[CHAPTER 42]

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

TITLE : QUIET AT THE BLACK LAKE

THE BLACK LAKE SHIMMERED under the soft glow of the evening sun, rippling gently as a breeze passed over its surface. The air was crisp but pleasant, the scent of damp earth and pine filling the space around them.

Ellie sat on a thick branch of an old tree near the lake, her back leaning against the sturdy trunk as she lazily twirled a leaf between her fingers.

Mattheo stood below her, arms crossed, watching her with a raised brow. "You're going to fall," he remarked.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I won't. I have excellent balance, thank you very much."

His skepticism was clear, but he didn't argue. Instead, he reached up, resting his hands on her waist as if testing her stability. "Still, wouldn't hurt to be careful."

She grinned, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "Oh, so you care?"

Mattheo scoffed, but the slight pink on his ears gave him away. "Obviously."

Before he could say anything else, Ellie suddenly leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and using her momentum to pull herself down onto him.

The shift was so unexpected that Mattheo barely managed to steady himself as she landed in his lap, straddling him with ease.

He sucked in a breath, his hands instinctively gripping her hips to keep her steady. "Bloody hell, Ellie—"

She giggled, resting her forehead against his. "Told you I wouldn't fall."

Mattheo exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "You're a menace."

"And yet, you love me," she quipped, running her fingers through his messy hair.

His grip on her waist tightened slightly as he leaned back against the tree, pulling her closer until there was barely any space left between them. "Yeah," he murmured, his voice quieter now. "I do."

The playfulness faded into something softer, something warmer. Ellie's teasing smirk wavered, replaced by a slow smile as she traced gentle patterns on the back of his neck.

"Good," she whispered. "Because I love you, too."

Mattheo didn't respond with words—he didn't need to. Instead, he closed the space between them, capturing her lips in a slow, deep kiss, one that tasted of promises and the crisp autumn air.

And as the leaves rustled around them and the sun dipped lower into the horizon, neither of them made any move to leave. This was their place. Right here, tangled up in each other beneath the old tree by the Black Lake.

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───