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CCXLIX : cold tiles and warmer hands [Belva]

Penulis: Maya East
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-28 08:55:21

Maybe it was Pascha’s arms around me last night that finally let me sleep. Maybe it was the ginger orange juice my mother offered. Cold on my lips but warm in my chest. Or maybe my body was just too exhausted to dream.

But this morning… I woke up without a nightmare.

And somehow, that felt even stranger and terrifying.

Sunlight slipped through the curtain cracks, bouncing off the ceiling. Pascha was still beside me, one heavy arm draped lazily across the bed. His breathing was steady. Deep. Almost too peaceful for a world that had burned down just hours ago.

I didn’t move. I just stared at the ceiling. Blank. Numb.

And then the memories started to return. Not crashing in. Not loud. But seeping in slow and cold, like water from a crack in the wall.

Metal shelves. Photos. Folders. Paintings.

My hands began to sweat.

My chest tightened.

I saw myself. In black and white. In color. In scattered fragments of a life I’d forgotten. But he remembered. He kept them. He... collected them.

And th
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  • His Son, Her Secret   CCLVIII : slow-motion heroes

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  • His Son, Her Secret   CCLVII : You're Alive. You're Alive. You're Alive.

    He dragged me sideways down the hall. My feet scraped through shattered glass and twisted metal, my knees catching on the floor. I struggled, twisted, punched at his arm, but Ben slammed me against the wall like I was just an inconvenience.“We’re leaving. Now.”“Let me go!” I hit his chest. “You’re fucking insane! You think this...”Part of the wall behind us exploded. Dust and stone rained down. Gunfire erupted from both sides, flashing light against the smoke. Screams echoed in Russian and Spanish like war drums slamming into the corridor.“You’re completely fucking insane!” I screamed, slamming my elbow into his jaw.He staggered back, just for a moment but his hand locked around my wrist again, dragging me faster toward the back exit.“Don’t make me hurt you!” he hissed.Behind us, Pascha and Rafael pushed through the haze, bullets whizzing past. Calvin emerged from the right, firing at two of Los Sombras’ men running along the upper level.“HANDS IN THE AIR!” Rafael shouted. “DO

  • His Son, Her Secret   CCLVI : sirens in my veins

    Our footsteps echoed down the long, narrow corridor, thick with the stench of old metal, burnt oil, and rust. The flickering overhead lights cast our shadows across the cracked walls, leaping like hunted silhouettes.Mikaela was half-dragged by Jullian, her body still weak, but her eyes, now fully open, were wide with panic. Her breath came fast and shallow, one arm wrapped around her belly with an instinctual protectiveness that beat out the pain.I walked ahead of them, while Ben… moved like a ghost behind me. His steps made no sound, but his presence clung to the back of my neck like a dark shadow that refused to lift.“This way,” Ben muttered. “Back emergency stairs. Car’s waiting past the gate.”Every word from his mouth made my stomach turn.The building felt like an abandoned warzone. Cracked walls, groaning floors, and every door looking like it might be booby-trapped. But we kept.One more turn.A heavy steel door opened into a loading dock.And suddenly—Everything exploded.

  • His Son, Her Secret   CCLV : False Gold, True Blood

    The heavy iron door slammed shut in the distance, its metallic clang echoing like a countdown ticking backward.Ben had gone. Called out by someone, one of his men, maybe. They spoke quickly in a language I didn’t understand. But his tone… it was alert. Like something had veered off course.I lowered my gaze, still holding Mikaela, who was either asleep or unconscious. My hand moved gently over her belly. Every second felt like waiting for the aftershock of a disaster that hadn’t finished yet.And then... the door creaked again.Footsteps. Slow. But heavy enough to know it wasn’t just the wind.I turned instantly, my breath caught in my throat.Jullian.I almost didn’t recognize his face in the dim yellow light but that body, that posture, that gaze that always lingered too long on mine...“What...?” I breathed, voice cracking. “You?!”He stopped. Didn’t step any closer. His hands were empty, but his face... was pulled tight between regret and fear.“Belva,” he said quietly. “I...I di

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