Broken Rules

ARIA

Kael didn't say anything as he carried me into his apartment.

He didn't need to.

I remembered thinking once that his place was too cold, too sharp with clean lines and empty silence. Like it mirrored the man himself: distant, unfeeling, impenetrable.

But now?

Now it just felt… safe.

Not warm, not quite. But familiar.

Like coming in from a storm and finally being allowed to stop pretending you're not freezing.

He laid me down gently on his bed, like he was afraid I'd break into pieces. I stared up at the ceiling, breathing in the subtle scent of him in the sheets—clean, dark, something expensive I could never name but always noticed.

"Will you take a shower?" he asked quietly. "While I get you something to eat."

I didn't say anything.