~ đź–¤
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The morning after was never quiet enough.
Maya sat on the edge of the bed, the silence pressing against her chest like a vice. The scent of him still clung to her sheets — Elias. His fingerprints felt etched into her skin, and her lips were still swollen from the way he kissed her like he was punishing both of them.
He stood at the far end of the room, bare-chested, his hoodie clutched in his hand but forgotten. His eyes were on the floor.
Neither of them had said a word since it happened.
Since they burned.
And now, standing in the ash, Maya realized something horrifying:
> She didn't regret it.
Not the way he touched her. Not the way she surrendered.
Not the way she let him destroy her.
But the silence… the silence was killing her.
> "You said one night," she finally whispered, her voice cracking the tension.
Elias didn't move. Not a breath. Not a flinch.
> "You said one night," she repeated, louder this time. "So why are you still here?"
He looked up at her then. And the look in his eyes made her heart lurch — because it wasn't cold or cruel.
It was scared.
> "Because I lied," he said quietly. "I thought I could walk away. That if I used you, hurt you, took you—then maybe it would end. But now…"
He stepped closer, slow and deliberate.
> "Now I want to hurt anyone else who touches you."
Maya's breath caught. Her pulse quickened.
> "You hated me," she said.
> "I still do," he muttered. "But I hate everyone else more."
He reached her, dropped the hoodie, and knelt in front of her. His hands went to her thighs, sliding up slowly until they gripped her waist. His head leaned against her stomach, and for a moment he just stayed there — like touching her anchored him to the world.
> "Mira was poison," he whispered. "She infected everything. But not you. You were… untouched by it. You were light."
She flinched. "I'm not light, Elias."
He looked up. His eyes burned.
> "No. You're fire."
Suddenly, he pulled her into his lap. Her legs straddled him as his hands gripped her hips tight. She gasped as his mouth found her throat again, teeth grazing her skin.
> "I can't stop," he growled. "Even if I should."
Maya didn't answer — her body did.
She ground against him, eyes fluttering shut, nails dragging down his back. She hated how much she needed him like this — raw, angry, obsessed.
> "You're not supposed to want me," she breathed.
> "I know."
> "You're supposed to hate me."
> "I do."
He kissed her again — brutal and dark, his tongue claiming her mouth like it belonged there.
And then he stood, holding her against him, her legs wrapped around his waist, carrying her to the wall.
He pinned her there, hard.
> "Say it," he demanded.
> "Say what?"
> "That you're mine."
Her breath hitched. "I'm yours."
He kissed her again. And again.
But just as the heat swelled again — just as the line blurred between pain and pleasure — a knock shattered it all.
Three harsh, impatient knocks.
They froze.
Elias's body tensed like a predator mid-kill. Maya quickly pulled the sheet tighter around her chest.
> "Who—?" she started, but then she heard it.
> "Maya?" a voice called through the door. "It's Jax."
Her stomach dropped.
> No.
Elias growled under his breath, fury already crawling over his skin.
> "Stay here," he said.
But she was already pulling away. "I have to face it."
She walked barefoot to the door, guilt slicing through her ribs.
When she opened it, the morning light was harsh.
And Jax was worse.
He stood there holding something tight to his chest — Mira's diary.
His face was pale, but his eyes… they were furious.
> "You forgot this," he said. His voice was flat, brittle.
Her eyes went to the book, then to his knuckles — bruised. Fresh.
She wanted to speak, to lie, to soothe — but he followed her gaze past her shoulder.
To Elias.
Half-naked. Marked.
> "So it's true."
> "Jax—"
> "Tell me it didn't mean anything," he snapped. "Tell me you didn't just crawl into bed with the same guy who used to corner you in the hallway and spit your sister's name like a curse."
Maya's throat closed. "It's not like that."
> "You think you're not like her," he said, stepping closer. "But you are. You know what she did to me. You read it. And now you've turned around and played me like a backup."
She flinched.
> "You think she broke me? No, Maya. You did."
He shoved the diary into her hands and stepped back, his voice barely a whisper now.
> "I loved you. But you already belonged to him, didn't you?"
The door slammed shut.
The silence left in its wake was louder than any scream.
Maya stood frozen, the book shaking in her hands. Behind her, Elias approached, wrapping his arms around her waist, his lips brushing her neck.
> "You okay?" he murmured.
> "No," she said. "I think I just broke everything."
Elias's arms tightened.
> "Then let's keep breaking it."
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