His intense stare left her in a state of devastation. There was simply no other way to describe the chaos sweeping her inside as she gazed at the glacial storm in his eyes.

  “Come here,” he said, lifting his arm to reach her, movements careful and deliberate—a stark contrast to the brutality coiled around his muscles in the form of battleworn scars, conveying a sense of quiet strength.

  His sharp contours, and cold, exquisite features could render a smart man speechless, and when he spoke, his baritone voice washed over her in a warm resonance that made her shiver. Her greatest temptation, all wrapped up in skin and bones, made into flesh and come to life.

  She lifted her chin higher, tension pooling between her shoulder blades. A blank mask blanketed her face in such perfect style, it nearly rendered his own apathy a fake imitation. The gentle breeze from the open window behind her back caused another shiver to run through her spine.

  Despite her lack of response, the intensity of his gaze faded into a quiet softness only few got to witness, the storm stilling. “Naomi, you’ll catch a cold if you stand there too long.”

  Naomi blinked back the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, chin trembling, fists flexing at her sides. Shoulders caved, too heavy with the vortex of emotions swallowing her whole (and nearly succeeding).

  Why did he have to be like this? Standing before him would be easier if he wasn’t good to her. If he could be less gentle, more unfeeling, less himself—maybe breathing wouldn’t be synonymous to dying.

  She inhaled a deep breath and attempted to smile. A flicker of worry melted the frozen edges in his eyes, before it sharpened into a pensive stare. She didn’t need to ask to know he’d seen through her attempts. He could read and understand her so well, more than she could ever to herself.

  “Noah...” His name broke at the tip of her tongue, a weakness she silently cursed herself for. Even his name was another stab wound to her chest. “I... I can’t stay here anymore,” she forced herself to finish.

  His eyebrows knitted; the storm reignited in his eyes. “What do you mean?” he asked, confused. “What are you talking about, wife?”

  Naomi resisted the urge to flinch.

  Wife.

  Wife.

  That word—that goddamned word—

  It was betrayal and salvation, agony and relief, like ice on her inflamed wound before it melted into salted water.

  She wasn’t supposed to marry him. She wasn’t his, and he certainly wasn’t hers. But here they were, standing before each other, sharing a name, a land, and a home. They had lived and fought together, for each other, and oftentimes against each other.

  They weren’t each other’s first choice in the first place, but they, together, became the choice that mattered.

  At this moment though, it was time to face reality.

  She would no longer be stuck in her own version of truth and damn herself with denial. She could no longer run when she was near the edge of a cliff. Right now... right now she had no other option but to face this—to face him.

  “You don’t understand.” Naomi’s voice brimmed with frustration, not aimed at him, more at her. “I just can’t… I can’t stay here any longer. I have to leave.”

  She didn’t say anything more, for no words could lend her the heart to say the right things. The English alphabet had simply failed her, and now she lay in the wake of her follies.

  His composure crumbled, allowing the concern in his eyes to appear blatant, and she had to force herself to look away. It was unfair how a single look could turn her into a coward.

  She couldn’t stay. Staying would mean living this damn life as his wife, making memories that would last a lifetime, and building a family with him. It meant being sincerely and ardently loved by him, and losing herself over it.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  It meant being able to live when he died, and she’d be left with nothing but the ghosts of his touch and the piercing anguish of her heartbreak. Wasn’t it enough he already had her love? Must he also ruin her completely as well? Just the thought of it terrified the living shit out of her.

  Either way, her choices would lead them both to a path of pain; she just had to choose the one that was the least painful.

  The sudden sounds of heavy footsteps jerked her head toward him. The distance between them disappeared, and her eyelashes fluttered as he cupped her cheek, a callous thumb brushing over the soft flesh under her eyes. It was a gentle touch, barely grazing skin, but she could feel it past her bones and all the way down to her soul.

