Chapter 16: Jude
935 Words
I woke before the sun.The room was still wrapped in soft shades of dawn, the curtains gently swaying as the morning breeze slipped inside. Everything was quiet—except for the steady heartbeat beneath my cheek.
His heartbeat.
Somehow, sometime during the night, I’d ended up curled against him, one of his arms draped securely around my waist as though he’d been afraid I’d disappear if he let go.
Heat rushed to my face the moment memories from the previous night returned.
The candlelight.
The slow dancing.
His whispered promises.
The way he’d looked at me as though I was the only person in the world.
I buried my burning face against his chest.
“Oh, no…” I muttered to myself.
I couldn’t believe I’d been brave enough to kiss him first.
Couldn’t believe I’d admitted I was ready to trust him completely.
And somehow… I couldn’t stop smiling.
A deep chuckle vibrated through his chest.
“So,” his sleepy voice rumbled above me, “you’re pretending to be asleep?”
I froze.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You’ve been blushing for the past five minutes.”
I covered my face with both hands.
“I’m never looking at you again.”
His laughter filled the room, warm and rich.
“I’d miss those beautiful eyes.”
My heart betrayed me by racing even faster.
Carefully, he brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
His voice alone nearly melted me.
“Morning…”
He leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss to my forehead.
Then another to my nose.
Then one to my cheek.
“You promised you weren’t looking at me,” he teased.
“I changed my mind.”
“Oh?”
“I can still hide.”
“You really can’t.”
I laughed despite myself.
He always managed to make me forget how shy I was.
⸻
Breakfast was somehow even worse.
Not because anything was wrong.
Because everyone noticed.
“You’re glowing. Mrs Evelyn said ”
I nearly choked on my tea.
Across the table, Adrain buttered a slice of toast as though he hadn’t heard a thing.
Then, without warning, he placed it on my plate.
“You forgot to eat.”
I stared at him.
“You made this for me?”
“You’ll forget breakfast if someone doesn’t remind you.”
The room became suspiciously quiet.
“Aww,” Mrs Evelyn said
I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
⸻
After breakfast, we escaped into the garden.
The estate stretched endlessly, flowers blooming in every direction.
I finally breathed again.
“Thank goodness,” I sighed.
“She embarrassed you?”
“She tortured me.”
He laughed.
“She love seeing you happy.”
I looked down at our hands.
He’d reached for mine without thinking.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Just… certainty.
His thumb traced slow circles over my knuckles.
“Too much?” he asked softly.
I shook my head.
“No.”
Never.
⸻
We wandered through the gardens for hours.
He pointed out flowers he couldn’t name.
I teased him mercilessly.
He claimed every colourful flower reminded him of me.
I told him he was ridiculous.
He replied that he’d happily be ridiculous if it meant hearing me laugh.
By lunchtime my cheeks actually hurt from smiling.
⸻
In the afternoon, rain began to fall.
Instead of running inside, he pulled me beneath a gazebo overlooking the lake.
The world smelled like fresh earth and blooming roses.
We stood shoulder to shoulder, listening to the rain.
“I’ve never had a day like this,” I admitted.
“What kind?”
“One where I don’t feel like I have to be afraid.”
He turned to me slowly.
“You won’t face the future alone anymore.”
His words settled deep inside me.
I believed him.
For the first time in years…
I truly believed someone would stay.
He tucked my hand inside his coat pocket to keep it warm.
Such a small gesture.
Yet somehow it made my heart ache more than grand declarations ever could.
⸻
By evening we were back inside, curled together on a sofa in the library.
I rested against him while he read aloud from a novel, occasionally stopping to explain why he thought a certain character was making terrible decisions.
“You know,” I murmured.
“Hm?”
“I used to think love had to be loud.”
“And now?”
I looked up at him.
“I think it’s this.”
He closed the book.
“This?”
“The way you remember how I take my tea.”
“The way you make me laugh when I’m embarrassed.”
“The way you always check if I’m comfortable.”
“The way you hold my hand without asking for anything.”
His expression softened.
“I’ve waited a long time to hear you say that.”
“I’ve waited a long time to feel it.”
He kissed my forehead, lingering there just long enough for my eyes to close.
“I love you,” he whispered.
The words wrapped around my heart like home.
I smiled against his shoulder.
“I love you too.”
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Inside, surrounded by warmth, quiet laughter, and the gentle rhythm of the man I loved breathing beside me, I realised something that made my heart wonderfully light.
Yesterday, I had fallen into his arms.
Today…
I had found my home.
- Writer
