Lahat ng Kabanata ng Born to shine: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

🍃 Arria POV I woke up slowly. Not all at once—just enough to feel. The warmth. The scent. The weight of arms around me.  A breath slipped out as I pressed myself closer into it—drawn by something quiet and instinctive. My nose brushed against the warmth.

Fenrir POV What is this? Alaric’s voice cut in the moment I sat behind my desk. He had been quiet the whole morning. Watching. Waiting. Just like me. I glanced again at her. She was fully focused on the book in her hands. But that wasn’t it. She wasn't sitting on the edge of the sofa ready to leave. She was settled—legs folded beneath her, shoulders draped in the blanket I put on her. The change was subtle. But there. Her trying.I replied and opened the first report on my desk. Time moved quickly after that—dates, numbers, names—checked within minutes. Necessary transactions—signed. Then the next. Clear. Efficient. Faster with her in the room. I had told her that. Now it was even better. I glanced at her. Again. Then out the window. And closed the last report. I leaned back slightly, letting my gaze settle on her again. “You’re done?” her gaze snapped to me. Aware.I nodded. “You?” She looked at the book then back at me. “Almost.” “Finish it. I’ll prepare

Arria POV A few days later. We had been awake for a long time. Still, no words came. I refused to let go of him, and he just pulled me closer. “I don’t want it to be true,” I said eventually. “I know.” “But you are usually right.” He didn’t answer. “I am afraid,” I forced the words out. “Of being different again. Of being pushed into something I don’t want.” “Am I different for you because I am the king?” I considered my answer. “Yes… in a way,” I said. “You have duties. You can slip away any minute.” He pulled back just enough to look at me. “I am not going anywhere, Arria.” A beat. “I am right here.” I smiled. Not quite sadly. “You’re leaving in four days.” He shook his head. “Not because I am the king.” A pause. “To protect him.” “You think there is a difference,” I said quietly. “There isn’t.” A breath. “This is your legacy. What you were shaped for. My hand hovered near his face. The fear that one day… he would simply be gone made me hesitate. I almost

🍃 Arria POV “Did you see that symbol, Martha?” My voice came out quieter than I expected. A slow breath left her. “Yes.” “Did you find something?” I pressed. She shook her head. “No… not exactly.” A brief pause. “But it doesn’t look random.” She glanced briefly at Fenrir, then back at me. “The song…” she said. “It doesn’t survive like that by accident.” Her fingers folded together in her lap. “It suggests there are others. People who knew what truly happened back then… and chose to preserve it.” A society. Hidden. Watching. Guarding the truth while the rest of the world rewrote it. My chest tightened. “And if that’s true… they would need a way to recognize each other.” Martha drew a breath. “A signature.” Her eyes flicked to the paper in my hands. “That symbol could be it—the mark that ties them to the heir.” I didn’t answer. My fingers tightened around it. It made sense. But they were missing a piece. Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the exact moment h

🌘 Fenrir POV Martha left silence behind. It filled the room the moment the door closed. I welcomed it. Full control had to be rebuilt— piece by piece and breath by breath. For that, I needed her. My gravity. I didn’t let her go. I kept her pressed against me —close enough to feel the steady rhythm of her breathing. To match it. To follow it back to myself. Arria didn’t resist. She stayed. Willingly. And that... mattered more than anything she could have said. “Is it true?” My voice came out lower than I intended. Rougher. “What you said.” She shifted slightly against me. Not pulling away. Adjusting. “Yes,” she murmured softly. “You are way too much.” There was no edge in it. No accusation. If anything— it sounded like something else entirely. I exhaled. “Not what I meant.” A beat. “I know,” she murmured against me. “But you scared me.” That I felt. “Did I —” I stepped back to look at her. My gaze moved quickly over her. Nothing out of place. No vi