the silence at dinners, how she barely touched her food, how she zoned out, her eyes drifting away from him like she was somewhere else entirely.He noticed the shift, but stayed quiet, never talking about it.He gave her s
The room still felt gloomy when Cassius stepped back into it.Nothing had changed. Annelise was still exactly where he left her, curled slightly on the bed, her face buried into the pillow, her body stiff like she had frozen in that position and refused to move. The tray of food beside the bed sat untouched.Cassius stood by the door for a second, watching her. He understood her pain, he was also facing same fate.“Anne… Sweetness.” His voice was low, careful.She turned almost immediately like she had been anticipating his return, her eyes swollen, red, her face drenched with tears that hadn’t stopped since he left. The moment she saw him, she pushed herself off the bed quickly, her body wobbling before she steadied herself.“Cassius…” her voice broke, her breath hitching as she walked toward him.“I don’t want her to be in pain anymore.”The words came out rushed, desperate, like she had been holding them in for too long.“She’s too little, Cassius… she’s too young to be hurting thi
ANNELISE POVMy eyes slowly tore open from perceiving a soothing familiar scent, my first sight after waking up was a blurry view of the ceiling then a masculine silhouette at the periphery of my eyes, my heart skipped as I quickly turned in shock, and there
CASSIUS VALES POVIt’s been about three days since I last spent quality time with Anne, and it’s been affecting me more than she believes.I hated missing her first day of school, I knew that she would hate me for sending a stranger to take her to school and missing
ANNELISE POVI woke up quite late the next morning after a very eventful day yesterday with Cassius, Isolde and Dashiell. I remember getting so wine drunk and sleeping off on their couch, but I don’t remember getting back home.I hated days like this, I’m a nightmare when I’m drunk. I mean, I don’t
ANNELISE POVThe drive to Cassius friends house was fun, Cassius was carpool karaok-ing ‘This is the day by The The’ while I had my eyes fixated on Paris civilization, the city was really pretty and it made me look forward to times like this.I turned to look at Cas







