Ch-178. Hiraeth

Ashley's POV:

My heartbeat, which was already engaged in a race against time to establish a world record, ends up breaking its own personal record.

It is showing no signs of calming down, making my heart miss a beat as the sudden warmth of his embrace surrounds me in it with a strong sense of familiarity, like I have always been here and never left this place at all… like it has always been in my heart.

As if, for these five years, I have been suspended in the bittersweet realm of hiraeth.

Only to find my home again.

But I know things are different than what seems on the surface.

Everything that I am feeling… everything that I am going through– it is not the real oasis but the mirage, which has started to blind my vision after five years of wandering.

I try to pull myself away, to get out of this hug so that I can reach the panel and press the button to open the elevator, as forcefully as I can and frequently as well.

But soon after, I realize that it is of no use at all, we are