Page 43 of Demon Daddy's Nanny

Something has to give. Someone has to break.

I just hate that it feels like it's my heart that is.

"If you can't decide what you want from me, then I'll make the choice for you." My voice cracks, but I lift my chin. "I'll walk away."

His head snaps up, golden eyes blazing. The temperature in the room spikes as his wings flare wide, casting massive shadows across the walls. "Eva-"

"No." I press my palm to my chest, trying to hold the pieces of my heart together. "I can't keep doing this. Can't keep hoping that one day you'll stop seeing me as just another human. That you'll stop treating me like I'm both irresistible and disposable."

His fingers dig into the desk edge. The wood creaks beneath his grip. "That's not-"

"Then what am I to you?" The question tears from my throat, raw and desperate. "Because every time you kiss me, every time you let me think maybe - maybe this time will be different - you just... let me walk away. Like it costs you nothing."

The muscle in his jaw ticks. His wings curve forward, then snap back, like he can't decide if he wants to shield himself or reach for me.

"I'll have to quit." The words taste like ash. "I can't stay here, watching you pretend nothing's changed. Pretending you don't feel what I feel."

Silence stretches between us, heavy as iron chains. The lamplight catches on his bronze skin, highlighting the scar on his cheek - a reminder that he's survived loss before. But I won't be another scar he carries. Won't let myself become another ghost haunting these halls.

"I deserve better than half-love." My voice steadies even as tears burn behind my eyes. "Better than someone who won't fight for me. So either tell me what you want, or I'll make the decision for both of us."

The air crackles with unspoken words. With everything we could be, if he'd just reach across this chasm between us. But his silence wraps around my throat like a noose, and I know -

I know I'll have to be the one strong enough to walk away.

So I turn away from him while I have the strength, knowing that soon, I'll need to completely cut him from my life.

But I don't think I can rip him out of my heart.

25

EVA

The marketplace bustles with activity, xaphan and humans weaving through stalls like threads in a tapestry. I drift between vendors, fingers trailing over silks and crystals without really seeing them. My mind keeps circling back to the manor, to the study where I left my heart bleeding on the floor.

A merchant calls out prices for enchanted trinkets, his wings spread wide to catch attention. I duck away, unable to look at the golden feathers that remind me too much of-

No. I'm here for Annalise.

Sweet, sharp-tongued Annalise who deserves better than to be caught in the crossfire of whatever this is between her father and me. The thought of leaving her makes my chest ache, but maybe it would be better. I could still tutor her, still be there when she needs someone to talk to, just... from a safer distance. Without living under the same roof, without running into Ridwan in dark hallways where the air grows thick with possibility.

A display of carved crystal catches my eye. The pieces hang from delicate chains, refracting sunlight into rainbow patterns across the cobblestones. One in particular stands out - a spiralof clear crystal with streaks of gold running through it like captured lightning.

"It holds starlight," the vendor explains, noting my interest. "Perfect for reading late at night without wasting lamp oil."

Annalise would love it. She's always complaining about how the lamps in her room aren't bright enough for her late-night study sessions. The price makes me wince, but I hand over the coins anyway. Some things are worth the sacrifice.

As I tuck the wrapped crystal into my bag, reality settles heavy on my shoulders. I can't keep pretending this limbo with Ridwan isn't slowly destroying me. Every moment in that house feels like walking on broken glass, trying not to bleed while pieces of my heart scatter across floors.

But gods, the thought of leaving... of not seeing his wings shift toward me before he catches himself, of not hearing his rough voice soften when he speaks to Annalise, of not feeling that electric current in the air whenever we're alone...

A group of xaphan pass by, their wings brushing against each other in casual intimacy. I turn away, blinking back tears. I know what I have to do. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to do it.

I turn down a quieter street, needing space from the market's chaos. The crystal's weight in my bag reminds me of simpler choices, of a time before golden wings and unspoken promises complicated everything.

A sharp crack splits the air.

I freeze, then edge toward the sound. In a recessed doorway, a xaphan towers over a human woman crumpled against the wall. His wings flare wide, blocking most of the scene from passersby, but I catch glimpses of the servant's torn dress, the tremor in her hands as she shields her face.

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