Chapter 23 Something Worth Breaking For

• From Lidia’s perspective
• His words stayed with me long after he walked away. “Then I’ll show you. One breath at a time.” I stood there long after Arias disappeared into the other room, my skin still tingling where his fingers had brushed my jaw. Not possessive. Not forceful. Just there. Present. Gentle. And that alone made me want to run. Because gentle never lasted. Not in my world. I had learned that the hard way—gentle was a prelude. A tease before the storm. It lured you in with soft edges and half-promises, then vanished when you needed it most. People didn’t stay. Not when they saw all of me. Not when the darkness crept out and wrapped around everything I touched. But Arias didn’t flinch. He looked at me like I wasn’t broken. Like I wasn’t some fragile thing barely holding her pieces together. That terrified me more than anything else. Because what if he believed I was worth saving? And worse—what if I started to believe it too? I pressed my palm to my jaw, chasing the ghost of his touch, and forced myself to breathe. Just like he said. One breath at a time. The air felt heavier now, like it carried something more than oxygen—hope, maybe. Or the memory of something I didn’t think I deserved. I told myself it was nothing. Just a moment. Just a kindness. But my heart had already filed it away like it mattered. And deep down, I knew the truth. It did.
• He cared.