Page 167 of Sweet Venom

Something about the night felt hauntingly familiar. Like I had lived it before. I couldn’t quite explain it, but it clung to me like a half-remembered dream.

The cold bit at my skin the moment I stepped outside. The scent of damp earth and roses hung in the misty air, softening the edges of the world. It was like walking into a memory too vivid to forget.

I walked slowly, the hem of my dress brushing the gravel path. That’s when I noticed that something was different about the garden. Black Valentine’s Day decorations were everywhere, just like the ones Aunt Kadra used years ago for that gathering where Azariel had torn my tiny heart to pieces.

A violin played in the distance—a melody I knew too well. My favorite song.

Then, the carousel lights flickered on, followed by fairy lights strung through the trees.

And I saw him.

Azariel.

He stood beneath the blue roses, leaning against the stone wall, his black hair swept back. He looked so much like the boy I remembered in his mother’s garden all those years ago. But this time, something in him had changed. There was no storm in his eyes. No anger. Only love. Only devotion.

He wore a dark suit, sharp and elegant—but his eyes were soft when they found mine.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

My breath caught. It felt like falling backward through time—the same scene, the same cold, the same stillness. But this time, my chest didn’t ache from doubt.

This time, I knew he wasn’t going to break me. This time, I knew he loved me. I knew I was his everything just like he was mine.

“Why are you here?” he asked—just like he had on Valentine’s night so many years ago.

But now his voice was warm, not cold or distant. It was gentle, like he was inviting me into a world he’d built just for me. A world that was blue, odd and us.

I blinked, startled, as a rustle sounded behind me. I turned.

My heart skipped many beats when I saw them all there. My brother, Vade. My parents. My cousins, aunts, uncles—all of them standing at the edge of the garden, watching in silence, their faces lit by the glow of the fairy lights. They were all smiling, dressed in black. I was the only one in blue.

My hand tightened at my side. I hadn’t even realized how hard my heart was pounding.

Azariel stepped forward, one slow step at a time, eyes never leaving mine. “I said those words to you in a garden once,” he said. “Words I’ve regretted every fucking day since. ‘You don’t belong here,’ I told you. And I was wrong. So fucking wrong.”

He reached into his coat pocket—and pulled something out.

A red card. Worn, with creased edges, but unmistakable.

My breath faltered.

The Valentine’s card. The one I’d made for him as a child. The one he’d torn in half—along with my heart.

But now, it was whole.

“I spent that night finding the pieces,” he said, his voice rough. “You thought I let the wind carry them away, didn’t you? But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I’ve kept it all this time... waiting for the right way to return it to you. It’s time, baby.”

My hand flew to my mouth as tears burned behind my eyes.

Then he knelt.

He pulled out a small black velvet box and opened it.

Inside was a silver ring—delicate, brilliant, blue. A diamond shaped like a rose.

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