CHAPTER 109

It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

Every single moment Kylo entered the room, I had this sensation of constriction in my thorax. Not due to the fact that I did not want him there, but rather because I did want him there.

The realization became worse with every passing day knowing that holding on to those passionate emotions would result in more agony once our affair came to an end.

I needed to distance myself, to protect what little was left of my heart. But Kylo was making it impossible. Every gentle smile, every lingering touch, every fleeting kiss made me want to believe that there was more to this than a contract.

That maybe, somehow, he felt the same way I did. But I couldn't allow myself to be fooled by hope.

Our contract was still there, a quiet shadow that never left my mind. It loomed over every moment, every interaction, reminding me that whatever tenderness I was seeing from Kylo was temporary.

Today was no different. Kylo had come home earlier than usual. H