Seraphina sat quietly beside Alex, her gaze lingering on his pale features for a long time. The wind blew gently as she watched the clouds float by. Looking down at Alex, she could see the way his body fought to remain upright. His usual strength seemed strained to the breaking point. The Nexus integration had taken what Seraphina could only guess was a heavy toll on him, more than he let on.

Even now, the mask of duty he wore didn’t fool her. She knew the look all too well. Each moment was always being watched and assessed. Never getting a moment's rest. No matter how hard they tried.

She reached out, her hand hesitating just for a moment before settling gently on his arm. The heat that she felt coming off his arm was startling. "Alex," she said softly, her voice laced with concern. "Let me help. You're burning up. Let me take you to your room. You need rest."

Alex opened his mouth to protest, but no words came. Instead, a pained grimace flickered across his face, and he nodded almost reluctantly as though he couldn’t find the energy to resist. She helped him to his feet with a bit of effort, and his weight as he leaned against her caught her off guard. He was heavier than he looked, though she bore his weight with surprising strength for someone of her slender build.

Elara, standing nearby, took a step forward, her sharp eyes flashing with disapproval. "My lady, please let me. It’s not your place to…"

Seraphina cut her off, her tone firm but not unkind. "If we are to marry, Elara, I will be expected to support my husband. This is part of that. If I can't be there for him when he needs me, what’s the point?"

Elara opened her mouth to argue further, but Seraphina silenced her with a single look. It wasn’t often that she wielded her authority so directly with her lady-in-waiting, but now wasn’t the time for her arguments. Elara’s protectiveness, while well-intentioned, wasn’t what Alex needed right now.

"Go find Jax," Alex rasped, his voice strained as he struggled to get the words out. "Please… Tell him I need him."

Seraphina looked at Elara pleadingly. “Please.” She said, “Go find him. Tell him I will get Alex to his room.”

Elara, though clearly unhappy with the situation, gave a stiff nod. “If you harm one hair. I swear….” She cast one last lingering glance at Seraphina before turning on her heel and stalking off into the corridor, her footsteps echoing through the stone halls.

With Elara gone, the tension in the air seemed to ease slightly. Seraphina gently guided Alex forward, her arm steadying him as they made their way toward his room. They walked down corridor after corridor. Seraphina was shocked that she hadn’t found any of the house's servants. Normally, they could be seen everywhere. It seemed something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

The journey felt longer than it should have been, Alex’s weight becoming heavier with each step, though Seraphina would not let it show. She could feel his body tense with each laboured breath; the effort of walking clearly taxed him more than it should have been.

‘How long has he been fighting this.’ Thought Seraphina ‘They should never have let him leave the procedure room. Alex is barely even aware of his surroundings now.’ She grunted as she shifted Alex’s weight around. While passing a vase on her left, Seraphina noticed the tall single flower. Her mind wandered back to the gardens, and she wondered why Elara kept interrupting. ‘I’ve never had to tell Elara off before. I don't know what has gotten into her.’ Her brow scrunched in thought. ‘She clearly has something against Alex.’

Finally, after what felt like ages to Seraphina, they reached his room. Each step was now sending a wave of nausea through Alex as the door to his room slid open with a soft hiss. The doorway revealed a sprawling chamber far grander than any room she had ever seen.

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It was opulent, even by noble standards—rich tapestries lined the walls, and the bed itself was massive, draped in silken sheets and plush pillows. Artifacts from across the galaxy decorated every surface, making the room feel more like a museum than a personal space.

Seraphina raised an eyebrow, her voice light with amusement despite the situation. "This room is... over the top," she said, glancing around. "Do you need a map to find the bed?"

Alex let out a weak chuckle, though it quickly dissolved into a low groan as Seraphina guided him to where the bed was. He sank onto the edge of the enormous bed. "It’s... a bit much, isn’t it?" he muttered softly, rubbing his temple. The pounding in his head seemed to intensify as a shake made its way through his body. Alex groaned once again. “It’s so cold in here.”

Seraphina knelt beside him, her hands gentle but firm as she helped him ease back onto the bed. His body sagged into the soft mattress, and she could see the way the tension left his muscles, though the pain still lingered in his eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she propped a pillow beneath his head before sliding onto the bed beside him, lifting his head off the pillow to rest it on her lap.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The quiet hum of the estate’s systems was the only sound, a soft, constant buzz in the background. Seraphina’s fingers began to slowly trace through his soft hair, a soothing gesture she hadn’t even realised she was making. His hair was soft, slightly damp from the sweat beading on his brow, and she brushed it back from his face with care.

As she looked down at him, something inside her slowly shifted. He looked so vulnerable like this. So different from the confident, reckless man who had kissed her hours before. She found herself wondering what had driven him to want the Nexus integration so badly in the first place, to push himself to such extremes. Was it duty? Pride? Or something deeper, something more personal?

Her mind drifted back to her family, to the heavy conversations that had brought her to this moment. She had been raised on duty. She knew it intimately. Every action and every decision is shaped by the expectations of the House Valtor. Her parents had meticulously planned marriage, alliances and her very future. She was the obedient daughter, the one who had never questioned the path laid out before her.

And yet, here she was, sitting on a bed with a man’s head in her lap. A man who had been thrust into her life through an arrangement she had no say in. A man who, despite his flaws, despite how much she had initially hated the idea, was becoming more than just an obligation.

There was something about him. Something in the way he fought through the pain, the way he had kissed her with such raw, unfiltered emotion. That emotion now made her wonder if this wasn’t just about duty anymore.

"I never expected this," she murmured, more to herself than to him. "Any of this."

Alex’s eyes fluttered open slightly, though they were heavy with exhaustion. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated, choosing her words carefully, as she always did. "I mean... I never thought I’d be in this position. Arranged marriages are... they’re meant to be about politics and alliances. But with you..." Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head slightly. "It’s different. I don’t know how to explain it."

He didn’t respond right away, but his hand moved slowly, weakly, to rest on hers where it lay against his chest. The simple gesture sent a warmth through her, a connection that neither of them had asked for but was undeniably real.

"I never wanted this either," he said quietly. "But maybe... maybe we can make it work. Maybe we can…" Alex drifted off before he could finish the sentence.

She smiled faintly, a soft, almost wistful smile. "Maybe we can. Only time will tell."

The silence between them stretched out, comfortable now, as she continued to gently stroke his hair. She heard him whimper as he slept Before he started letting out unintelligible words. He groaned again as Seraphina softly stroked his head. She listened to him begin pleading with someone. Begging them to stop something.

She looked down at his face with concern. “What the… What did they do to you?” She whispered softly. Worry bit at her. She felt he needed her, maybe just as much as she needed him.

At that moment, with Alex resting in her lap, Seraphina felt something shift within her. For the first time, she allowed herself to think beyond her family's expectations, beyond the rigid structure of duty that had defined her life for so long.

Maybe, just maybe, there was a future with Alex that she could shape for herself. A future not just of obligation but of choice. Of possibility. Of something that might even, one day, be love.

For now, though, she was content to sit here, holding him, knowing that, at this moment, she wasn’t just fulfilling her duty.

She was finally being herself