Novel & Cerita So Close But Yet So Far

“This isn’t business.” “Then why does it feel like one?” Their faces were inches apart now. “You’re angry,” he said quietly. “Yes.” “So am I.” “Then stop pretending you don’t want this.” His voice dropped. “I want it too much.” Her breath caught. “You make me forget how to stay distant,” he continued. “And that terrifies me.” She lifted her chin. “You don’t get to pull me close and push me away in the same breath.” “I’m trying not to ruin you.”

Not to reach for him. Not yet. Just enough to feel the air shift around my fingers. Power answers immediately. Too quickly. Too easily. I close my hand again. Breathing slow. Steady. Holding that line. For now. But I can feel it. How close it is. How thin the distance is between who I am… and what they want me to become.

I was the simple-minded fool that General Adelaide Knight had pulled from a pile of corpses on the battlefield. The poison had been too severe. I survived, but my mind never fully recovered. When people hit me or cursed at me, all I ever did was stare blankly and smile. Adelaide took pity on me. She brought me into her home and refused to let anyone mistreat me. She once said, "Reed may be a fool, but he's my whole life." And like a fool, I believed her. For five years, I followed her everywhere like a shadow. Then Fabian Ortega returned to the capital. He looked so much like me that we could almost have been brothers. He'd been poisoned, and none of the doctors knew how to save him. Hi

My smile dropped and slowly, I hold my hand firmly. Just like that star that I couldn't reach despite it looking reachable, it seemed like it'll be hard for me in the next few days. “Maxx . . . if only you are that star, I'll know how far our distance will be. I'll come to my senses right away. But why do you have to be near me yet far at the same time?” I mumbled as I clenched my fist into a ball. I craned my neck and exasperatedly sighed.

He stepped closer instead, his face closer to her hair. “I still can’t believe you don’t remember me. You must have been with a lot of guys for you to forget” he accused. “For goodness sake, I have no idea what you are talking about” Katrina responded frustratingly. “Of course you don’t” he hissed. Unable to bear it, Katrina pushed and finally managed to turn around but it seemed to be a big mistake as their bodies stood barely an inch away from each other. She seized a breath before releasing slowly and glanced up at him. “Whatever it is, it wouldn’t matter” she told him.

Something in my chest tightened painfully. Sitting there, I realized how much closer we were, yet how far away he remained from reaching. I could hear his breathing, feel the warmth of his presence just inches above me, yet the distance between our hearts felt endless. I wanted him in my life, but it was impossible. The realization settled slowly, painfully, like a blade sinking deeper the more I tried to ignore it.

Because of the rivalry between the Russians and Italians, no one can trespass in other's property. Her next message tugged at my heart, "They do more than just 'do.' They make me feel close to you, even when you're far away." I smiled at the screen, grateful for the technology that bridged the gap between us. "Same here," I replied, "I can almost imagine you here with me." "So, what are you doing?" She asked, yet again. I couldn't help but grin as I replied, "Not much, just daydreaming about how amazing you are. The usual."

Because walking away from him is one thing. But walking away from myself? That feels like a different kind of loss. And as my inbox refreshes, one thought settles deep and undeniable: This isn’t distance anymore. This is proximity. And whatever comes next? It’s going to cost us both.

I said. "I know how it sounds," she said. "Tell me what it feels like," I said. She turned toward me. "Like when you are very close to something but not quite touching it," she said. "Like the distance between almost and actually. The bond at night feels." She stopped. "It feels like it wants to close that distance."

The events that had unfolded seemed like a distant nightmare, and being here, in his embrace, I wanted to hope that maybe this was it, what I had always wanted. Maybe this was him. But there was this saying that when things are too good to be true, then there is a high chance that it wasn't.