Page 141 of Seeking Shadows

My hands slide down his wet shirt, gripping tightly, searching for something solid, something real.

My fingers find his warm skin beneath the fabric, and I nestle against him as if my life depends on it.

Maybe it does.

Because reality still seems to be slipping through my fingers, and if I don’t grab hold of it now, I could lose myself forever.

Zane reacts instantly, his arms wrapping around me without hesitation.

He holds me tight, his hands sliding down my bare back, his breathing heavy against my hair.

"I’m here." His voice is low, but firm. Warm.Real.

My fingers dig into his skin. I feel his chest rising and falling against mine, the heat of his body chasing away the chill I hadn’t even realized I was feeling.

"I… I didn’t even know if you existed." My voice comes out cracked and fragile, like something inside me already broke. "I didn’t know if any of this was real. I need you to be real, Zane. Because if you’re not—if you’re just some fragment in my mind—then everything we had wasn’t real either. And I can’t live with that. I can’t live without you."

Zane’s arms tighten around me, pulling me impossibly closer. He lets out a slow, heavy sigh—thick with something I can’t name but feel deep in my bones.

"I’m real, Mia."

He pulls back just enough to look at me. His green eyes are fierce and grounding, like a forest after a storm—untamed, steady, and sheltering.

And I don’t feel afraid anymore.

Because when he looks at me like that, I know I’m here.

I know I’m still me.

My breath hitches, but not from fear. From something deeper. A kind of aching need to finally be seen.

"I didn’t do it," I whisper. My hands tremble as I touch his chest. "Zane, I didn’t kill Carter." The words tumble out, raw and breathless. "I—I only said that to protect you. I thought if I made you hate me, if I pushed you hard enough, you’d walk away and save yourself."

My throat tightens, the memory of that day in the rain slicing through me like a blade.

"But that day... standing there soaked and shaking, watching you still choose me—I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t keep deciding for you. Couldn’t keep pretending I was doing the noble thing when all I was doing was breaking us apart."

I press my hand to his chest, over his heart, grounding myself. "I can’t afford to be without you. Not really. Not anymore."

His brow furrows, confusion tightening his jaw, but I push through before I lose my nerve.

"I can’t lose you. Not all of you. Not half of you. I know you cared about him, even if you won’t admit it. And I swear—I would never hurt someone you loved. Not ever. No matter what Carter did to me, I wouldn't do that to you."

My voice breaks again. "Sometimes I don’t even feel real, but this—I know this part is real. I know I didn’t do it."

Zane just stares at me, his expression unreadable—but his eyes burn like wildfire, and I feel it again: that quiet, shaking promise between us.

He brushes a damp white strand of hair from my cheek, his touch slow, reverent. His palm finds the side of my neck, thumb stroking along my skin like he’s grounding himself, like I’m his reality too.

"You’re with me," he breathes, so close I feel the words against my lips. "And I’m with you. Wherever you go, I’ll go. No more half-measures. No more silence. I’m yours, Mia—until the fucking end."

The weight of the world is still on me. My chest still hurts, my mind still whispers things I don’t want to hear.

But here, in his arms, I can breathe.

So I do the only thing I can.

I press myself even tighter against him, my nose brushing against his jaw, my mouth touching his warm, damp skin.

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