Astraea sat quietly by my side, the weight of unspoken doubts heavy in the air.
Her head rested softly on my lap, fingers tracing slow circles on my thigh as if trying to ground herself.
She looked up, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"Are we not enough?" she whispered, voice trembling.
I cupped her cheek gently, brushing away a stray tear.
"You are enough," I said softly, my thumb tracing her skin. "More than enough."
She hesitated, searching my face for any sign of doubt, but found none.
"I love you," I promised. "Every part of you, every moment we share."
Her lips quivered, and suddenly tears spilled freely.
She sobbed quietly, clutching me as if afraid to lose what she finally had.
I pulled her closer, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.
I leaned down and kissed her breast, then gently bit down, leaving a soft mark — a subtle, private token of my possession and affection.
She shivered, breath catching, but made no move away.
Instead, she tilted her face up.
I kissed her again — slow, reverent.
Her hands found my shirt, fingers trembling.
We stayed like that — wrapped in quiet warmth, speaking without words.
In that fragile moment, I hoped she could believe me.
That she was loved.
Truly, deeply loved.
POV: Ren
The room was too warm.
Even with the breeze gliding through the half-open windows and the golden hush of afternoon sunlight painting the walls, there was a kind of heat that clung to my skin—slow, weighty, and unrelenting. It wasn't the weather. It was the gathering.
Two families, four parents, one future.
And me—balanced like a blade between truths I'd spoken and those I never would.
My father's voice carried through the living room, calm and practiced. "Ren and Airi's engagement is something we've long anticipated. Their bond has been steady, and our families have always shared mutual respect. We hope this union brings both sides even closer."
Airi's mother offered a gentle nod, her eyes shining. "It's a blessing. She adores him, truly."
Across from me, Airi smiled—bright, confident, certain. She wore a soft pastel dress with faint embroidery along the sleeves. Every line of her posture screamed joy. And yet… something coiled beneath it. Not uncertainty—no, she was too resolved for that.
Possessiveness. Quiet, delicate, hidden in lace and laughter.
"I promise to protect her," I said softly, folding my hands in my lap, "and to always be there for her, no matter what comes."
That lie—one of many—slid from my lips like silk.
Because the truth? I'd already promised too many.
Ceremony and Silence
"We'd like a ceremony shortly after graduation," my mother said, placing her tea cup down with a light clink. "Intimate, with close family and friends. We're considering a spring garden venue. Something simple, but timeless."
Airi's father chuckled. "And from there, we'll be planning their future. University, housing, long-term stability."
They spoke like people who believed in linear paths—step by step, beginning to end.
I envied that simplicity.
Astraea sat quietly to my left, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her silver hair cascading like liquid starlight down her back. She hadn't spoken once. Not that she needed to. Her silence filled every corner of the room.
And when her gaze finally brushed mine, it was like falling through time. A thousand conversations behind her eyes. A thousand memories neither of us dared utter aloud in front of this audience.
She knew. She'd already accepted it. We had spoken. We had decided.
But no words would ever make it easier.
Beneath the Surface
To them, I was a boy in love. A son. A fiancé.
But behind the smile I wore, an entire empire churned.
Beneath the floorboards of this home, deeper than any earthly foundation, my sanctuary stirred. The hidden world—the one built with quiet mastery and darker truths—remained untouched. Women from realms beyond imagination slept in stillness. Goddesses I had married watched their moments tick by in longing and pride. Vaults groaned beneath the weight of unspoken promises. And Elira—my devoted shadow—waited silently in her chamber.
None of it touched this room. Not yet. Not today.
Still, I felt the pull. The flicker behind my eyes. A reminder of everything I was... and everything I pretended not to be.
Tension Draped in Tea
"Ren's always been calm," Airi's father remarked, sipping his tea. "Quiet. Respectful. It's a good foundation for marriage."
"And Astraea has always kept him grounded," my mother added. "She's like family."
"She is family," my father said. "Her presence is a blessing."
Airi didn't speak. Her smile remained, but I noticed the flick of her eyes—toward Astraea, then back to me. Her grip on the teacup tightened, just enough for her knuckles to pale.
"I'm grateful," Airi said sweetly. "I know how much she's done for him."
Astraea only tilted her head slightly. She met Airi's look without fear, without warmth.
Just... acknowledgment.
And something ancient underneath it. Something that knew it had already lost and accepted it—on the surface.
But underneath?
Underneath, the scars still bled.
When the World Doesn't Know
I spoke when I had to. I smiled when expected. My parents praised my maturity. Airi's mother leaned in, clasping my hand, and whispered how lucky her daughter was.
But behind each line, I replayed the vows spoken in deeper places. Not here. Never here.
Not in this living room dressed in flowers and sun.
The throne. The circle of five. The frozen breath of Elira's chamber. The hush that fell over Astraea's golden chamber when I last touched her cheek.
How many hearts had I already broken with a kiss? How many oaths had I spoken in truth and silence, only to sit here and speak another in the open?
And still they believed this was my only promise.
After Tea, After Words
"Ren," my mother said gently, "why don't you walk Airi out? It's getting late."
I rose without hesitation. Airi took my arm, her fingers slipping into mine, twining them as if sealing a vow no one else could see.
Behind us, Astraea stood. She didn't speak. She didn't smile.
But as I passed her, her gaze locked with mine one last time.
She said nothing.
She didn't need to.
The Walk Outside
The street was quiet. The breeze had cooled. Pale streaks of lavender stretched across the sky.
"You were amazing," Airi said beside me, pressing closer. "Your voice was so calm. Like you weren't nervous at all."
"I wasn't," I said truthfully.
She laughed. "That's just like you. Always steady. That's what I love about you."
She turned toward me suddenly, standing on tiptoe to whisper near my ear. "You're mine now, Ren. And I'll never let anyone take you away from me."
There it was again—that sharpness, hidden beneath silk and smile. A blade behind the lace.
I only nodded. "I know."
And I did.
I knew exactly what she meant.
Alone, Again
After she left, I lingered.
The house behind me glowed like a lantern. Familiar. Domestic. Everything I pretended to live for.
But in the distance—far below and far away—another home called.
Not the one built of walls and parents, but of stars and vows.
A place where Astraea once kissed me beneath a sky that didn't exist.
A place where Elira knelt, trembling with reverence.
Where the goddesses—Kaelira, Selphirhe, Nyxara, Luneth, Virelya—stood beneath moonless heavens and whispered my name like it was prayer.
I was walking between two worlds. One warm, human, and false.
The other—eternal, secret, and utterly mine.
And the longer I walked the narrow path between them...
...the more I feared I could never stop.
End of Chapter 134