**Natalie’s POV**
His words stole every breath from my lungs.
"After this kiss... I'm never letting you go again."
My heart melted into a thousand helpless pieces, pooling somewhere deep inside my chest. I searched his dark, intense eyes, drowning in the sheer weight of his gaze, wondering how someone who wasn't really mine could make me feel so completely, profoundly loved. Every touch from him felt like fire against my skin; every word felt like a promise I was terrified to break.
"Promise?" I whispered, my voice barely a fragile thread of sound against the quiet hum of the dimly lit room.
Gavin smiled—that slow, breathtaking smile that always made my heart skip a beat and my knees go weak.
"I promise, Natalie. Forever."
He gently tilted my chin up with his long, warm fingers, anc
