No strings attached |(UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 35- No broken promises

I pulled away just enough to look at her, my hands still gripping the fabric of her coat as if letting go would make her disappear. My eyes searched hers, desperate, pleading.

"Will you stay?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Aiah's lips parted, but no words came out. She only looked at me, her expression unreadable.

The silence was deafening.

I felt the answer before she could even say it.

She wouldn't stay.

A lump formed in my throat as I took a deep, shaky breath, forcing myself to speak before the pain swallowed me whole. "Just give me this one night," I murmured, my voice trembling. "Let me be with you until morning."

She stiffened, her grip on my arms tightening for a fraction of a second.

"Then... you can leave me again."

Saying the words felt like tearing myself open, but I needed her to agree. Just one night. Just a few more hours of pretending she was still mine.

Aiah inhaled sharply, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, something flickered there-guilt, hesitation, pain?

She didn't say yes.

But she also didn't say no.

Instead, she exhaled shakily and nodded, just once.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

I reached for her hand, fingers curling around hers.

"Come inside," I whispered.

And for tonight, just tonight, she let me hold her.

The air inside my apartment was heavy with unspoken words. The moment the door closed behind us, a strange sense of déjà vu settled in-like all those nights before when it was just us, tangled in warmth, wrapped in something that felt unbreakable.

But everything was different now.

I turned to her, watching as she stood stiffly by the door, hesitant, unsure. As if she wasn't sure if she should be here. As if she wasn't sure if we should still exist.

I squeezed her hand gently, trying to anchor myself to this fleeting moment. "You're really here," I murmured, more to myself than to her.

Aiah swallowed, nodding. "Yeah." Her voice was quiet, strained.

I led her to the couch, sitting down beside her. For a few minutes, we just sat there in silence, the only sound between us our slow, uneven breaths.

Then, unable to stop myself, I reached out and brushed my fingers against her cheek. She flinched slightly but didn't pull away.

I tried to smile, but it wavered. "Aiah... can you hold me? Just for tonight?" My voice cracked on the last word.

She looked at me, something breaking in her eyes, before she hesitantly opened her arms.

I didn't wait.

I curled into her, pressing my face against her shoulder as her arms wrapped around me-hesitant at first, then tighter.

And just like that, the dam inside me broke.

Silent tears spilled down my cheeks as I clung to her, my hands fisting the back of her shirt, afraid that if I let go, she would disappear like smoke between my fingers.

I felt her press a shaky kiss to my temple, her lips lingering there as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

I closed my eyes, my grip tightening.