AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Sure," I scoff, pulling my cardigan tighter around me as if it could shield me from my own traitorous thoughts. "Together until this stalker shit is over, and then what? Back to being strangers?"
I trace the outline of a blooming night jasmine with my fingertip, its scent sweet and intoxicating. "At least you don't have commitment issues," I say to the flower, grateful for something that doesn't talk back or look at me with piercing eyes full of secrets.
But it's those very secrets that tug at me now—the hidden depths behind Axel's stoic facade that I once thought I'd navigated. The man is like a walking contradiction: all hard edges and soft glances. A fortress with a door that's both open and closed to me.
My phone buzzes on the table beside me, slicing through the silence like a warning siren.
A text from Simon flashes on the screen.
Simon
How are you holding up?
With a groan, I type back
Sasha
Like a chandelier in an earthquake.
There's a pause before his reply comes through.
Simon
That good, huh?
Sasha
Shut up
I send back with a smirk before my gaze returns to the cityscape.
It's quiet moments like these—alone under the vastness of it all—that remind me how small my problems are in the grand scheme of things. But as much as I try to dismiss them, they cling like shadows.
"I'm Sasha Cruz," I whisper into the night. "Not some damsel in distress." But even as I say it, there's a tremor in my voice that betrays my doubt.
The charade with Axel is supposed to be simple: play the part of lovers to throw off some creep who gets his kicks from scaring me. But nothing about this feels simple—not when every look from Axel sends my heart into overdrive.
I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could block out not just the view but also the turmoil within me. How do you keep your heart from getting tangled up in a lie when every fiber of your being yearns for it to be true?
Opening my eyes again, I stare into the darkness beyond my balcony—a vast unknown that somehow feels less daunting than confronting what's growing inside me for Axel. The risk isn't just falling for him again—it's plummeting without knowing if he'll be there to catch me.
"Damn you, Axel," I whisper into the night air, "for making me wish this lie was our truth."
But even as the words leave my lips, I know it's not just Axel I'm cursing. It's myself too. For being weak. For being afraid. For wanting something I know I can't have.
I can't keep doing this. I can't keep pretending that I'm okay. That I'm not falling apart. That I'm not scared out of my mind.
But I have to. I have to keep going. I have to keep fighting. Because that's what I do. That's who I am. A fighter. A woman who doesn't give up.
10
AXEL
The decision to whisk Sasha away from the glaring spotlight of LA wasn't an easy one, but it was necessary. With the paparazzi hounding her every move and the stalker's threats looming over her like a thundercloud, I knew we had to find a place where she could breathe, where she could feel safe. Pine Haven, with its rustic charm and off-the-beaten-path location, seemed like the perfect sanctuary.
Los Angeles shrinks in the rearview mirror, its chaos surrendering to the tranquil darkness of the open road. The stars seem brighter out here, away from the city's smog and smoke—distant yet piercing. It feels like they're spotlighting my every flaw, every crack in my defenses. Sasha fidgets in the passenger seat, her gaze flitting between me and the landscape blurring past.
"So, this is what freedom feels like?" she teases, breaking the silence that's settled between us like an unwelcome third passenger.
