Chapter 5
1713 Words
Aurora’s POV:
His body tensed the moment the words left my mouth.
Mine did too.
This conversation had been sitting heavy on my mind since last night, and all I wanted was to finally face it.
Face it… and maybe get the answers I’d been too afraid to form into full questions.
My anticipation only sharpened when Theo slipped his hands into his pockets.
“I did,” he said quietly, and even he sounded nervous.
My shoulders dropped a little at how vague that sounded, my nerves prickling all over again.
It felt almost like he was dodging the truth I was trying to reach — even if I hadn’t said it out loud yet.
“Why?” I asked, unable to hide the confusion and worry in my voice.
His eyebrows shot up before drawing together, like he was digging through every thought in his mind.
I wished I could read them — all of them.
Everything he’d been thinking about this.
About me.
If I could erase all the uncertainty clouding my own mind, I would’ve.
Theo let out a small breath as he stepped closer, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Would you believe me if I told you that I completely fell for you?” he said, a shaky, nervous laugh slipping out at the end.
My breath stopped.
I didn’t bother masking the shock from my face.
Did I hear him right?
I swallowed hard.
Did he really say that?
His voice had been so serious, so steady — yet I still felt like I needed proof, something to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.
“W-What?” I managed.
The words seemed impossible. Completely unrealistic.
And yet… some part of me desperately, painfully wanted them to be true.
“Aurora,” he said softly, “I can’t tell you exactly when, or how it happened… but I fell for you. I—”
He hesitated, his gaze shifting away.
“Ever since I realized it, I stayed quiet. Falling for a human isn’t… normal. I thought that if I ignored it, the feeling would fade. But it didn’t. I kept getting more drawn to you — everything about you. I kept falling deeper without even trying to stop. I started imagining you in my life every day, trying to find ways to make sure you stayed.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle into me.
Words that made my chest tighten and my eyes sting with emotions I’d buried for so long that they almost didn’t feel real now that they were being returned.
“The thought of losing you made me feel like I was losing my mind,” he continued gently. “Seeing you upset or hurting made me angry. And the only thing that calmed it was hearing you laugh… or seeing you smile.”
He let out a soft laugh of his own. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I tried.”
Was this real?
It had to be.
It felt too vivid to be a dream.
“When you told me you were starting to see me as something more than your Master — and saw yourself as more than a pet — and then said how ridiculous it was…”
He shook his head lightly. “I felt the exact same way. And kissing you was the only way I knew to show you.”
Every emotion I had tried holding back rushed forward at once — almost bursting, like they had been waiting for permission to exist.
And I wanted to accept them.
I wanted to feel everything again — every soft, unsure moment from the night before when he’d touched me with such gentleness that I’d felt wanted for the first time in forever.
I wanted him — far more than I’d admitted even to myself.
But doubt still clung to me. I needed it gone before I could let myself believe all this.
“S-So…” My voice was barely more than a whisper. I cleared my throat. “So you would… do it again?”
He looked at me with a small, surprised smile.
He stepped closer — not quite touching me, but close enough that the space between us felt charged.
His fingers curled slightly like he was holding himself back.
“Without a doubt, Aurora,” he said honestly. “But if I did… I don’t know if I’d be able to stop so easily.”
The honesty stole my breath.
My face felt warm, my hands restless, my heart unsteady.
That was all it took to erase the last trace of doubt.
“I-I’m okay with that,” I breathed, instantly tensing with embarrassment at my own boldness.
Before the nerves could swallow me whole, Theo stepped right in front of me.
The second I looked up, the nervousness melted into something else — something deeper, warmer.
My breath hitched when his fingers brushed my cheek as he gently swept my hair aside.
My eyes flickered to his mouth before I could stop myself, the moment stretching, growing more intense as he slowly leaned closer.
This was really happening.
I slid my hands up around the back of his neck, holding him there — grounding myself in the closeness.
My heart thudded wildly, excitement and fear tangled together, but neither strong enough to push me away.
He leaned in, one of his hands resting lightly at my side, steadying me, grounding me.
A soft smile tugged at his lips just before he kissed me — a careful, tender kiss that sent warmth flooding through every part of me.
My eyes fluttered shut, a small sigh slipping out before I could stop it.
It wasn’t enough — not because he wasn’t giving, but because the feelings inside me were too big.
And he must’ve sensed it.
Theo gently pulled me closer, the gesture protective, steady, full of unspoken emotion.
The closeness deepened everything — the moment, the connection, the rush of feelings I had tried to ignore for so long.
I let my hands rest against his shoulders as I leaned into him more fully, letting myself feel the truth we’d both been hiding.
But then, slowly, he pulled away — breathless, reluctant.
I stared at him as he stared at me, trying to understand how the world could feel so quiet and loud all at once.
My grip on him tightened, as if holding on could keep the moment from ending.
Theo lowered his head, resting it gently against my shoulder, his breath warm against my skin, sending shivers up my spine.
“I want you so much,” he whispered, voice raw with sincerity.
“I want mornings with you. Days with you. A life where you’re free to choose what makes you happy. I want to learn everything that makes you smile. Aurora… I want you.”
Tears threatened again — happy ones, overflowing ones.
I swallowed them back, because how did someone respond to words like that?
Words you once thought were impossible, foolish, hopeless?
He lifted his head, helping me sit upright again, though he stayed close.
“But…” he said softly.
My heart stopped.
But?
Theo stayed close, his forehead nearly touching my cheek, but the word still pierced through me.
“If you don’t want this,” he said, voice trembling, “or if it makes you uncomfortable… I’ll let it go. We can forget all of this.”
He started to pull away.
“No!” The word burst out of me before I could think.
I grabbed his wrists instantly, both of us freezing at my reaction.
I forced a breath in, gathering the courage tangled inside my chest.
“Theo, I—” I tightened my hold briefly before letting it soften. “I’ve had feelings for you for so long, but I pushed them down because I thought there was no way you would ever feel this for me.”
Even when I grew comfortable with him, I’d tried so hard not to let anything show.
I released his wrists, my hands falling into my lap.
“I denied it so much that even when you kissed me, I doubted what it meant. It still feels impossible… but it feels right.”
He listened quietly, understanding softening every part of his expression.
But then the doubts returned — the ones that weren’t about him or me, but about the world itself.
“I want to be with you. Everything you said — I want all of it. But…”
I looked away.
“But?” he echoed, already worrying.
“But you’re a vampire,” I whispered.
“And I’m human.”
“And?” he asked genuinely.
I stared at him.
How could he not see it?
“And that means that no matter what happens between us, I could still be taken away when—”
He pulled me into him gently, cutting off the fear tightening my chest.
“I’m working on that,” he said firmly, confidently. “If that’s your only fear, please don’t let it be the thing that stops us. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that from happening.”
He meant it.
I saw it in his eyes.
I felt it in his voice.
“You’re really willing to do all of this for me?” I asked, barely breathing.
He smiled softly. “All of this — and more.”
I bit my bottom lip to suppress the smile threatening to break free.
“I still can’t believe this is happening,” I whispered.
“This is real, Aurora,” he murmured. “Let me make you happy. Let me care for you. Let me treat you the way you deserve. Let me give you a life where you feel loved and safe — every day.”
His voice softened. “Will you let me?”
My face warmed again at the promise in his words.
I intertwined my fingers with his, leaning against him fully.
“Only if you let me do the same,” I said.
His smile widened before he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.
“Gladly.”
- Writer