  “If you don’t want to stay, then we can leave,” he said, fond lines amusing the corners of his lips, indulgent and intimate. “I understand if you don’t want to be here anymore. We no longer have any obligation to stay here in the Capital anyway. I’ll arrange the preparations, so you won’t have to worry.”

  He leaned forward and placed a kiss between the puckered lines of her brows. A sigh left her lips, the sting of hot, unshed tears causing her to close her eyes for a brief moment. She couldn’t muster the will to correct him, couldn’t even open her mouth if she tried.

  When she said she wanted to leave, she also meant leaving him.

  He’s not mine, and I’m not his, she reminded herself before her resolve could crumble at her feet, and we’ve damned ourselves by pretending otherwise.

  She was nothing but a thief. She’d stolen him from the person he was destined with. She’d taken advantage and made him fall in love with her—and worst, she kept him when she shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t have, but temptations were the greatest downfall of men; she wasn’t any different.

  Even though she wasn’t even human.

  “You’re so good to me,” Naomi uttered quietly, almost as if she was saying those words to herself.

  She wondered what would happen to him when she left, or if she should care when she was already gone by then.

  A faint huff escaped his lips, edged with amusement. She opened her eyes when he pulled her close, enveloping her within the safe embrace of his strength. He radiated a warmth unlike his chilly visage. Naomi turned her head to the side, his heartbeat echoing in steady, comforting notes against her ear.

  “Only to you,” he remarked, one arm leaving her waist to run long, slender fingers through her silvery strands. “Why are you surprised? You’re my wife after all. Why shouldn’t I be good to you? Besides, you’re the same with me as well. We’re good for each other.”

  Naomi slammed her eyes tightly close, barely stopping the urge to scream as guilt ate away the last of her selfishness. Every damn word that came out of his mouth only served to tear her armor, chip away her defenses, and make her want.

  She was being pulled apart in this battle of emotions, torn between greed and sacrifice. Hearing those words from his mouth, drenched in sincerity, she could not help but want more—to stay longer, forsake her fears, and forget the consequences, just for another second to be in his arms. Resisting felt so tiresome when she wanted nothing more than to give in.

  This part of her made her weak.

  He made her weak.

  In another time, perhaps, in a different circumstance, and if she wasn’t the way she was. If things were different—but, no. She was the way she was, and that part of her was something she couldn’t change—would never change.

  She simply could not allow herself to suffer through a lifetime just for a love that would last a second.

  She opened her eyes to find a blue box glowing beside them. The box only she could see—a holographic panel that glowed blue in the dark. The letters across the panel shining white were shadowed with black, reflecting the monochromatic tones in her eyes.

  [DO YOU WISH TO STAY IN THE ELEVENTH WORLD?]

  [STAY] | [LEAVE]

  She reached a hand out, her fingers hovering over the choices. She paused before she could press the button, swallowing the lump in her throat.

  “Thank you,” she said through the hesitation lacing her tongue and the raw ache in her voice, “for being so kind to me, so… loving. This marriage may not be our choice, but given the chance to go back to the past, it is an option I will choose all over. So, thank you, Noah, for loving me the way I deserve. Thank you for being the best husband anyone can ask for.”

  I will never love anyone else the way I love you, she didn’t say. I will live a hundred lives and a hundred more, and yet, your face will be the one I always remember and your name will be the one I utter when I no longer have words to say.

  She wished she was strong enough to stay, but it was enough that she loved him, that she’d given him her heart, and that she had his in return. It was worth more than any treasure, any lifetime, any moment, to have his love.

  What utter bullshit.

  She was truly the biggest coward she’d ever witnessed.

  As her tears finally fell, Naomi wound her arms around his waist, aligning their bodies like two puzzle pieces made to fit together.

  Finally, as she slipped her eyes shut, her finger pressed the button.

  [LEAVE]

  The world turned white and she was cold.

  [ELEVENTH WORLD STATUS: 100% COMPLETE]