Chapter 6
958 Words
Lyssara was still sitting on the bed, staring at me like she was trying to figure out if I meant anything I’d just said—or if I was about to laugh and take it all back.
But I didn’t laugh.
For once, I didn’t feel like joking.
Something about it stuck.
Something about the way I said it..and the way my father had said it earlier..kept echoing in my head.
He goes everywhere with me.
I let out a slow breath and leaned back against the headboard, my eyes drifting up to the ceiling.
“You’ve gone quiet,” Lyssara said after a moment.
“I’m thinking.”
She snorted. “That’s dangerous for you.”
I turned my head, giving her a look. “Excuse me?”
She shrugged, completely unbothered. “Every time you start thinking too much, you end up doing something you shouldn’t.”
A small scoff left my lips. “I always do things I shouldn’t.”
“Yes,” she said, pointing at me like she’d just made her point, “but usually without thinking about it first. This one feels… different.”
I didn’t answer.
Because she was right—and I hated that she was right.
There was something about this that didn’t feel like my usual games. It wasn’t just excitement or curiosity. It was something quieter. Something that sat deeper.
Awareness.
Like something had shifted slightly under my feet, even if nothing around me had actually changed.
Lyssara stretched out on the bed, her legs brushing against mine. “So let me understand this properly. This guy isn’t just working for your dad or the house. He’s assigned to you.”
I nodded slowly.
Her brows pulled together. “That’s not normal.”
“I know.”
“And your dad just said that like it’s nothing?”
I gave a small shrug. “He didn’t make it sound like a big deal.”
She let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “That’s exactly why it is a big deal.”
I glanced at her. “You’re overthinking.”
“I’m not overthinking,” she said quickly. “I’m thinking correctly. There’s a difference.”
That pulled a faint smirk out of me. “Of course you’d say that.”
She ignored me, her gaze still fixed. “So what now?”
I paused.
The question should’ve been easy.
It wasn’t.
Because the truth was… I didn’t actually know.
Nothing had happened yet. Nothing had changed. But it felt like something had. Like a quiet tension had slipped into place without asking.
“He’ll just be around,” I said finally. “That’s it.”
Lyssara raised a brow. “Just around.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t respond immediately. Just watched me.
Then she leaned forward slightly, her voice lowering just a little. “And you’re okay with that?”
I opened my mouth—
And stopped.
It was small. Barely noticeable.
But she caught it.
Her eyes narrowed instantly. “Zarelle…”
“What?”
“You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
I clicked my tongue, looking away. “You’re imagining things.”
But she didn’t look convinced.
And I didn’t like the way she was looking at me.
The room went quiet for a second.
Not awkward.
Just..still
Like something had shifted between us and neither of us was sure what to say next.
Lyssara leaned back again with a sigh. “You’re acting weird.”
“I’m not.”
“You are,” she said firmly. “And it’s not even about him anymore. It’s about you.”
I frowned slightly. “What does that even mean?”
“It means,” she said, sitting up a little straighter, “you don’t usually pause like that. You don’t usually think twice.”
I looked away again.
Because that was the problem.
Not Vaelor.
Not my father.
But the fact that I had paused at all.
The fact that something about him—about this whole situation—was making me aware in a way I wasn’t used to.
I pushed myself off the bed suddenly. “Anyway, this conversation is boring me.”
Lyssara gasped. “Oh, so now I’m boring?”
“Yes,” I said flatly.
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at me.
I caught it easily and tossed it back onto the bed.
“Get ready,” I added. “We’re still going out.”
Her entire face lit up instantly. “Finally.”
She jumped up, already moving toward her bag. “Now that sounds like you again.”
I didn’t respond.
I walked over to the mirror instead, brushing my fingers lightly through my hair, adjusting it without really paying attention.
Behind me, Lyssara was already talking again—fast, excited, back to normal.
But I wasn’t listening.
Not really.
Because my mind wasn’t there anymore.
It stayed stuck on one quiet thought.
If he really was going everywhere with me…
Then there was no space left where I could exist without being seen.
And the strange part?
That thought didn’t bother me.
It should have.
But it didn’t.
I stared at my reflection, my fingers slowly coming to a stop.
For a second… just a second…
It didn’t feel like I was thinking about a bodyguard anymore.
It felt like I was standing at the edge of something I hadn’t meant to step into.
Something I didn’t fully understand yet.
Something I should’ve walked away from.
But didn’t.
And that was the part that unsettled me the most.
Because deep down…
I knew I wasn’t trying to avoid it.
I was already wondering how far it could go.
- Writer
