"Don''t be afraid."


    His lips pressed against hers, swallowing her trembling sobs with undeniable force.


    In the empty music room, the broken, discordant notes of the piano echoed for what felt like forever. If you listened closely, you could still hear the girl''s shattered cries woven through the chaos.


    Her pale, delicate skin was pressed against the ck and white keys, the music dissolving into a wild tangle of sound. She was gasping, eyes zed, as if something vital had been torn from her chest and cast into darkness, leaving her nothing but a blurry shadow of herself. She didn''t love the piano anymore.


    After that day,


    For a long time, M was afraid whenever she saw a piano. Even when the fear faded, she never touched the keys again. Her aversion was etched into her very bones.


    ...


    And after that,


    She stopped going to that dark room as often.


    But in its ce came something stranger-Lysander''s obsession. He''d press her up against familiar and unfamiliar ces alike, chasing fleeting moments of pleasure.


    On the balcony, in the kitchen... sometimes even in a private theater or an empty amusement park-ces she and Forrest had once visited together.


    Those pure, happy memories were overwritten, reced by desire, until even recalling them left her feeling unspeakably ashamed.


    She found herself recoiling from the memories they''d shared.


    How humiliating.


    Gradually, those days faded into the past.


    Time slipped by in a blur of chaos, until New Year''s Eve arrived. M sat curled up


    on the window seat, staring nkly at the world outside.


    Fireworks burst across the sky. Families gathered together, the world weing a new year.


    A new beginning.


    A new life.


    And yet she had no family-only herself.


    The room was warm, the heating turned high. She wore nothing but a sheer white dress, and without thinking pressed her hand to the cold ss, her breath fogging up a circle. She traced a smiley face in the haze, her eyes filled with something like longing-yet mostly just confusion.


    Just then, a weight settled suddenly on her shoulders. Short, dark hair brushed her cheek, prickly and unexpected.


    She froze.


    Shouldn''t he be home for the holidays? Why was Lysander here, with her?


    She started to turn, but his hand held her still. His voice was low, almost pleading. "Don''t move. Just... let me stay like this, for a minute."


    So she didn''t move.


    Time passed. Then, all at once, M stiffened. She felt something hot and wet on her neck-tears. Was he crying?


    Lysander was crying?


    This man who always seemed in control, unshakable, relentless-was he really crying?


    She didn''t dare move.


    After a long while, she finally heard his muffled voice. "My mom''s sick again. Why does she treat me like this whenever she gets ill? She forgets me, doesn''t recognize me, hates me. I''m her child-why doesn''t she see me? How can she do this to me?"


    M didn''t answer, but her eyes were nk with confusion.


    It was the first time she''d ever heard Lysander talk about his family, as strange and unreadable as he was himself.


    So even he wasn''t whole.


    She lifted her head, staring out at the never-ending fireworks. Even the brightest burst onlysted a moment before fading away. No matter how beautiful, nothing was ever perfect.


    Another spray of fireworks lit up the sky, and she heard his voice, sharp and raw, exploding in her ear just like the fireworks outside.


    "Hold me, M. Please just hold me."


    "I''m so tired."


    She couldn''t tell what she was feeling-fear? Habit? Loneliness on New Year''s Eve? Or something deeper, carved into her from long ago?


    Her mind was a mess.


    She didn''t know.


    Slowly, M turned,


    and cupped his face in her hands. The kaleidoscope of fireworks cast his features


    in an ethereal glow, his handsome face lit up with a rare vulnerability she''d never seen before. The light flickered in his tear-filled eyes, breaking him open in a way that was heartbreakingly beautiful.


    She lowered her head, pressing her forehead to his.


    Neither of them spoke.


    Time seemed to hold its breath.


    After a while, she pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, then his nose-barely a whisper of warmth. Their breath mingled, soft and close, as if she was trying to soothe him.


    It wasn''t passion, not like before-just a simple, tender touch that went straight to the heart.


    It felt safe.


    Hisshes trembled, but he didn''t lose control, didn''t reach for her as he usually did. He just let her hold him, let her run her fingers through his hair and stroke his back, let her whisper softly in his ear.


    "Happy New Year. I''m here with you."


    Outside, fireworks bloomed, casting rainbows across the room. They clung to each other as if the rest of the world had fallen away.


    Lysander let himself be held,forted by her warmth, her gentle hands. His eyes at peace for once.


    He thought,


    He hadn''t been wrong after all.


    Even if it was all just a beautiful illusion, as long as he could hold onto it, it was his -and he''d never let go.


    He pulled her closer, as if he could fuse her into his very soul.


    That night, he did nothing but hold her, sitting together at the window, watching


    fireworks until sleep finally imed them.


    It was a peace he''d never known before.