For reference, you can travel back to Chapter 20: Head over heels.
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They both looked away at the same time, the temperature seemingly cold, and yet she didn't feel it with his hand on top of hers.
"A few days ago, I visited your house back in Gleana." Theo suddenly spoke, and Eva whirled her head sharply, wincing at the little pain she felt at the abrupt movement.
"Are you crazy?" she cried out, her heart wasting no time in going into full-on panic mode.
He had gone to that place she now knew as hell. All her bad memories issued from that place and that was their enemy's territory. Eva knew he was one of the most powerful creatures on this land but if Isabella had captured him somehow then what would she have done?
They would've been doomed...
She would've lost all hope.
He looked baffled at her exasperated expression. "What's wrong—"
"How could you go there? What if somebody found you?! What if Isabella captured you and tortured you and then we lost you—" she abruptly stopped when he placed his free hand on her cheek and softly brushed his thumb over her cheekbone.
And somehow, he didn't look disgusted at how hollow her skin had gone.
'He's a liar...'
'You're nothing compared to the many girls he could get...'
'In the end, all you are is a burden...'
Eva looked away, his hand falling down as she tried her best to control the tears that were now threatening to escape their imprisonment.
She knew he must feel rejected, worse he felt as if she didn't care for him. But wasn't that all for the best? This way he would think her to be selfish and maintain his distance. Eva tried to strengthen her resolve but she had long reached her breaking point.
Who wanted to deal with a broken piece of glass anyway?
In the end, it belonged in the trash with the remaining broken shards.
"I brought this back."
She bit her lip hard, trying her best to smile assuringly when she turned around. The sight that met her eyes made her feel as if somebody snatched her heart out and threw it down the highest mountain.
His face was turned away, but there in his hand lay that very necklace that her father had brought for her when she was young. The first gift she had received from anybody. The only remaining memory of her father that lived. And she completely broke apart in his hand.
A small cry escaped her lips and he turned around, his obsidian eyes looking into her blurry brown ones with something similar to her pain. Eva muffled the next sob with her hand, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't stop the pain in her heart from spreading everywhere.
And then he did something that shook her very soul from within. The warm touch on her hand vanished and Eva wondered if he was going to leave her here thinking she needed space. Her heart broke even further if possible. Because even if loneliness was her continuous companion, she felt suffocated by the presence of her demons roaming around her mind.
She felt a steady arm wrap around her body and then she was being lifted carefully as if she would break if he handled her too roughly. Her legs dangled off his lap as he lay her face on his chest after making her sit comfortably on his lap.
Eva continued to choke on her sobs but everything halted when she felt the cold touch of a chain on her collarbone. Looking down, her lips parted when she saw a small heart-shaped silver pendant dangling from her neck.
It felt like those times when the surroundings suddenly felt too silent and the only thing she could hear was her heart thumping away in a faraway land. Raising her head, she saw him staring at her. Silver flecks in his dark eyes and she decided that nothing could be more beautiful than him in this world.
"I'm sorry," he whispered and she furrowed her brows, cheeks glistening with tears and her amber orbs glossy.
"I had sent my guards with them and if I was more careful, I would've sent more. Stronger men. They would be here with you and you wouldn't be—" his haunted look made another fresh tear slide down her neck. "You aren't even the last person in this world who deserves pain. You deserve everything good this world has to offer and instead you blame yourself for your family's death when it's actually nobody's fault but mine— "
"Hey." Eva's voice was soft as she gazed up at him and he knew there was nobody in this whole universe who could compare to her. "I never blamed you. And you shouldn't either. If it was anybody's fault, it was Isabella's. How could you even say that after what you've done for me? I'm the one who's in your debt..."
She remembered the time that he had allowed her to say goodbye. It had been her choice to send her family back to Gleana. In some way, she knew if she had kept her mother in Xandria, none of this might have happened.
"What debt? I told you before and I'll tell you again. There is no debt." his tone switched to stern in a second and Eva internally smiled, wondering if he had a multiple personality disorder or if he was just born like this. How cute must he have been in his childhood?
"Why the sudden smile?" he questioned but Eva only shook her head.
"You're right. There is no use in blaming anybody except the actual culprit. "
He blinked his eyes as she lay her head on his shoulder and took in his bewitching fragrance. The familiar scent of ash and spice and him made her eyes close as his warmth threatened to lull her to sleep.
The last thing she heard before exhaustion overcame her was his deep, soothing voice in her ear, "You'll be the one to end her. I promise."
And there was no whisper of doubt in her mind when she believed him.