Chapter 19
Arianna couldn’t look at him, her gaze darting everywhere except his face.
The next second, Jayden felt his arms go completely empty as she wriggled out of his embrace and practically sprinted into the living room.
Facing his expectant stare, she pointed dramatically at Orange, who was dead to the world in his little
bed.
“What relationship? We’re business partners!”
“Co–parenting Orange together!”
Jayden burst out laughing, his heart doing something complicated between frustration and complete adoration. Getting this woman to admit they were dating was going to be like pulling teeth.
“Alright, fine,” he said, throwing his hands up in mock defeat. “Whatever you say, business partner.”
After their ridiculous banter, Jayden scrolled through Netflix and settled on Inception. He pulled Arianna down onto the couch beside him, wrapping them both in the throw blanket.
Just as the opening credits started, Orange stirred from his nap, stumbled over to Arianna with sleepy determination, and collapsed in her lap like he owned the place.
“God, kittens really do sleep like twenty hours a day,” she whispered, gently stroking his tiny orange head.
Jayden pulled both of them closer, his chest so full of contentment it almost hurt. This moment felt impossibly perfect–too perfect, maybe.
As the movie progressed and Dom Cobb got lost deeper in his dream layers, Jayden found himself unconsciously tightening his grip on Arianna.
She must have felt his tension because she tilted her head back to look at him. “You ok
me like I might disappear.”
You’re holding
His voice came out rougher than he intended. “Do you ever think about what the guy in this movie is going through?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… what if we’re stuck in some dream and we don’t even know it?” The words tumbled out before he could stop them, carrying all the fear he’d been trying to suppress. “What if none of this is real?”
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Done Hiding as Your Backup Plaything I’m Shining Golden as a Queen
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Chapter 19
The question had been eating him alive for days. This happiness, this second chance–it felt too good to be true. After ten years of believing she was dead, having her here, alive and choosing him, seemed
impossible.
Arianna turned fully in his arms, her brown eyes serious and unwavering. “This is real, Jayden. We’re
real.”
But something flickered across her face–doubt? sadness?-before she added quickly, “And even if it was a dream… I’d rather be here with you than anywhere else.”
The words should have comforted him, but they made his stomach twist with unease instead. There was something in her tone, something final about the way she said it.
“Shit, listen to me getting all existential,” he said, forcing a laugh that sounded hollow even to his own
ears. “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”
“Don’t apologize,” she said softly, her hand finding his. “I get it. Sometimes good things feel too good to be
true.”
She turned back to the movie, but Jayden couldn’t concentrate anymore. He kept watching her profile in the flickering light from the TV, memorizing the curve of her cheek, the way her eyelashes cast shadows.
By the time the credits rolled, both Arianna and Orange had fallen asleep against him. She was curled into his side like she belonged there, her breathing deep and peaceful.
Jayden carefully gathered them both up, his heart clenching at how light she felt in his arms. He managed to get her settled in bed without waking her, Orange immediately claiming the pillow next to
hers.
He stood there for a long time, just watching her sleep, his chest tight with something between love and
terror.
“Please be real,” he whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Please don’t leave me again.”
Hours later, the house was tomb–quiet except for the dim light bleeding from his study. Jayden stood at the window, a cigarette burning forgotten between his fingers as he stared out at the empty street.
He was so lost in his spiraling thoughts that he didn’t hear the soft footsteps behind him.
“Can’t sleep?”
He spun around to find Arianna in the doorway, her hair mussed from sleep, squinting at him in the low light.
“Fuck, sorry,” he said, quickly stubbing out the cigarette. “Did I wake you up?”
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Done Hiding as Your Backup Plaything I’m Shining Golden as a Queen
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Chapter 19
She shook her head, padding barefoot across the hardwood floor. “I woke up and you weren’t there. I got
scared.”
The simple admission made his heart stutter. She’d noticed he was gone. She’d come looking for him.
“You’re smoking again,” she said quietly, and there was something heartbroken in her voice that made. him want to flush every pack he owned down the toilet.
“Yeah,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “It’s a shitty habit. I know you hate it.”
“I don’t hate it,” she said, surprising him. “I just… I worry about you. About what’s going on in your head when you need a cigarette at two in the morning.”
God, she could still read him like an open book after all these years. See straight through every wall he
tried to build.
“Come back to bed,” she said softly, reaching for his hand. “Please? I sleep better when you’re there.”
The vulnerability in her voice nearly destroyed him.
“I probably reek of smoke,” he said, even as he let her intertwine their fingers.
“I don’t care.”
She led him toward the bedroom, but stopped at the doorway, turning to face him with something determined in her expression.
“Jayden,” she said, her voice soft but resolute. “Let’s sleep together tonight.”
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