Eternal Devotion

The outside venue hummed with a different kind of energy. It was nothing like the chaos upstairs—no smoke clouding the air, no bodies draped over each other in mindless pleasure. Just the soft pulse of music, quiet chatter, the clinking of glasses, and the scent of fresh night air swirling through the open garden.

Grace settled herself near the edge of the lighting, half-bathed in shadow, the grass cool beneath her heels. Her legs ached, her heart still felt uneven, and her mind wouldn't stop spinning. She leaned back a little, as if trying to disappear.

Soon, Aiden appeared again—two bottles of whiskey in his hands, casual as ever, his shirt slightly unbuttoned and his smile unreadable. Grace caught sight of him and instinctively slid her foot back into the heel she'd just taken off. She sat straighter, guarding herself.

But he saw everything.

With a light chuckle, Aiden walked over and lowered himself beside her, deliberately keeping a respectful distance. Then, without a word, he unlaced his shoes, slipped them off, and placed them neatly beside him.

Turning toward her, he gave her a teasing look. "Now don't make me the only barefoot fool out here," he said with a playful grin. "Don't embarrass me, Grace."

There was something so disarming in his voice—no pressure, no flirtation laced with venom. Just easy warmth. The kind that melted tension, if only a little.

Grace hesitated... then her lips curled into the tiniest smile as she slipped off her heels once more. Her bare toes touched the grass and she exhaled—relieved, and for a moment, free.

"There," Aiden said with a soft nod, as if she'd just passed some kind of silent test. "Much better."

He handed her the first bottle, which she took gently. Then he cracked open his own and raised it slightly. "To the chaos we left behind."

"To the garden of sanity," she replied quietly, and they drank.

They talked, softly at first. About how loud the music had been upstairs. About how ridiculous the guests were. About the stars. About nothing at all. Their laughter came slowly but naturally. Grace's walls were still there, but a few cracks had begun to show.

And from a distance, beyond the well-trimmed hedges and glowing lanterns, someone else was watching.

Aries stood under the shadow of a tree, alone. He hadn't moved since he saw them laughing. Since he saw her smile. Not the polite one she wore around others. This was different. Relaxed. Genuine. For someone else.

His hands were trembling.

The wine glass in his right hand shattered.

Crimson bled into his palm—glass piercing skin, slicing deep. But he didn't move. Didn't flinch. The pain didn't register. The only thing he felt was the pressure rising in his chest, the rage that clawed up his throat. Blood dripped from his hand, soaking into the grass beneath him, turning it a deep, angry red.

Aiden, unaware, leaned back on his elbows and looked over at Grace. "So," he said softly, "are you always this quiet around new people, or am I just special?"

Grace gave him a look. "You're Vivianne's cousin. That makes you... complicated."

Aiden smirked. "I suppose I deserve that."

There was a pause, then Grace looked away. Her voice barely above a whisper. "You don't seem like the others."

"I'm not," Aiden replied, his tone firm but kind. "And I don't intend to be."

She tilted her head, curious but cautious.

"You just… looked like you needed a breather," he added. "So I offered one. No strings. No games."

That line shouldn't have made her chest ache—but it did.

For once, someone wasn't demanding something from her.He's similar to Aries but at the same time different from him—whose eyes she still felt even though he was nowhere in sight.

Her throat tightened, and she took another swig of whiskey. "Thanks," she whispered.

The two sat there in silence for a while, their bare feet brushing the grass beneath them. A strange kind of peace settled between them, sweet and quiet like a lullaby before the storm.

But the storm had already arrived.

Just a few feet away, Aries' knuckles were turning white. His breathing was shallow. The voice in his head was screaming.

"She's the only light in my darkness... and she's the one keeping my sanity intact."

And yet she was slipping further from him. Laughing with another man. Letting her walls down for someone else.She is lighting someone else's life with her smile.The smile I worship like a blessing, he is getting is like it's nothing.

As blood continued to drip from his hand, Aries took a step back into the dark—retreating. But not giving up.

Because no matter who stood beside her now... she was still his.

Whether she knew it or not.