Chapter 6: Five Years Later

He's a very responsible man, but sometimes I wish he's not.

Liana

I hadn't screamed in years.

Not in my sleep, at least.

But tonight, the old fear crept in again, like it had been waiting for me to get comfortable.

I woke up in a room I knew too well.

Elias's house. My room. My home.

I've grown.

I'm not that helpless little girl anymore.

But part of me… part of me is still fifteen. Maybe it always will be.

Still clutching the same blanket like it could stop the world from falling apart.

Just like always, Elias appeared at the door in seconds.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice low, concerned, but not panicked.

I nodded, still catching my breath.

He came closer, slower this time, then reached out his hand.

I took it.

It was warm. Solid. Dry. Steady.

The kind of hand that grounded you in reality.

And just like that, I started to calm down.

It suddenly occurred to me—Elias never initiates physical contact.

I don't know why that thought popped into my head.

But it did.

He sat down on the edge of my bed, not too close.

Then said,

"Our little princess is turning twenty tomorrow. That makes you an adult in your country, right?"

I nodded again.

Tomorrow was my birthday.

"Got any plans?" he asked.

I hesitated.

The truth is, I didn't know.

I'd never had birthday plans.

No one ever celebrated for me.

Birthdays didn't exist until I started living with Elias.

I looked at him.

And suddenly, it felt like just being with him would be enough.

I didn't need cake or candles.

Just him.

"I don't know," I said.

He tilted his head, thoughtful.

"Well... how about horseback riding?"

I blinked.

He smiled a little.

"I'm off tomorrow. I can take you. I remember you said you liked horses."

Liked was an understatement.

There was a time when I couldn't sleep at all.

Therapists helped a little.

Medication helped less.

But equine-assisted therapy?

That saved me.

Something about the calm power of horses made it easier to breathe, easier to exist.

After that, I'd loved horses.

But I stopped going.

It was expensive.

Far away.

And I didn't want to ask Elias for more than he was already giving me.

I knew I was the responsibility that he didn't ask for.

but he took care of me anyway.

He's the best person in the world. 

So when he said it—he'd take me—I felt something in my chest light up.

A tiny flicker of joy.

I looked at him with eyes that probably sparkled way more than I intended.

"Really?" I asked.

"I want to go."

He smiled again. "Then we'll go."

I nodded.

Tried to act calm.

But inside, I was twelve kinds of excited.

He stood up.

"Get some sleep, birthday girl. We've got horses to meet."

Then he left, gently closing the door behind him.

I laid back down, staring at the ceiling.

He still calls me "princess" sometimes.

And I still don't know what that does to me.

But I do know this:

I'm turning twenty tomorrow.

And the only person I want to spend that day with...

is him.