moonlit whispers of the heart

The chandelier sparkles above me, but I feel nothing. Tonight is supposed to be my grand seventeenth birthday party. A hundred guests fill the ballroom, laughing, dancing, drinking champagne from crystal flutes. My father stands proudly near the stage, shaking hands with politicians and businessmen, already plotting the life he wants me to live. And me? I sit in silence at the edge of the room, my champagne untouched, my golden gown heavy on my shoulders like a chain. Everyone thinks being rich is paradise. But no one tells you how lonely it is to be a diamond locked inside a glass case. “Smile, Aria,” my father’s voice cuts through the air like a knife. He doesn’t look at me, but I feel the warning in his tone. I force my lips into a smile, my heart screaming. I can’t breathe. Without another thought, I slip away, weaving through the crowd until I reach the back door. The cool night air hits me like freedom, and I run past the glowing garden lights, past the roses, until the laughter from inside fades. Only the moon sees my tears.I stop by the fountain, pressing my palms against the marble, trying to calm my racing heart. And that’s when I feel it. The air shifts. Heavy. Electric. Like someone is watching me. I turn. And I see him. A boy stands in the shadows near the trees, half-hidden in darkness. His hair is black as midnight, his stance strong yet restless. But it’s his eyes that steal my breath away,silver, glowing faintly under the moonlight. Eyes that don’t look human. Eyes that pin me in place. My lips part, but no sound comes out. He takes a step forward, his voice low and rough, like a secret carried on the wind. “You shouldn’t be here.” My pulse hammers in my ears. “Neither should you,” I whisper before I can stop myself.His jaw tightens, like my words matter more than they should. For a moment, silence stretches between us, filled only by the sound of the wind in the trees. And then,he’s gone. Just like that, he melts back into the shadows, leaving me gasping under the silver light of the moon. But something inside me knows… this isn’t the last time I’ll see him. Because my soul is still trembling, whispering his eyes into my memory like a promise I don’t yet understand.