Lunara’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as she suddenly stood up.
Eryx’s brows drew together, surprised by her reaction. "What? What is it? Did I do sothing wrong?" He rose quickly, taking a step toward her, only for her to lift her hand and stop him.
"Wait," she whispered. Her voice was tight, her breath shaky. Her eyes, already glistening, turned red at the corners. "What is this?" she asked again, voice barely holding steady.
Eryx’s face softened, confused. "You... don’t like this kind of proposal?" He scratched the back of his neck, trying to piece it together. "I’m sorry. I’m not good at this kind of thing, but I ant it. I ant all of it—"
"No!" she cut him off, her voice rising, sharp and vulnerable. "No..."
She cupped her face, her fingers trembling. Her voice dropped, strained and fragile. "I’m supposed to be happy, right?"
"Lunara..." he stepped forward, but as he reached for her hand, she pulled away again.
"I am happy," she said, her voice cracking. "But Eryx... I..." She looked down, her arms wrapping around herself like a shield. "Why do I feel angry and sad at the sa ti?"
When her eyes t his again, there was no mistaking it. There was ache behind them, the exhaustion in her soul. A single tear slipped down her cheek, tracing the silence between them.
She had searched for him in desperation just days ago. She had lost sleep. She had nearly lost herself. And now, here he was, smiling and proposing to her as if none of it had left a scar.
And all she could feel was everything. At once.
Eryx stood frozen, the ring box still open in his hand, its glimr dulled by the heaviness in her eyes.
He had imagined so many scenarios. Sothing like, her teasing him, laughing, even crying with joy. But not this. Not her trembling, holding back the storm that had been brewing silently within her.
"I waited for you," Lunara whispered, her voice raw. "I waited and waited. I thought sothing happened. I called everyone and I didn’t even sleep properly." She sucked in a breath. "I was scared sothing happened after you disappeared that night. And now you co back with a ring..." she paused and inhaled a deep breath, "You ca back with a ring and proposed like my chaos of emotions for the last few days aning nothing!"
Eryx got it. He stood frozen and finally realised what he did wrong. His lips parted as he tried to say sothing but Lunara once again cut him off.
"No, no, I’m being irrational right now, right?" Her voice cracked, the kind of sound that didn’t know whether it wanted to be a laugh or a sob. She pressed her hands to her face, rubbing away the tears like they embarrassed her. "Because who wouldn’t want this? A ring. A second chance. My husband is finally proposing to ."
Eryx stayed silent, the velvet box still open in his hand. His heart thudded, but he didn’t dare speak, he saw it now, the cracks in her that he hadn’t noticed earlier when they were teasing each other.
"I waited for you," Lunara whispered, arms folding across herself like she was trying to hold everything in. "I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I kept calling people just to ask if they’d seen you. I thought sothing happened. I was damn worried... maybe you were hurt."
Her voice broke at the last word, and she sucked in a breath, blinking furiously.
"I couldn’t even breathe without wondering if I’d done sothing wrong. If maybe..." she paused, her voice barely above a whisper, "maybe I was the reason you left. That I was too much for you to handle."
She shook her head, slowly.
"And now you co back... with a ring and a smile, acting like nothing happened. Like these past few days weren’t..." her voice wavered again, "weren’t so kind of waking nightmare for ."
Her voice faded into silence, and for a mont, Lunara just stood there with her arms flopped to her sides. Her lips parted like she wanted to say more, but nothing ca. Only her shallow breathing filled the space between them.
Then she let out a soft, shaky laugh. It was disoriented, like she was trying to convince herself this was all normal.
"I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore," she murmured, brushing her wet stray hair behind her ear. "I was so sure I wanted to yell at you. Then when I saw the ring, I thought maybe I’d cry out of happiness. But now..."
She looked at him, brows drawn, eyes wide and almost pleading.
"It’s hard to understand won, right?" she said, forcing a weak smile. "Because I swear, I—I can’t even understand myself right now."
Her voice cracked again, and this ti, it didn’t stop. Tears spilled faster than she could blink them away. Her hands trembled as they hovered near her chest like she didn’t know what to do with them.
"I’m not usually like this," she whispered. "I swear I’m not. I don’t cry like this. I don’t fall apart over... over silence or missed calls or sleepless nights, but—" Her breath hitched.
"I think I’m just... I think sothing’s wrong with ."
She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, but the tears kept coming, falling harder now, and her voice grew smaller and smaller.
"I was fine before. I thought I was fine. But now it’s like... everything keeps piling up and I don’t know how to stop it. I don’t know how to breathe through it."
Eryx stepped forward instinctively, but her legs gave out just enough that she stumbled back against the edge of the table, gripping it for support. Her shoulders shook violently as she tried to take in air between sobs.
Her breaths started to turn shallow.
"Lunara..." Eryx’s voice tightened with alarm as he moved closer.
"I-I can’t—" she gasped, clutching at her chest, eyes wide with panic. "I can’t breathe..."
Her knees buckled and Eryx managed to catch her.
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