Chapter 77 Aria

• Caelum’s kiss doesn’t catch me by surprise, yet the intensity of the act—the way I surrender to the heat of his presence and the spell of his lips—leaves me utterly unbalanced. It feels as though something within me breaks apart and sets me free all at once, a whirlwind of sensations consuming me completely. Each passing moment sharpens my emotions, raw and tangled, a storm echoing in the erratic beat of my heart. But my mind won’t stop shouting warnings, an insistent alarm reminding me that I’m diving into something I should have never started. This moment, as intoxicating and mesmerizing as it is, carries a prohibition, a line I know I shouldn’t cross.
• Still, my body, stubborn and impulsive, craves more. It wants to extend the contact, to soak in every second of this kiss, every infinitesimal detail of what it feels like to have Caelum so close. As if, for this brief instant, he could be mine—as if I could ignore the reality surrounding us, the danger, the secrecy, everything.
• And then, reality crashes back into me. I return to myself, to my morality, to everything that has always kept me away from this kind of recklessness. With a sharp movement, I pull away from Caelum, breaking the contact. The rarefied air fills my lungs with difficulty as my breathing stumbles and staggers. The touch of the grass beneath my feet is an anchor, grounding me as I stand, legs shaky and unsteady. I stare at him, still in shock, guilt and sorrow swirling in my gaze. I can’t keep going like this. I can’t let this go further than it already has. I can’t allow myself to be ensnared in the web of lies, fascination, and danger that is Caelum and everything he represents.