A Moon's Twilight

A line drawn in the dark

The night air was thick with tension. Lucas’s hand still lingered near her face, his fingers just barely brushing her skin, as if caught between holding on and letting go.

Then, his expression changed.

Regret. Restraint. A battle fought behind his eyes.

“You should leave,” he murmured, voice tight.

Elysia’s heart pounded. “You really should.”

She barely registered the words. The only thing she could hear was the echo of their kiss, the press of his lips, the way his breath had mingled with hers, the feeling that for a moment, just a moment, he had let himself want her.

And yet now, he was pushing her away.

“Why did you kiss me?” she whispered.

Lucas didn’t answer.

Her chest tightened. “Lucas.”

Still, silence.

But his jaw clenched. His fingers curled slightly, like he was holding something back, like some invisible force was pulling him toward her even as he tried to push her away.

Then, barely above a whisper, he said, “Please, Elysia.”

A plea. A warning. A final line drawn in the dark.

"Please leave."

She should have argued. Demanded an answer. But the way he said her name ,soft, pained, almost breaking, stopped her.

So, for the first time, she listened.

She turned. She walked away.

And Lucas?

He let her.

.

.

.

.

---The Morning After

Elysia barely slept.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the moment over and over.

His touch. His voice. The way he looked at her.

It made no sense.

One second, he was kissing her like he needed her, the next, he was begging her to leave.

What the hell was he hiding?

At some point in the night, exhaustion won. She drifted into a restless sleep, only for her alarm to jolt her awake—too soon, too sudden.

She groaned, blinking at the daylight streaming through her window.

Shit.

She was supposed to be at work twenty minutes ago.

Heart racing, she grabbed her phone and immediately texted Lydia.

Elysia: Tell them I’m sick. I overslept.

Lydia’s response came instantly.

Lydia: You? Late?

Lydia: …This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain someone, would it?

Elysia rolled her eyes, but her stomach flipped. She wasn’t about to talk about last night. Not yet.

Elysia: I’m just tired.

Lydia: Mhm. Well, lucky for you, I was planning to stop by. Guess what?

Elysia: What?

Lydia: I’m bringing company.

Elysia frowned.

Elysia: Who?

Lydia: My fiancé, duh.

Lydia: Get ready. We’ll be there in an hour.

Elysia groaned, dropping her phone on the bed.

Of all days.

The last thing she needed was Lydia and her overly charming fiancé grilling her about her personal life. But there was no escaping it now.

Sighing, she pushed herself up. Time to face reality.

Even if her mind was still trapped in last night.