𝙰𝙽 𝚄𝙽𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚁 𝚂𝙸𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴𝚂 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙻𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙰 𝙼𝙾𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 , his gaze tracing every inch of the her face. he tells himself that he can pretend for a little while, but can he really ? mere seconds with jina and already it’s almost like they’re back home, back in their younger days, where they stayed away from his father and whatever he had to offer. — like it was just marcus and jina against the world, the way they always felt like it was. i’ll come back, i promise. but like all promises that are made when things are entirely impossible to come back from .. it’s a lie. noticing her hand fleeting away, he has no shame and quickly reaches for it, resting his cheek against her palm. holding the back of her hand gently, he hates to admit how he could almost cry out of relief. for just a split second he wonders if he truly had made a mistake, if it was only him who had their prior encounter on his mind in the days that had followed. ❛ don’t go. ❜ jina is far too precious, too important for him to risk losing again, even if he may now only regard her as something lesser than what he might truly desire. ❛ i .. i can’t let you go. ❜
𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂𝙽'𝚃 𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙴𝚇𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙻𝚈 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙷𝙴'𝚂 𝙸𝙽𝚅𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾, but at this rate, it will cost him his whole life. if isabella were to find out through jina about their past, then he could kiss his life goodbye. what would kill him first ? isabella ? the italians ? or the fbi ? he couldn’t run away, he couldn’t leave julian behind and have him live the same fate as jina once did. releasing her hand wasn’t easy but the glint of a silver sparkle caught his eye. he was surprised that she held onto these for so long. she could’ve done anything to them : throw them into a river, sell them for money or crush them with a hammer but she didn’t. she kept them, and brought them here. they had shared many tears together before , both happy and heart-wrenching. but these tears ? had been stained with so much regret. he regretted the wedge he had placed between them , more than he could express within any apology. he fell victim to teary eyes , and instead of showcasing them, he leans in. their lips only centimeters apart, and at this point, their breaths are mingling, the heat rising to his cheeks as his gaze flickers down to her mouth. ❛ don’t give them to me .. just – ❜
゛ ; 🕊 » HIS WORDS LINGER IN THE AIR, the fragile layer of thin bitterness dissolving into ambiguity. before she came here, she’s made a choice. she’d remain in the state of being unloved rather than risking to let marcus break her again. but why was she slipping ? slipping again, slipping through the cracks of her sanity. her heart tainted by the present, trickling away for words supposed to long have lost their meaning. words that she should recognize as lies, instead of letting it feed her heart. making it swell and ache for what ifs. what if she believed him ? what if she gave in to her feelings ? what if nothing has changed at all ? – would a piece of her heart be returned ? “ you have to. ” her words didn’t match her expression. she didn’t pull away. the warmth of his face washing through her, turning her rationality into something less tangible. “ you already did it once. ” and yet he’d never lost her. even when she abandoned her. even when she had lost him. she’d promised him to stay by his side, but was a promise meant to be kept if it only devoured her ?
jina thought she’d fall into disarray, yet a trace of marcus’ eyes that bore tears and she went into pieces. movements shaped so naturally by the past, ( unextinguished ) , tender fingers wiping his tears, “ keep them ” her lips like a caress, brushing his with every syllable. , eyes brimming with longing ; prepared to be devastated by him. one split second of selfishness; the desire to uproot fate, and her morals would crumble like burnt paper. her mouth parted in anticipation, almost giving in, almost, yet guilt crept up her throat, blurring her words. “ we shouldn’t do that. ” she whispered, placing her hands against his chest and gently pushing him away. as much as she wanted this, she couldn’t ruin his happiness, she couldn’t ruin the family he already had. time would never fix her pain, his name would always remind her of the memories he’d left behind ; and the bitterness at the world would remain, always wondering why it has taken him away from her. but she’d tell herself to move on, carrying a lie until she could somehow endure it. “ this … this place, it’s where we met for the first time, ” her voice cracked, almost breaking “ and this is where we’re supposed to end … because … ” tears burned for release, tears she could barely control. “ i just – i just can’t pretend to be happy for you .. — without me ... ”