Luke's eyes soften, and he sits back beside my bed, caressing my hand.
"Okay," he says. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." His voice is so tender, and I believe him.
He brushes his fingers against my cheek.
"There's nothing to worry about. You can rest again." He helps me lie down on my bed again, and I sigh in relief.
My eyelids still feel heavy no matter how much I don't want to close my eyes—I'm just so tired, mentally.
But knowing that Luke is here with me, I try to convince myself that there's indeed nothing to worry about. That the nightmare won't come again.
And it doesn't.
???
I wake up again. The clock on the wall reads 3 AM. I thought that I slept for quite a while, but it turns out it hasn't even reached dawn.
Turning to my side, I find Luke asleep, sitting beside the bed, his head on the mattress, his hand still holding mine.
My heart sinks as I stare at him. He must be tired too, but he doesn't dare sleep on the bed with me.
Before I know it, tears pool in my eyes. My throat hurts, my chest tightening. As I look at him staying by my side like this, a strange feeling stirs inside me.
Somehow, it feels so familiar, like I've felt something like this before.
The tears fall onto my cheek, one by one. Why am I feeling like this? Why do I feel like he's indeed not just a temporary husband?
Why do I feel like I know him better? Why do I feel like we are indeed real? Just as he said.
Why do I feel like I need him so much?
Why? Why does my heart tell me that I miss him? Isn't he just an arrogant, cocky man who barged into my life?
But I've never felt a longing so deep in my heart. What kind of nonsense is this?
How can this feeling be so strong to the point that it hurts me? To the point that I start to question my feelings toward any other men before him.
I don't even realize that I'm already sobbing, and this wakes Luke up. When he looks up at me, he startles, seeing tears streaming down my face.
"Cassie?" he asks, worry crossing his expression again as he seeshow much pain I'm in.
But it's not because of the nightmare. It's because of this longing inside me that I can't control. I don't know where it comes from.
Luke is stunned. He doesn't know what to say while I keep crying. "Cassie—"
I shake my head, signaling that he doesn't need to wonder what he should do to make me feel better, because there's only one answer to that.
"Kiss me." My voice is barely a whisper, pleading. I stare at him like my life depends on him. I need him so bad.
Luke freezes as if he can't believe what I said. It hasn't been long since the last time I told him to back off. But now, what am I doing?
His eyes glisten, filled with so many emotions. It seems like the feelings he's been trying to hold back finally explode too, because I see the unshed tears in his beautiful hazels.
Slowly, Luke hovers over me. He wipes my tears away and cups my cheeks. We stare into each other's eyes, drowning in each other for a while, before I close my eyes.
His soft lips graze mine, and I feel like I've just gotten my life back, as if all this time, he has taken my breath and now finally gives it back.
He kisses me softly, and I kiss him back. I know that we've kissed a few times before, but this one feels so like home.
