Chapter 2
999 Words
Chapter 2
The next morning, Oxygen woke up to something she hadn’t felt in years. For a few precious seconds, she simply lay in bed staring at the ceiling, a smile tugging at her lips.
Getting dressed quickly, Oxygen headed downstairs. The scent of breakfast greeted her immediately, she followed it into the dining room and froze.
Everyone was already there.
Her father sat at the head of the table reading the newspaper, Heart occupied the chair beside him and across from her sat Lewis Darkmoore.
The mysterious husband, the stranger who had arrived with her sister, the man whose intense gaze she couldn’t seem to forget.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” her father greeted.
Oxygen forced herself to move. “Morning.”
Heart smiled. “There she is.”
Taking her seat, Oxygen tried to focus on breakfast. Unfortunately, that became difficult the moment she noticed Lewis. The man was absurdly handsome, there was simply no other way to describe him.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dark-haired.
Beautiful face.
His sharp features looked as though they had been carved from stone even sitting perfectly still, he somehow commanded attention.
The worst part?
He seemed completely unaware of it or perhaps completely uninterested. Unlike many attractive men Oxygen had met, Lewis didn’t appear eager for admiration. If anything, he seemed detached from the world around him.
“So, Lewis,” her father said, folding his newspaper. “Heart tells me you travel quite a bit.”
Lewis glanced up. “Occasionally.”
Oxygen blinked.
Her father looked equally surprised. “What kind of work keeps you traveling?”
Lewis calmly sipped his coffee. “Family business.”
Her father laughed. “You aren’t very talkative, are you?”
“No, sir.”
Heart laughed softly. “He’s always been like this.”
“Always?” Oxygen asked.
Heart nodded. “He prefers listening.”
By the end of breakfast, Oxygen realized she knew practically nothing about him.
Where exactly had he grown up?
What did he actually do?
How had he met Heart?
What were his hobbies?
His interests?
Lewis Darkmoore was a blank page. And for some reason, that only made her more curious. Later that morning, Oxygen found Heart in the living room.
“Can I ask you something?”
Heart looked up from her book. “Of course.”
Oxygen hesitated then decided to ask directly. “How did you and Lewis meet?”
Heart smiled. “We met while I was traveling.”
“That’s it?”
Heart laughed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that’s barely an answer.”
“It happened a few years ago.”
“Where?”
Heart paused. “Europe.”
“Where in Europe?”
Another pause. “Several places.”
Oxygen narrowed her eyes. “You sound like you’re avoiding the question.”
Heart tossed a pillow at her. “You’re impossible.”
Oxygen caught it. “And you’re suspicious.”
Heart rolled her eyes but she never actually answered which only made Oxygen more suspicious.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, her father eventually left for work. Heart unpacked some remaining luggage and Oxygen found herself wandering through the house.
Trying—and failing—not to think about Lewis Darkmoore.
The problem was that he kept appearing.
Everywhere.
When she entered the library, he was there reading. When she walked through the garden, he stood beneath a tree speaking on the phone. When she went into the kitchen for a drink, she found him staring out the window.
The strangest part?
He barely seemed to eat. At lunch, he touched only a small portion of his food. At breakfast, he had mostly consumed coffee. Even now, she couldn’t remember seeing him genuinely hungry.
~
On the other hand, Lewis knew he was making a mistake, the realization did nothing to stop him. From across the garden, he watched Oxygen laugh at something her father had said before leaving, the sound drifted through the afternoon air.
His gaze lingered longer than it should have.
Lewis looked away, immediately irritated with himself. This had to stop, nothing about the situation made sense. For centuries, self-control had never been a problem.
Yet Oxygen Stanford seemed capable of disrupting that control simply by existing, her presence pulled at his attention. Her scent lingered in his thoughts, her voice remained in his memory long after conversations ended.
The phenomenon was impossible and deeply concerning because Lewis had never experienced anything remotely similar before. He should have left the Stanford house immediately. That would be the logical decision, the safest decision. Instead, he remained and every hour made things worse.
"Oh, Oxygen... it's feels like a sin that I'm breathing the same air you breathe... if only you're not Heart's sister."
It could have been easier that way.
~
By late afternoon, Oxygen found herself alone in the family room. A television played quietly in the background, the rain clouds gathered outside. The house felt unusually peaceful, for several minutes she simply enjoyed the silence.
Then she sensed it. Yet unmistakable like someone watching her. Slowly, Oxygen looked up and froze. Lewis stood across the room. Near the doorway, looking directly at her.
Their eyes met.
A peculiar awareness that seemed to catch both of them off guard then Lewis looked away. Almost immediately as though realizing he’d been caught.
The spell broke.
Oxygen cleared her throat. “You do that a lot.”
His gaze returned. “What?”
“Stare at people.”
A faint crease appeared between his brows. “I wasn’t staring.”
“You absolutely were.”
A tiny smile. “Perhaps.”
Oxygen blinked.
“Why?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Lewis became still. For a second, she thought he might actually answer.
Instead, he said:
“You remind me of someone.”
The response caught her off guard. “Who?”
“Someone from a long time ago.”
- Writer
