The door creaked open softly, spilling in a sliver of warm light and ending their quiet moment.Grace suddenly realized just how close she was to Aries. Their faces were mere inches apart, his breath brushing against her skin like a whisper. Her heart stammered. Startled, she instinctively tried to step back in a hurry, but her heel caught on the rug, and the room tilted slightly as she stumbled.
Before she could fall, strong arms caught her by the waist. Her breath hitched. Aries.
His hand found her effortlessly, catching her before she could stumble. He didn't say a word, just looked into her eyes with a tension that buzzed in the air between them. It wasn't just worry. It wasn't just instinct. It was something deeper—something raw, magnetic, and wholly intoxicating.
There was a pause in the air, a silence loud enough to swallow every beat of her heart. His fingers, though gentle, held her firmly. The tension between them wasn't loud or obvious—it pulsed beneath the skin, laced with something more dangerous than warmth. Seduction. Emotion. Repression unraveling.
Grace quickly regained her balance, her cheeks flushed. Aries let go—reluctantly, she felt it in his fingers.
"I—I should go," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze. "If my father finds out I'm not with Cassian, he's going to—"
"Don't go to him." Aries's voice was low, urgent. "Please… he's a jerk. You know that."
Grace's hand froze on the doorknob. Her shoulders stiffened.
"I have to save my mom," she said quietly. "You wouldn't understand."
Then she opened the door and stepped out.
"Fine," Aries said after a pause, his voice softer now. "At least let me walk you out."
She didn't answer but didn't object either. He followed.
The hallway outside was dimly lit, echoing with silence now. The wildness of the night had dulled into stillness—people had left, the chaos had dissolved into the lingering scent of alcohol and roses. The air was cooler, softer, easier to breathe.
They stepped outside. The venue was nearly empty. Her car was parked under one of the decorative lanterns still flickering dimly. Without a word, Grace walked toward it, her dress trailing behind like stardust. Aries followed a step behind, silent.
When they reached her car, Aries moved ahead and opened the door for her. Grace offered him a small nod of thanks and got in, but the silk hem of her gown was still trailing out the side—caught in the door frame. Aries noticed, of course.
the silk hem of her gown was still trailing out the side.
Aries paused.
The fabric gleamed under the streetlights—soft, delicate, touched only by the ground… and now by him.
He bent slowly, fingers brushing over the fabric delicately. Then, almost without thinking—perhaps driven by something deeper than intention, as if obeying a quiet prayer in his chest, and gently lifted the edge of her dress. Then, without letting her notice, he brought the corner to his lips and pressed the faintest kiss to it.
The hem of her gown.
It was nothing. And yet, to him, it was everything. A silent confession he couldn't voice. A reverence he didn't deserve.
The gesture wasn't meant to be witnessed. It wasn't meant to be known. But it carried the weight of everything he couldn't say.
He tucked the dress inside the car and closed the door quietly.
Grace didn't see it. She looked ahead, lost in her thoughts, unaware of the silent promise sealed into the hem of her gown.
The car pulled away, its headlights carving golden lines into the fading night. Aries remained standing under the lantern's glow, watching until the vehicle disappeared from view. His hand, the one that had touched the fabric, remained slightly curled. He didn't understand it fully—but in that moment, it felt like he'd just let go of something precious.
She didn't see his eyes lingering on the car as it drove away. She didn't see how long he stood there after she disappeared down the driveway.
But if she had… she would've seen a man still kneeling, hand hovering in the air, as if her presence had left a mark on the very space beside him.
And maybe it had.