"Be good, go to bed early, alright? Don't dwell on unhappy things. And... I’ll treat today’s kiss as a moment of confusion, impulsiveness. There won’t be another time."
The soft, feminine voice that responded sent a chill through Mira. "I’m just rehearsing for the wedding kiss. Elias, I know you only feel sympathy and pity for me. If that's the case, why can’t you accept my kiss for what it is? After all, the wedding is just a formality."
"You girl..." Elias laughed, but there was a trace of helplessness in his tone. "Are you going to sleep or not? Aren’t you worried about getting acne with all this stress?"
The girl’s voice became more playful. "Just five more minutes, let’s talk a little longer?"
"Okay... You’re so difficult," he chuckled.
His voice was laced with infinite tolerance, with a hint of pampering that twisted the knife deeper into Mira’s heart. The words felt like sharp thorns, each one more suffocating than the last. Her chest tightened as if a dark net had coiled around her, choking her breath.