Page 103 of Oliver
My feet moved, but my body felt wrong, like I’d left a vital organ behind. I curled my fingers into a fist, as if that could press him out of my skin. Out of my heart.
And then, a whisper. So soft I almost missed it.
"I'll wait for you, my Lumina. Even if it takes another decade. Even if it takes until light from the farthest stars reaches Earth. Even if it takes forever."
Forever.
The word chased me as I moved through the reception, my professional mask sliding back into place, my heart splintering with each step.
Because I knew the truth that Oliver couldn't see—some things, once shattered, can never be pieced back together.
And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to love him in a way that would always cut me open.
Thirty
OLIVER
I stared at the ceiling,watching as dawn gradually painted it in shades of pale gold. The suite felt hollow without Zahra, the silence deafening where her soft breathing should have been.
I hadn't slept. Not even for a minute.
My bones ached with exhaustion, my mind replaying the events of the previous night like a pulsar emitting the same radiation pattern with predictable, maddening precision.
Zahra's face when I'd told her why my parents kept the house.
The pain in her eyes when she said she couldn't do this anymore.
The gentle but firm way she'd removed my hands from her face and walked away.
Small acts. Devastating finality.
I sat up, running a hand through my disheveled hair, forcing myself to go to the bathroom. My reflection in the mirror lookedalien—eyes bloodshot, stubble darkening my jaw, wrinkled shirt hanging open.
"I can't fix this," I muttered to the empty room.
But even as the sour taste of those words lingered in my mouth, I knew I had to try. The thought of giving up, of returning to Seattle alone, of spending another decade without her was unbearable.
For the first time in my life, I had no plan. No careful strategy or calculated risk assessment. No rules to fall back on. Just a hollow ache in my chest and the certainty that if I didn't find a way to reach Zahra, I'd spend the rest of my life lost.
A binary star system collapsed into a singular orbit, still spinning hopelessly around a companion that had long since burned out. Without her, I wasn't just alone. I was unanchored, adrift, a star that had forgotten how to shine without something to pull me toward meaning.
I'd spent so much of my life hiding behind intellectual distance, emotional detachment, and rigid rules. I'd thought they were protecting me, but they'd only imprisoned me. And now they'd cost me the one person who made me feel like more than the sum of the weight I carried.
If I wanted her back, I couldn't keep hiding. Couldn't keep measuring my words or controlling my emotions. I had to lay myself completely bare with no guarantee she'd accept what she saw.
The thought terrified me to the core.
I showered quickly, dressed in fresh clothes, and left the hotel with only one destination in mind—the Nazarians' home. I knew Zahra would be there, probably still asleep after the long night at the reception, but I couldn't wait. Not anymore. Every minute that passed felt like another mile of distance growing between us.
The morning air was crisp, the neighborhood quiet as I drove through familiar streets. I parked a block away, needing the walk to organize my thoughts, to find the right words to convince Zahra to give us another chance.
As I rounded the corner, my steps faltered. A familiar car pulled up to the curb in front of the house.
Ryan.
My fists clenched instinctively, the memory of his trachea crushing under my fingers flashing vividly in my mind. I watched as he emerged from the car, adjusting his collar to showcase the bruises I'd left, his swagger intact as he approached the front door like he had every right to be there.
Every cell in my body screamed to intervene, to put myself between him and Zahra. To end this, once and for all.
