chapter 4

Author pov🌹

"Eryx" fingers fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve as Aren stepped closer, his gaze intense and unflinching. Every time Aren looked at him like that, my cheeks flamed, and his breath caught in his throat. He couldn't betray lior but the pull he felt with Aren was something else .

“Eryx…” Aren’s voice was low, almost a purr, and the warmth in it made my knees wobble. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted this—wanted you". since I saw you at the party .

He swallowed hard, eyes darting away. “I… I—I don’t know what to say,” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aren reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from his forehead. The touch lingered, and Kael shivered. “Then don’t say anything,” Aren said, leaning just close enough that my could feel the heat radiating off him. “Just feel me.”

His heart pounded as Aren’s hand slid to rest gently over his. The gesture wasn’t forceful, but it spoke of desire, of yearning, of a need that Eryx had never felt before. He felt torn—wanting to pull back, wanting to hide, yet desperate to stay in that closeness.

“Your hands… your touch…” Aren whispered, voice rough with need. “I can’t get enough of you.”

His lips parted, a nervous laugh escaping him, though his pulse raced like a drum. “I… I don’t know if I can…", I have a mate

Not fated but chosen so “You can,” Aren murmured, tilting my chin up so their eyes met. “I’ll make sure of it. Just… stay with me.”

And despite his shyness, despite the nervous fluttering in his chest, Eryx nodded, letting himself melt into the warmth of Aren’s presence, caught in a pull he couldn’t—and didn’t want to—resist.

Waking up to the soft morning light filtering through Aren’s curtains, Eryx felt the warmth of his presence beside him , and for a moment, he let myself linger there. But then the guilt hit he like a wave. Lior. Lior, who had trusted me, who had believed in me… what I’d done felt like a betrayal I couldn’t undo.

He sat up slowly, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. I can’t… I can’t hurt him like this, I thought, my chest tightening. And yet, I couldn’t deny Aren either—not after everything, not after the way my heart clenched every time he was near.

He spent hours pacing, scribbling thoughts, erasing them, rewriting them. Finally, he had a letter. My hand shook as He wrote, each word heavy with regret and hope:

Lior, I… I hope you can forgive me. I’ve found my mate—someone I can’t walk away from. I wanted to tell you myself, but I couldn’t. I hope you find your mate too, someone who makes you whole, because you deserve it. I’ll always care about you, and I never meant to hurt you. Please take care of yourself."

Folding the letter, He stared at it for what felt like forever. Part of me still ached, but another part felt… lighter. When He finally sent it, it was as if a weight lifted, though I knew my feelings for Lior wouldn’t just disappear.

And then there was Aren. Warm, patient, unwavering. He couldn’t deny the happiness he brought me, the way my chest fluttered whenever he smiled, the way my hand always seemed to find his.

So he chose to move forward. Slowly. Carefully. Letting myself live with him, let myself feel again. Guilt lingered, but Aren was here, and with him, I could start learning that love—messy, complicated, overwhelming love—could still be beautiful.

Lior 🌹

The city had been restless tonight, and so was I. Every street, every club, —I had sent my guards to scour them all. Hours of searching, and still, nothing. No Eryx. No trace.

He hasn't been his self since th party and I don't remember offending him, I shrug my mind on the thought that he has left me.

I stepped into my penthouse, the doors closing behind me with a weight that matched the pit in my chest. Inside, the silence pressed down on me. My office, usually a sanctuary of control, felt cold and hollow. Black marble floors reflected the muted glow of the city lights, and the sleek leather of my chair seemed impossibly distant. Everything I had built—power, wealth, control—meant nothing tonight.

Every where was quiet without him, I craved for his touch ,I shrugged off my suit jacket, loosening my tie, the tautness in my chest echoing in my abs and shoulders. The guards had cleared the building, all except one, who knocked once at my door.

“Sir,” he said, holding out a plain envelope. “This came for you.”

I narrowed my eyes, my pulse quickening.

Getting angry at the thought of him receiving letter when he knows am not in the mood for business. “Who—?”

“Unknown sender, sir. Left at reception,” he replied, careful, neutral.

I took the envelope from him, my fingers brushing his gloved hand. “Leave it,” I said.

The door clicked shut behind him. I stared at the envelope, then tore it open, my eyes locking on the familiar handwriting.

When I opened the letter, my chest tightened as anger, betrayal, and a sharp ache of longing crashed into me all at once.

"Lior, I… I hope you can forgive me. I’ve found my mate—someone I can’t walk away from. At the party I stayed away from him but the pull toward a fated is something I can't deny ,I hope you find your mate too, someone who makes you whole, because you deserve it. i can't bring my self to tell you .

The paper felt like ice in my hands. Rage, betrayal, jealousy—they collided in my chest like a storm I couldn’t calm. Eryx…” I muttered, my voice low, tight. “You left me… like this?”

I sank into my leather chair, at the balcony looking at the city lights casting shadows across my sharp features. My hands crushed the letter, knuckles white. The penthouse, so perfect and controlled, now felt suffocating. For the first time, my wealth, my power, my control—they didn’t matter.

Eryx had hurt me. He had left me. And the thought of him with someone else ignited a fire in me I hadn’t felt before.