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Luca had always imagined that if Damien ever broke up with him, it would be dramatic.

Maybe they'd have a huge fight. Maybe Luca would throw something at him, storm out, slam the door so hard it echoed for days.

But instead—

Instead, Damien just looked at him one night, with an expression so eerily calm it sent a chill down Luca's spine, and said—

"My feelings have changed."

Luca blinked.

"What?"

"I don't feel the same anymore."

Luca let out a short laugh. "Haha. Funny. Alright, what's really going on?"

But Damien didn't crack a smile.

Didn't tease him. Didn't mess with him.

Just stood there. Cold. Detached. Distant.

And then he said it again.

"I don't love you anymore."

It was like the words knocked the air out of Luca's lungs.

At first, Luca thought it was Alina.

Of course, it had to be her.

But then—no.

Damien didn't go back to her.

And worse? Nobody gave him answers.

He went to Damien's headquarters.

The guards who used to greet him like an old friend? Now, they refused to let him in.

He called Damien. No answer.

He called Andre. No answer.

He called Elias. Blocked.

It was like, overnight, he'd been erased from Damien's world.

Like he never mattered.

Like he never even existed.

And Luca didn't know what to do.

Days passed. Then a week.

Luca felt hollow.

Mochi curled up against his chest at night, sensing his heartbreak, but even that didn't fill the Damien-shaped void in his life.

He couldn't eat. He couldn't sleep.

And worst of all?

A part of him still waited.

Waited for Damien to show up and say it was all a joke.

That it was a mistake.

That he didn't mean it.

But Damien never came back.

And Luca started to realize— This wasn't just a bad dream.

This was real.

Damien was gone.

And Luca had never felt so alone.

Luca gasped, sitting up so fast he nearly tumbled off the bed. His heart was hammering, his breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps, and for a moment—he didn't know where he was.

His eyes darted around. Dark room. Silky sheets. The familiar scent of expensive cologne and leather.

Home.

He was home.

He turned his head, barely daring to believe it—

And there he was.

Damien.

Fast asleep, one arm slung over Luca's waist, holding him in place like he always did. Like he was afraid Luca would disappear if he didn't.

Luca sucked in a sharp breath, a lump forming in his throat.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

A cruel, awful nightmare that had felt too real.

Luca shuddered, his body still trembling from the phantom pain of Damien's words, of the heartbreak that had felt like it had ripped him apart.

But none of it had happened.

Damien never left.

Damien still loved him.

Damien was right here.

Luca let out a breathy, almost hysterical chuckle as the relief crashed into him all at once.

Damien stirred beside him, groaning softly at the movement. "Hnng...Luca?" His voice was deep, raspy, tired. One golden eye cracked open, brows furrowing as he sensed something was wrong. "What's up, sweetheart?"

Luca didn't say anything.

He couldn't.

Instead, he threw himself at Damien, burying his face in his chest, wrapping his arms around him tight like he was afraid he'd disappear.

Damien tensed for only a second before his arms came around Luca just as tightly.

"Luca..." His voice softened. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Luca mumbled, voice muffled against Damien's bare skin.

"Doesn't feel like nothing." Damien's hand ran up and down Luca's back in slow, lazy strokes, soothing him. His lips pressed against the top of Luca's head, warm and grounding. "Talk to me, baby."

Luca swallowed hard before whispering, "I had a nightmare."

Damien stilled. "...Bad?"

Luca nodded.

"...Want to talk about it?"

Luca hesitated. He knew it was stupid. It was just a dream. But the fear still clung to him like cobwebs.

"...You left me."

Damien's arms tightened around him instantly. Possessive. Fierce.

"Never," he growled. A promise. A vow.

Luca closed his eyes as warmth flooded through him.

"I know," he murmured.

Damien pulled back just enough to tip Luca's chin up, forcing their eyes to meet. Golden to deep brown.

"I would never," he repeated, firmer this time. "Not in this life or the next." His thumb traced over Luca's cheek, gentle despite the fire in his eyes.

Luca exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

The nightmare still lingered in the back of his mind, but with Damien here, with Damien's arms around him, his warmth, his presence—

It didn't matter.

Because this was real.

And Damien wasn't going anywhere.

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