PRETENDING TO BREATHE

SERA

“Look at that view,” Jared said, slipping an arm around my waist. “That’s insane.”

We were standing on the edge of a rocky overlook, gazing out at the turquoise sea below. The guide had told us this spot ‘Elerin’s Point’ was sacred to the island’s early settlers.

A place for cleansing, and for reckoning.

How ironic.

“Truly beautiful,” Jared’s mom chimed in, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat as she snapped a picture. “I can’t wait to frame these.”

“Your father should see this,” my mother added, elbowing my dad gently. “Isn’t this the kind of spot you always talk about?”

My dad chuckled. “If I had this view, I’d never leave the house. You’d find me planted on a chair right there, from dawn till dusk.”

Everyone laughed. Even I smiled, leaning in, responding, and nodding. I knew how to play my part. I was good at this: the charming future daughter-in-law, and the perfect fiancée. I made eye contact with everyone, engaged them easily, smoothly.

It came naturally. Or at least… it used to.

Because then he spoke.

“I’d stay for the sunsets,” Knox said, voice low and even, but loud enough to carry across the group. “Bet they’re ridiculous from up here.”

And just like that, my skin flushed.

His voice hit me like a drop of warm water on a frozen spine, sudden and deep, spreading heat before I could brace for it. I didn’t even have to look at him.

My body already remembered.

Reacted.

Jared’s arm was still around my waist, but it may as well have been a phantom touch.

I could feel Knox’s presence behind me like a current, steady and unavoidable. I’d hoped he wouldn’t come. I’d prayed he’d turn down Jared’s casual offer to join the family day out.

But of course, he said yes. Of course, he came, and now he was here… and so close.

Two days.

It had only been two days since he fucked me against the cold marble wall of his bathroom, my legs around his waist, his hips pounding into me as I cried his name through two screaming orgasms.

Since he filled me so deep and full I was still sore the next morning. Since he kissed me like he owned me and ruined me with a look.

Two days since I ran out of his suite on shaking legs, slick between my thighs, heart hammering in my chest. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.

But I could still feel him. Every time I closed my eyes.

I shifted slightly now, hoping Jared wouldn’t notice. He didn’t.

Heck , he didn’t suspect a thing.

When I came back to our shared room that night, Jared was exactly where I’d left him, snoring on the bed. Oblivious, and safe.

And I… I crawled into bed beside him, full of his brother’s cum and drowning in guilt.

I told myself that would be the end. That it had to be. I just had to fuck Knox out of my system and then reset. Start over. Love Jared like I was supposed to.

But that wasn’t the case.

Once would never be enough.

My body craved Knox.

And now, he was here. A few feet behind me, surrounded by family, blending in like he hadn’t destroyed every sense I had with nothing but his hands, mouth and cock.

My thighs pressed together.

I tried to think of something else. Anything else. The sound of the waves. The sharp scent of salt in the air. Jared’s hand brushing my hip. His lips pressing a kiss to my temple.

“You okay?” he asked softly, smiling down at me.

I smiled back and nodded. “Of course.”

I wasn’t.

Knox said nothing else, but I could feel his eyes. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was watching me. Just like he did that night, silently, devouring me until I fell apart under him.

My fingers tightened around Jared’s.

I couldn’t keep avoiding him forever, and from the way Knox lingered at the edges of every conversation, every shared glance… I knew he had no plans of letting me forget what we’d done.

No matter how badly I wanted to pretend it never happened.

We all went to a secluded spot by a stream, framed by lush tropical trees and thick, green brush. The air was cooler here, and the sound of trickling water was soothing, almost surreal.

A stone table sat near the bank, surrounded by smooth, rounded stools, and a colorful buffet of fruit; pineapples, mangoes, guava, papaya, watermelon, and more I couldn’t name.

We all settled in, grateful for the shade and the spread. The conversation rolled easily, mostly about wedding plans, as usual. Jared’s mom and mine were deep into it again, debating flowers this time.

“I’m telling you, ivory roses would look cleaner,” my mom insisted.

“But blush brings a softness to the photos,” Jared’s mom argued. “And Sera already said she liked it, didn’t you, dear?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Jared’s voice cut in before I could.

“We’re not doing wedding talk today,” he laughed, tossing a mango slice into his mouth. “You two promised, this trip was meant to be a break.”

“Yeah,” Jared’s dad added, wiping juice from his chin with a napkin. “Let the poor girl breathe. You’ll have her eloping if you keep it up.”

Everyone chuckled. Except me.

Because even though they were all talking about me, not one of them was talking to me. I just sat there, smile frozen, picking at my plate. And all the while, I could feel his eyes.

Knox.

Across the table. Silent. Steady. Watching.

Every time I dared glance his way, he was already looking. Not staring, not gawking, just aware. Like he could feel the tension crawling across my skin as sharply as I could.

I couldn’t breathe.

I stood up too quickly.

“I’m just going to stretch my legs for a bit.”

They barely noticed. Jared just waved me off with a slice of watermelon.

I wandered past the trees, weaving through thick foliage, the sound of voices fading behind me. The stream curved gently up ahead, and I followed it, letting the cool scent of wet stone and earth calm my nerves.

And then I heard the footsteps.

I paused, heart skipping.

“Jared?”

No answer.

I turned, and my breath caught.

Knox stepped through the trees, casual and slow like he was taking a stroll, not tracking the woman he’d made come apart two nights ago. His shirt was undone at the collar, sleeves rolled, one hand in his pocket.

Relaxed.

Dangerous.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said quickly, taking a step back. “You shouldn’t have followed me.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” His voice was calm, unreadable.

“I’m fine. So now you can go back.”

He raised an eyebrow, amused at the frantic tone of my voice.

“Why are you so jumpy?” He stepped closer, not enough to crowd me, but enough to feel it. “We’re not even doing anything right now, Sera. You don’t have to be scared.”

“I’m not scared,” I lied.

He looked at me for a long moment, something dark flickering in his eyes.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” He said. “If it’s about what happened that night-”

“That night was a mistake.” I said, too fast.

There. I said it.

But Knox didn’t flinch. He just smiled, slow and knowing, like he was playing with fire and enjoying every second of the burn.

“Didn’t sound like a mistake when you came twice.”

My stomach dropped.

His voice was low, teasing, and sinful.

“Didn’t feel like a mistake when you were clawing my back,” he added, taking a slow step forward, “or begging me not to stop. You remember that part, right?”

I did.

God, I did.

I felt the heat rise to my face, spread to my neck, my chest. My legs wobbled slightly beneath me, and I hated that he could do this, get to me with just words.

“You don’t get it,” I snapped, my voice low but sharp. “This can’t happen again.”

Knox’s eyes darkened, and that familiar, cocky smirk played on his lips.

“It already did.”

“I am your brother’s fiancée, Knox.”

“And you’re the woman who was moaning my name two nights ago,” he murmured, stepping closer.

My back hit a tree.

Damn it.

I pressed my palms to the bark behind me like I needed something solid to ground myself. Knox stood just inches away now, the smell of fruit and the outdoors clinging to his skin.

His eyes roamed my face, slow, deliberate… and then dropped lower.

“I want you, Sera,” he said, voice rough, honest. “I want to feel you again. Taste every sound you make. Watch you fall apart for me. To hear you scream for me while I fuck you hard.”

My breath caught.

“You shouldn’t say those things to me,” I whispered, trembling.

“Why?” He leaned in closer, his voice brushing my cheek. “Because they’re true?”

I hated how my body responded. The fluttering in my chest. The heat low in my stomach. The way my thighs squeezed together without me realizing it.

He didn’t touch me. Not really. Just lifted his hand, fingers brushing lightly over the fabric covering my chest, right where my nipple had hardened against the thin chiffon of my dress.

I gasped before I could stop it.

The contact was light, featherlight, but it sent a bolt of heat right through me.

“God, Sera,” he murmured, voice rough now. “You feel it too. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

“Knox…”

“I’m not going to force anything. I won’t touch you again unless you want me to.” He leaned in closer, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “But your body already wants it. You’re shaking.”

He was right. I was.

“You can’t keep doing this to me,” I breathed.

“Then tell me to stop,” he said simply. “Tell me you don’t want me. Look me in the eyes and say it.”

I couldn’t. I couldn’t even form the words. His face was so close. One tilt and our lips would meet again, and God, I wanted it.

But then—

“Sera?”

Jared’s voice shattered the moment.

I jumped back like I’d been caught stealing.

“I-I’m over here!” I called, too quickly, voice tinged with panic.

Knox’s eyes didn’t leave mine.

“We are not over,” he said, low and steady.

Then he stepped away, calm as ever, vanishing through the trees like he hadn’t just shaken my entire world with a whisper.

And I stood there, pulse racing, heart pounding, wondering how I was ever going to survive the rest of this trip staying in the same house with Knox.