Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her hands clenched into tight fists as her nails dug painfully into her palms.
Tears she could no longer hold back streamed down her cheeks, blending with the rain that poured mercilessly from the heavens.
She watched as the man who once broke her spirit now cowered, his arrogant smirk wiped clean by the man standing protectively before her.
His broad shoulders blocked her from the past she was desperately trying to leave behind.
Is this really happening? Is someone… finally standing up for me?
Her heart pounded so violently she thought it might shatter into pieces.
For years, she had been her own shield, her own savior. She never believed anyone would come—not really.
And yet, here he was.
Unshaken. Unmovable.
For her.
It felt like standing in the eye of a hurricane—chaos raging all around, yet within that small, impossible space… there was calm.
For the first time, she felt what it was like to be protected, like standing behind an unbreakable wall after years of weathering the storm alone.
Without breaking his gaze from the man trembling before him, the mysterious stranger spoke again, his voice dangerously low and final.
"She doesn't belong to her past anymore. And neither do you."
Then he turned slightly, his eyes meeting hers through the rain—intense, unreadable.
"Emily… come with me."