CHAPTER 20:HE KISSED HER LIKE THEY WERE RUNNING OUT OF TIME
1071 Words
The explosion threw all three of them forward violently.
Concrete shattered.
Fire roared through the tunnel behind them.
The force slammed Elara hard against the ground while smoke and debris filled the air instantly.
For several terrifying seconds—
She couldn’t hear anything.
Only ringing.
Dust.
Pain.
Then suddenly—
Strong arms grabbed her.
“Elara!”
Anik.
His voice cut through the chaos immediately.
Fear crashed into her chest as her vision cleared enough to see him kneeling beside her.
Blood covered half his shirt now.
His face pale beneath the flashing emergency lights.
But his eyes—
God.
His eyes looked terrified.
Not for himself.
For her.
“I’m fine,” she coughed weakly.
Anik grabbed her face carefully between his hands.
“You’re bleeding.”
She barely felt the cut across her forehead.
Compared to him—
It was nothing.
“Elara, look at me.”
She forced herself to focus on him fully.
And suddenly the world narrowed down to only this moment.
Only him.
Everything else disappeared.
The explosions.
The danger.
The collapsing tunnel.
Nothing mattered except the look in his eyes right now.
Raw panic.
Raw love.
“You scared me,” he whispered.
The confession shattered her.
Because Anik Varren—the man who frightened everyone—looked genuinely terrified at the thought of losing her.
Luca groaned weakly nearby.
The sound snapped reality back into place instantly.
“We need to move,” Elara said quickly.
Anik nodded once before helping her stand.
Then immediately reached down and lifted Luca again despite obvious pain tearing through his body.
“How are you still standing?” Luca muttered weakly.
Anik’s answer came cold.
“She needs me to.”
The words hit Elara so hard she almost stopped walking.
God.
Everything he said to her now felt dangerous.
Because every sentence carried the weight of truth.
They pushed forward through the collapsing emergency tunnel while smoke thickened around them.
Parts of the ceiling continued falling behind them.
The underground structure was dying fast.
“Elara…”
She looked back toward Anik immediately.
Big mistake.
Because now she noticed how badly he was fading.
His breathing uneven.
Movements slower.
Blood everywhere.
Fear tightened violently around her lungs.
“You’re losing too much blood.”
“I know.”
“We need to stop.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened instantly.
“Not until you’re safe.”
Emotion cracked through her chest painfully.
“Why do you keep choosing me over yourself?”
Silence followed.
Then Anik looked at her.
Really looked at her.
And suddenly every wall around him disappeared completely.
“Because there was never another choice.”
The honesty in his voice nearly destroyed her.
Luca looked between them weakly before letting out a quiet laugh that turned into a cough.
“You two are unbelievable.”
Neither answered.
Because there was nothing left to deny anymore.
They loved each other.
Terribly.
Dangerously.
Completely.
Another explosion thundered somewhere above them.
The emergency tunnel shook violently.
Anik cursed softly.
“We’re close.”
A steel ladder appeared ahead leading upward toward another exit hatch.
Relief crashed through Elara instantly.
But the second Anik tried stepping forward—
He staggered hard.
“Elara…”
His voice dropped dangerously lower.
Then suddenly—
He collapsed to one knee.
Fear ripped through her completely.
“Anik!”
She rushed toward him immediately.
Luca slid from his shoulder onto the floor with a painful groan.
Blood spread rapidly beneath Anik now.
Too fast.
Too much.
His body was finally giving out.
“No no no…”
Elara grabbed his face desperately.
“Stay with me.”
Anik looked up at her slowly.
And somehow—
Even now—
He still smiled faintly.
“You’re crying.”
“Of course I’m crying!”
Emotion cracked violently through her voice.
“You stupid, impossible man—”
A weak laugh escaped him.
God.
Hearing him laugh while dying almost broke her apart completely.
“You called me impossible before,” he murmured.
“This isn’t funny!”
“No,” he agreed quietly.
“It’s not.”
His hand lifted slowly toward her face.
Shaking slightly now.
Weak.
But still gentle when his fingers brushed away her tears.
“Elara…”
Her heart shattered hearing her name from him like this.
Like he was trying to memorize her.
“You need to leave if I can’t get up.”
“No.”
“Elara—”
“No!”
The force behind her answer echoed through the tunnel.
Luca stared at them silently now.
Watching.
Understanding everything.
Elara grabbed Anik’s shirt tightly.
“You don’t get to die after making me love you.”
Something emotional cracked across his face instantly.
Not composure.
Not restraint.
Love.
Pure devastating love.
“You really love me?”
The quiet disbelief in his voice hurt unexpectedly.
Because part of him still couldn’t believe someone could.
Elara leaned closer without thinking.
“You idiot.”
Then she kissed him.
Not soft.
Not hesitant.
Desperate.
Terrified.
Like she was trying to force life back into him through sheer emotion alone.
Anik froze completely beneath her lips.
For one impossible second—
Even the collapsing tunnel disappeared.
Then suddenly he kissed her back.
And God—
The way he kissed her felt catastrophic.
Possessive.
Starved.
Emotional enough to ruin her forever.
One hand tangled into her hair while the other pulled her closer against him despite the pain.
Like after fighting this feeling for so long—
He finally stopped holding back.
Elara’s heartbeat shattered completely.
Because this wasn’t just desire anymore.
This was love colliding with survival.
The kiss deepened painfully fast.
Every emotion between them pouring into it.
Fear.
Need.
Obsession.
Relief.
Love.
Too much love.
Anik broke the kiss first only because breathing became difficult.
His forehead rested against hers roughly.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Elara’s pulse stumbled wildly.
“Why?”
His eyes darkened.
“Because now I have another reason to survive.”
The confession wrecked her instantly.
Then suddenly—
Luca looked upward sharply.
“The ceiling!”
A massive crack split through the tunnel above them.
Concrete began collapsing fast.
Anik forced himself upright again through obvious agony before grabbing Elara’s hand tightly.
“Move!”
But this time—
She didn’t run because she was afraid.
She ran because she refused to lose him.
- Writer
