Page 5 of Gathered Sparkle

I shake my head, my voice breaking as I whisper my answer to both questions, “No.”

Sylus’s expression softens as he exhales deeply. “What the fuck happened?”

“I fucked up.” I swallow, the tears starting again as I look down at my feet. “I fucked everything up for you guys.”

“It’s fine, okay?” Sylus grabs my chin and makes me meet his gaze again. “I’ll figure something out.It’s fine, baby. Fuck this. As long asyou’reokay, we’re okay.”

“Are you even listening?” I sniffle, and it sounds so pathetic it almost makes me sick. “He caught me.I fucked up.I put you all in danger. I’m the reason you—”

Sylus cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine, letting his hand slip from my chin to my throat and pulling me against him. His kiss is desperate, fierce, not just to silence me but to prove something. To tell me that none of this matters, that he doesn’t care about anything else as long as I’m here, safe with him.

I don’t deserve that.

But God, do I want it.

My hands are on his chest, feeling the frantic rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my palms. His breath is ragged, his body just as wrecked as mine. And maybe that’s what undoes me the most. This isn’t just me unraveling. He’s right there with me.

My tears mix into the kiss, salty and warm, but he doesn’t pull away. He just tightens his grip, fingers digging into my waist and the edge of his thumb grazing my throat. Like he’s afraid I might disappear.

And maybe I am too.

Not of running. I’m done running.

But of what comes next. Of what I’ve already done. Of what I can’t take back.

Right now, none of it matters.

Right now, there’s only Sylus. His warmth, his touch, the way he’s holding me like I’m the most important thing in the world.

And I don’t know what to do with that.

When everything came crashing down, when the ground fell out from under me, I wantedhim.

Not a plan. Not a way out. Just him.

And without hesitation, he dropped everything to come for me.

That realization hits like a punch to the ribs.

Because people don’t do that. Not for me.

With Sylus, I didn’t have to beg, I didn’t have to ask.

He just knew.

He just came.

And now he’s here, holding me like I’m not too much. Like I’ll never be too much.

A sharp breath rattles through me, my throat burning.

What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?

When we finally pull apart—because oxygen is a necessity—his eyes are liquid silver, shimmering with emotions I can’t name.

Or maybe I can.

Because I feel them too.

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