Because to love is to be vulnerable.
Yasmin
Rejection
His eyes sparkled like molten gold. She could feel his power burning through her skin, raw and intense, where his hands pierced her arms. She knew she should be scared but, instead, she was inexplicable drawn to him. She wanted nothing more than to be held by those arms that could easily burn this world and the next. Besides, his words hurt her more than his hands could ever do…
"Do you understand? We have to end this."
He looked deep into her dazed blue eyes. He was a demon. She, a fallen angel. There was no place in any of the known worlds for a love like that. It was strictly forbidden. The contact between such powerful opposite entities was too dangerous to ever be allowed.
He had the knowledge of the times. For centuries he had roamed world after world and never, since the apocalypse, a creature of the dark like him had been allowed to touch such a light creature as that in front of him. But Kaoru, this beautiful and stubborn angel, was too young to understand that and was incredibly naïve. She had yet much to see, much to experience and much to learn.
"But I don't care about our differences! You might be a demon but that doesn't make you one of the bad guys. Why can't they see that?"
Always an idealist… And that idealism was the main reason why she had been expelled of her own heaven. But even a fallen angel was not allowed to fall in love for a demon. He knew that. And deep down, she knew that as well.
He relaxed his grip on her and brought one hand to caress her cheek. Her skin felt like velvet on his fingers. He couldn't bear hurting her but the fate that awaited them if they followed this course was ten thousand times worse.
"You know that they will never allow something like this. They will haunt us down and… you know what the punishment for something like this is. I could never do that to you."
Because the punishment for such a crime was an atrocity far worse than death. No living soul deserved such a treatment, much less such a vulnerable and trusting creature as the fallen angel in front of him, whom had stolen his heart.
He loved her like he had never loved another soul. Her sweet and innocent smile had brought peace to his turbulent heart, her kindness conveyed warmth to his cold life. She had been so receptive of him that he had let his guard down to a point of almost no return. Until he realized what she was and how forbidden their relationship was…
His eyes traced her face: her caring blue eyes, sparkling with unshed tears; her cute little nose that used to buried on his neck seeking for warm in the cold mountain air; those rosy lips he loved to kiss to infinity… How he wished that her idealism could become a reality… But no, the reality was harsh and cruel. They could never be together. Never.
"I'm sorry."
He tenderly caressed her hair, then leaned his forehead towards hers. He rested there for a while, with his eyes closed.
"You know how I feel about you. Never doubt that."
He looked into her eyes one more time, before cupping her face in his hands and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, full of sweetness and sadness. This was his goodbye. To protect her, he would never see her again.
And, with that last kiss, he left her alone in the dark.
She just stayed there, watching him disappear into the night. Although the pain of the loss was too much for her to bear, no tear escaped from her eyes. She was tired of crying, tired of suffering, tired of losing but, most of all, she was tired of being alone. But alone was what she was, again…
Nonetheless, she couldn't allow herself to be defeated. So, after a moment, she hold her head high and proud, turned her back to that cursed place and walked away – carrying the bittersweet pain of rejection piercing through her broken heart.