Nathaniel's smirk set my blood on fire. The bastard had the nerve to stand there as if he hadn't just crossed every damn line.
His face, that smug expression, was begging to be rearranged. Every instinct in me screamed to make him pay, to make sure he knew never to mess with what was mine.
Before I knew it, my fist was flying toward him, fueled by a rage I couldn't control. The satisfying crack of bone meeting bone reverberated through my arm as my knuckles collided with his jaw. He stumbled back, his hands flying up to his face in shock.
I didn't give him a chance to recover. Another punch landed squarely on his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground. He looked up at me, dazed, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and surprise. Good. Let him be scared.
Let him feel what it's like to have someone bigger, stronger, ready to tear him apart.
"Ciara!" Aeliana's voice was a distant echo in my mind, but it barely registered. I was too far gone, consumed by the need to protect what was mine, to show Nathaniel exactly who he was dealing with.
He tried to push himself up, but I was on him before he could even think about it. My knee dug into his chest, pinning him down as I grabbed his shirt and yanked him closer.
My face was inches from his, and I could see the fear in his eyes now, the realization that he had fucked up.
"You think you can just touch her?" I growled, my voice low and dangerous. "You think you can just slide in and take what's mine?" I shook him for emphasis, his head jerking back and forth with the force of it.
"Ciara, stop!" Aeliana's voice was closer now, more urgent, but I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. This piece of shit needed to learn a lesson, needed to understand that there were consequences for messing with what was mine.
"You think you're some kind of charmer, don't you?" I spat, my grip tightening on his shirt. "Think you can just swoop in and play the hero? You're nothing, Nathaniel. Nothing."
His hands came up to grab my wrists, but he was too weak, too pathetic to do anything about it. I could see the panic in his eyes now, the realization that he was completely at my mercy.
"Ciara, please!" Aeliana's voice was right beside me now, her hands on my arm, pulling, trying to get me to let go. But I couldn't. I wouldn't.
"What? You think you can take her from me? Is that it?" My voice was shaking with fury, my heart pounding in my chest. "You think you can just replace me?"
He tried to speak, but the words were lost in the choke of fear, and I could feel his pulse racing under my hands. For a split second, I wondered what would happen if I didn't let go, if I just kept squeezing until he was nothing but a limp, lifeless body on the ground.
The thought shocked me, snapping me back to reality. What the hell was I doing? This wasn't me. I wasn't some crazed, out-of-control monster. But Nathaniel... he had pushed me to the edge, and I'd let him.
I released him, shoving him back against the ground with a final, disgusted glare. He gasped for air, his hands flying to his throat as he struggled to breathe. I stood up, wiping the blood from my knuckles, feeling a strange mix of satisfaction and shame.
Aeliana was beside me, her eyes wide with fear and concern. She looked at me like I was some kind of beast, like I was something to be afraid of. And maybe I was. Maybe I'd just shown her exactly who I really was.
"What the fuck was that?" I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to anyone else. What the hell had I just done? I wasn't this person, this... animal.
But seeing Nathaniel touching her, holding her, it had driven me over the edge. I had to protect her, had to make sure she knew she was mine. But at what cost?
I turned away from Nathaniel, who was still coughing and gasping on the ground, and looked at Aeliana. Her expression was torn between relief and something else something that looked an awful lot like disappointment.
"Ciara..." she started, her voice trembling slightly. I couldn't bear to hear what she had to say, couldn't face whatever judgment she was about to pass on me.
So I turned on my heel and started walking away, leaving Nathaniel behind without a second glance.
Aeliana followed me, her footsteps quickening until she was walking beside me. I didn't say anything, just kept my eyes forward, my mind racing with what had just happened.
The anger was still there, simmering under the surface, but now it was mixed with something else regret, maybe. Or guilt. I wasn't sure.
The silence between us was thick, heavy with unspoken words. I could feel her looking at me, could sense the questions she wanted to ask but didn't know how. And honestly, I didn't know if I had any answers for her.
We walked in silence for a few more minutes, the tension between us growing with each step. Finally, Aeliana broke the silence, her voice soft but firm.
"What you did... it was too much, Ciara," she said, her words cutting through the silence like a knife. There it was the disappointment, the judgment I'd been dreading. And the worst part? She was right.
I stopped walking, turning to face her. The look in her eyes was almost too much to bear. She wasn't angry, not exactly. But there was something there, something that hurt more than any punch or insult ever could.
"I know," I muttered, my voice hoarse. I didn't have any excuses, didn't have any way to make it better. I'd let my temper get the best of me, and now I was paying the price.
"Why?" she asked, her eyes searching mine. "Why did you do it?"
Because he touched you. Because he tried to take you from me. Because I'm scared, okay? Scared of losing you, scared of what I'm feeling, scared of how much I need you.
But I couldn't say any of that. Couldn't admit to the fear that had driven me to such a dark place. So I just shrugged, looking away from her piercing gaze.
"He deserved it," I said, the words sounding hollow even to me. It wasn't the truth, not really. But it was all I had.
"Did he?" Aeliana's voice was gentle, but there was an edge to it. "Or were you just... scared?"
The question hung in the air, and I felt my throat tighten. She was too perceptive, too damn smart for her own good. She saw right through me, saw the fear that I was trying so hard to hide.
"Maybe," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know, Aeliana. I just... I just saw him touching you, and I lost it."
She sighed, taking a step closer to me. Her hand reached out, gently touching my arm, and the warmth of her skin sent a shiver down my spine.
"I'm not going anywhere, Ciara," she said softly. "You don't have to be scared."
Her words should have been comforting, should have eased the turmoil inside me. But instead, they only made the fear worse. Because if she wasn't going anywhere, that meant she was here to stay.
And if she stayed, that meant I had to face these feelings, had to confront whatever the hell this was between us.
And that terrified me more than anything.
I looked down at her, the fear still gnawing at me, but there was something else too something that made my heart race and my chest tighten in a way that was both exhilarating and terrifying.
"I don't know what's happening to me, Aeliana," I confessed, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. "But I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."
Her eyes softened, and she took another step closer, until there was barely any space between us. "You're not going to lose me, Ciara," she whispered, her voice full of conviction. "But you can't keep doing this. You can't keep letting your anger control you."
She was right, of course. She was always right. But knowing that didn't make it any easier. I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I know. I'll... I'll try."
Aeliana gave me a small, sad smile, and I felt my heart clench. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve me. But I was too selfish to let her go.
"Come on," she said softly, tugging on my arm. "Let's just go somewhere, okay? Somewhere quiet."
I nodded again, letting her lead me away from the scene of my shame. As we walked, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was teetering on the edge of something something big, something that could change everything.
And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.