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Tristan nodded. “I know.”
Aurora’s gaze softened, her fingers reaching out to trace the lines of worry on his face. “Tristan, you can’t come here anymore. The side effects… It’s not safe.”
“I know,” he murmured, his fingers gently tracing the curve of her lips, feeling their softness beneath his touch. “But the thought of leaving you, of never seeing you again... it’s unbearable.”
She chuckled softly, a hint of teasing in her tone. “What about your grand bachelor ball? Did no woman catch your eye?”
Holding her gaze, he replied with unwavering sincerity, “None of them were you.”
A soft smile played on her lips, her eyes shimmering. “Having a Prince say those words to me is like a fairy tale. But that’s all it will ever be for us, Tristan. A dream. Now, it’s time for you to wake up and embrace reality.”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand. Every time I’ve tried to stay away, something pulls me back to you.”
Aurora’s fingers gently caressed his cheek, her touch sending a warmth through him. “Then you need to find a woman in your world, someone who anchors you, makes you want to stay there.”
He looked away. “How can I marry without love?”
She tilted his face back toward her, her gaze searching his. “Sometimes love comes later. Sometimes it surprises you.”
He swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper. “What if I’m already in love… but with someone I can never truly be with?”
Aurora lowered her eyes. “It is possible to move on. And love again.”
“How can you be so sure?”
She offered a sad smile. “After years imprisoned in that tower, Rapunzel and I devised a way for me to escape. She had this incredibly long hair, and she would throw it out the window for me to climb down. During one of my escapades, I met a Prince named Hendrick. He was kind, honorable, and he loved me without knowing my true identity.”
“What happened to him?” Tristan asked.
A shadow crossed Aurora’s face. “My father discovered our secret and, in his rage, turned Hendrick into a statue of gold right before my eyes. I never saw him again. And to deepen my despair, he did the same to Millie.”
Tristan’s heart ached for her. “I’m so sorry you had to endure such pain.”
She gently caressed his face again, her touch comforting. “The reason I’m sharing this with you is to show that even after such heartbreak, I found love again. I never thought I would, or even could, but life has a way of surprising us.”
The soft glow of the fireplace painted the room in a warm, amber hue, casting dancing shadows on the walls.
“Tell me more about this new love of yours,” Tristan pressed.
Aurora’s voice was a whisper, vulnerable yet resolute, her confession hanging between them like a fragile thread. “I tried to convince myself that it was nothing. That it meant nothing, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t true. You brought light into my darkness, Tristan. And infused hope into my heart.” She glanced away, her gaze lost in the dancing flames of the fireplace. “And then you kept coming back... at the beach, at the castle, and now here.”
Tristan’s heart thrummed in his chest. His thoughts swirled like autumn leaves, each one a testament to the complexity of their situation. Her honesty was like a mirror to his own feelings.
“Every time I’m with you,” she continued, “I tell myself that I shouldn’t, that we should stop seeing each other. That you should leave and never come back.” She paused, her breath shaky. “But every time I even think about not seeing you again, it makes it hard to breathe.”
The silence that followed was charged, a void brimming with unspoken desires and fears. Tristan’s throat tightened. Instinctively, he found his hand reaching for hers, his fingers brushing against her palm. He felt the tension in her grip, the uncertainty woven within her touch.
His heart ached, the weight of their impending separation like an anvil to his soul. “This is goodbye, isn’t it?”
She closed her eyes, trying to hide the tears welling up in them. “It has to be.”
His fingers, warm and steady, found their way to her cheek, a tender caress that felt both natural and electrifying. “Look at me,” he whispered over the crackling of the fire.
Aurora’s gaze met his, and he felt a universe of emotions echoing in the depths of her eyes. “Do you want me to leave right now?” he asked.
Emotion trembled on the edge of her voice. Her lips parted as if to speak, but her jaw clenched, the swirl of her thoughts evident in her conflicted expression. “Yes,” she breathed, but then, with a shuddering exhale, she whispered, “No.”
The fireplace’s crackling grew more distinct, the golden light casting a warm glow on her sun-kissed skin—a sun he had brought into her life. Tristan’s gaze was fixated on her, on the battle she fought within herself. The depth of his feelings for her surged within him.
