Confined within the warm embrace of his mate, Luke drifted into the dreamland

Only, the dream that found him was one he wished had stayed buried.

It showed him a past so distant that, at first, it felt like he was peering into the life of a stranger. A forgotten existence. A previous incarnation.

Then realization struck.

It wasn’t someone else’s life.

It was his own.

A memory from his past life.

There had been a time when Luke had grown unbearably exhausted with living. The endless family politics, the suffocating expectations, the relentless pressure of work. Every day felt like another weight chained around his neck. He no longer wanted to fight. He no longer wanted to think.

He simply wanted to rest.

To let go.

And it was during one such night, driving aimlessly through empty roads with alcohol clouding his senses, that he stumbled upon a church on the outskirts of town.

Small and solitary, it stood tucked away among dark fields and old trees. The distant glow of the city couldn’t reach it. The constant noise of urban life seemed to dissolve before crossing its grounds, leaving behind only silence and the whisper of the night wind.

His thoughts were sluggish, his eyes heavy. Finding his way home felt impossible.

So he decided to stay there for the night.

Broken and hollow, he pushed open the church doors.

The scent of aged wood and melting candle wax lingered in the air. Moonlight filtered through stained-glass windows, scattering faint patches of color across the stone floor. The vast emptiness should have felt cold, yet somehow it didn’t.

His gaze landed on a simple wooden pew.

A quiet place to sit and settle his thoughts.

Yet for reasons he couldn’t explain, his unsteady feet carried him elsewhere.

To the confession box.

The cramped wooden compartment welcomed him with darkness. He lowered himself onto the seat and stared at the small latticed screen separating him from the other side.

The place where people confessed their sins.

The place where priests listened to burdens too heavy to carry alone.

Normally, someone would be there. A saintly figure. A man of God ready to offer comfort, guidance, or forgiveness.

But it was the middle of the night.

Luke expected no one.

Perhaps that was exactly why he began to speak.

Words spilled from him like water breaking through a dam.

His grief.

His exhaustion.

The crushing loneliness he hid beneath the confident mask everyone knew.

His fears.

His guilt.

His anger at a world that never seemed satisfied no matter how much he gave.

Everything he had buried for years poured out into the darkness.

He confessed it all.

Not to a priest.

Not to God.

Only to the silence.

And when the torrent finally ended, his throat burned and his eyes stung with tears.

His mind felt distant and hazy, drifting somewhere between drunkenness and despair.

Yet even through that fog, he heard a voice.

Soft and comforting.

A voice that said,

"You reek. Get out."

Luke blinked.

First of all, why was someone up at this hour.

And, this wasn’t exactly the profound wisdom one hoped to receive after exposing their soul.

The unmistakable irritation in that voice made it painfully clear that whoever had listened to his tragic confession possessed absolutely no sympathy for him.

Offended, he immediately pushed open the door and stumbled out.

Then he marched around to the other side and yanked open the opposite door.

And that was when he saw her.

Hair the color of molten fire cascaded around her shoulders, vivid enough to brighten the dim church.

Large golden eyes trembled with emotion.

Her face was delicate, almost doll-like in its perfection.

And despite the annoyed expression she was desperately trying to maintain, tears glistened in those beautiful eyes.

She was crying.

Crying after listening to his story.

Yet she still pretended to be completely unaffected.

As though the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks belonged to someone else.

"You... get out." She sniffled, hastily wiping at her eyes. "You were supposed to be some drunken idiot. Who gave you permission to make me feel this terrible?"

Her voice carried more frustration than anger, trembling beneath the weight of emotions she was trying desperately to hide.

Luke could only stare.

For a moment, words abandoned him completely.

A beautiful woman was crying for him. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Not because she knew him. Not because she owed him anything. She was a stranger who had simply listened, yet tears shimmered in her golden eyes as though his pain had somehow become her own.

Rationally, he knew it was part of her calling. The black-and-white habit she wore made that obvious enough. A nun was meant to offer compassion to those who suffered.

Yet in his fragile state, reason felt distant.

All he could see was her.

The way her fiery red hair caught the moonlight filtering through the stained-glass windows.

The way her lashes glistened with unshed tears.

The way she tried so hard to look annoyed while her heart betrayed her.

Something deep inside him stirred.

A feeling warm and unfamiliar tugged at the corners of his battered soul.

Before he fully understood what he was doing, he closed the distance between them.

The moment hung suspended in the silent church.

She stiffened in surprise, but she did not immediately pull away.

Perhaps she saw a broken man reaching for comfort.

Perhaps she was too overwhelmed by her own emotions to react.

Or perhaps she simply didn’t know what to do.

Whatever the reason, neither of them stepped back.

The boundary between compassion and something far more dangerous blurred beneath the dim candlelight.

Luke thought he desired her however, as time passed he realised how much she needed him.

Outside, the night remained still.

Inside, beneath sacred ceilings built to absolve sins, two lost souls drifted toward a mistake they would never be able to forget.

....

"Mm..." Luke mumbled in his sleep as he opened his eyes and saw Monica comfortably sleeping in his arms.

He touched his eyes and realized he was crying.

’Averis...’ He thought of the name...that woman who once pulled him out of the darkness and gave him a reason to survive.

That mermaid...she reminded him so much of her.

’System...I want to see her.’

He knew he was being a bastard to leave his mate like to meet another woman, but his heart needed it.

He wanted to see her once again.

•••••••

A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter..