accidentally yours | claude de alger obelia

the answer he waited for

evie stood there, her hand resting on the doorknob, staring at the floor. the silence in claude's chambers was suffocating, thick with everything unsaid between them. the room was a mess-broken bottles, shattered glass scattered across the floor, the sharp smell of wine lingering in the air. and there he was, standing by the window, his back to her, stiff and rigid like a soldier preparing for battle.

but this wasn't a battle. this was something else entirely.

claude wasn't the one pushing her away this time. she was the one who kept retreating. always one step back.

she could feel it now, the weight of everything between them, the distance that had grown when she'd walked away from the lake.

"evie," claude's voice was low, rough. he didn't turn to look at her. "why are you still here?"

his words hit her like a punch, and for a second, all she could do was stand there, frozen. she had no answer. not one that would make sense.

"because..." she started, but the words faltered on her tongue. "because i care about you, claude."

he finally turned, his gaze fierce, his jaw tight. there was so much pain behind his eyes, and she hated that she was the one causing it. but she couldn't stop herself.

"you don't have to do this," he said, his voice strained, as if he was barely holding it together. "you don't have to keep pushing me away."

"i'm not pushing you away," evie whispered, but her heart felt heavy in her chest. the words sounded empty, even to her. "i just-"

"just what?" he snapped, his voice rising. he took a step toward her, but she didn't move. "you can't keep doing this to me, evie. do you even know what you're doing?"

she didn't respond. she couldn't. not when it felt like her heart was breaking in two.

"you think you can just walk in here and tell me you care about me," he continued, his voice growing more bitter, more desperate. "but you're the one who keeps pulling away every time. i can't keep doing this, i can't keep chasing after you."

evie's breath caught in her throat, and she felt a pang of guilt gnaw at her. she wanted to reach out, to tell him that she didn't want to hurt him, that she just needed space. but the words wouldn't come.

"why do you do this?" he demanded, his eyes blazing with something that wasn't anger-it was something deeper, something more raw. "why do you keep pushing me away when all I'm trying to do is keep you close?"

she opened her mouth to say something, anything, but it felt like the air had been knocked out of her lungs. all she wanted was to leave, to get away from the intensity of the emotions swirling in the room. she wanted to run.

and yet, she didn't.

"you're afraid," he said, the words hitting her like a cold slap. "afraid of what we could be. afraid of what might happen if you let me in."

"no," she whispered, her voice so soft she barely recognized it as her own. "i'm afraid of losing myself in you."

claude's face softened for a moment, his eyes searching hers as if he was trying to understand. but then the mask came back, the emperor's mask that he wore so well. "you already have. you're already lost."

evie flinched at his words, and the sharp ache in her chest grew stronger. the tears she had been holding back threatened to spill, but she refused to let them fall. not now. not when he was looking at her like that. like she was the one breaking everything.

"i can't do this," she said, her voice shaking. "i don't belong here, claude. not in your world. not with you."

he took another step forward, his fists clenched at his sides. "you think i want someone who doesn't belong?" his voice was low, controlled, but the anger underneath was unmistakable. "i want you. all of you. whether you think you belong or not."