In the bright morning sunlight.
On Elias's bed, Olivia clung to him, crying for a long, long time, never letting go.
After her emotional release, perhaps from her frayed nerves relaxing or sheer exhaustion, she nestled her head in the warmth of Elias's embrace and finally drifted off to sleep.
Even in slumber, her hands remained tightly wrapped around Elias's waist, as if afraid he might vanish.
Elias looked down at her.
Her pale face was streaked with tears, her hair tousled, her expression tinged with unease, like a fragile, delicate glass vase.
This vulnerable, subdued Olivia was something he had never seen before.
The proud and domineering princess, always cold and harsh towards him, seemed to have vanished in an instant.
Elias sighed inwardly.
If he had known it would come to this, why push things so far?
Perhaps, in Olivia's upbringing, she never really understood the concept of "respect."
