Chapter 214: Breaking Point

Vivian’s POV

Dark circles clung beneath his eyes like deep bruises from endless sleepless nights. His usually neat hair was tousled and unruly, and a scruffy shadow of rough stubble darkened his jaw. If he did not look so completely worn down by the world, I might have found the rugged look quite appealing. But the heavy exhaustion weighed down on him so much that it made his entire presence feel heavy, like the air around him had turned too still to breathe.

I was not even sure he had been sleeping at all during these past few days. There were moments, hazy somewhere between dreams and wakefulness, when I felt like his watchful eyes were locked on me even while I slept deeply. Like he stood like a silent guard through the long night hours.

He roamed the hallways of the house like a restless ghost, always dressed in that same dark black t-shirt and matching sweatpants even in the early hours of the morning, even when the world outside was quiet and still. Sometimes, I would hear him yell downstairs at someone, barking out sharp, demanding orders. I would catch little fragments of his voice. "Handle it without me," or "I do not have time for this." Then he would come back upstairs as if nothing had happened at all, his face smooth and his voice gentle. But the sharp sound of something breaking would always follow right after him. The sound of glass shattering, fabric tearing, and those low, dangerous growls slipping quietly through the silence.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore. I could not just pretend that everything was completely fine anymore.

He was in the kitchen right now, moving around quietly to make breakfast. That had become his new daily routine. He would always gently push me back down onto the bed if I tried to move around too much, brushing it off with soft insistence that my body still needed complete rest. And maybe I had needed it for a while. But not today.

The bedroom was still dim. Thick curtains kept the bright morning light out, but even through the heavy fabric, I could tell the sky outside was gray and churning with clouds. A bad storm was coming. I wrapped my arms around myself and quickly shook the dark thought off. A brand-new day had come, and I needed to be fully present in it.

I let my bare feet fall quietly to the floor, and before I could even take a single full step forward, he was already there.

Zahliver appeared right in front of me as if he had teleported, his eyes wild and his arms outstretched.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice sounding almost frantic. "You need to rest." He was already reaching out to grab my shoulders.

I caught both of his large hands in mine and stood up straight anyway. "Zahliver, I am okay. I have been lying down flat for two straight days. I really need to move my legs."

He tried stepping right in front of me, blocking every single direction I turned like a stubborn wall I could not possibly get around. I let out a long sigh of sheer frustration.

"No, no, no, no," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head rapidly. "You have to sit back down on the bed right now. Do you want water? Food? Anything at all? Just tell me, and I will get it for you immediately."

His voice grew desperate by the end of his sentence, trembling slightly as he hovered close to my side. I shook my head slowly from side to side and reached up, resting my warm palm flat against his rough cheek. My thumb brushed softly against the coarse stubble along his tired jawline.

"You are the one who desperately needs rest," I said quietly to him. "And a long, hot shower. When is the last time you actually slept, or even ate a proper meal?" I frowned deeply at him. He always made sure that I had my meals brought up on time, but he never once sat down to eat with me. He always used the excuse that he had already eaten earlier, or that he simply was not hungry. Just empty excuses.

"I am not important," he said, his voice dropping low and steady. "You are."

"No," I snapped back, sharper and louder than I had originally meant to. "You are important, Zahliver. You cannot keep pouring all your energy into me while running completely on empty yourself. Let me take care of you this time around. Please. I am totally okay now see?"

I turned my body slightly to the side, showing him clearly that I could stand tall, walk on my own, and move freely but his dark expression only grew darker.

"Go lie back down, Vivian," he said softly, but there was no mistaking the absolute command hidden deep within his voice.

I frowned, my arms folding tightly across my chest in defiance. "Zali "

"Go."

"No."

His jaw clenched so tight the muscles jumped. He stepped forward aggressively, tension vibrating fiercely through every single inch of his powerful frame. I backed away a step, lifting my hands up in a silent warning.

"Zahliver, I am fine. It is really okay "

"Stop saying that!" he suddenly snapped, his voice cracking loudly like a bolt of thunder in the quiet room.

I froze in my tracks. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, his knuckles turning stark white. And then I felt it just the faint edge of something breaking through our blocked bond. A sudden flare of raw, blistering emotion. Something burning hot, angry, and deeply scared.

"What is actually happening to you?" I asked softly, taking a step closer to him despite the danger. "You are not acting like yourself, Zahliver... and not in a good way. Please. Let me in."

He started shaking visibly.

His eyes squeezed shut tightly, his jaw locked like he was holding back much more than just simple words. He inhaled sharply through his nose, then grimaced as if the very air itself burned going down his throat.

"It is fine, Vivian," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Everything is fine. Just... go back to bed, sweetheart."

"No, it is not fine at all," I said, my voice rising right along with my racing heartbeat. "That is complete bullshit!"

"ENOUGH!" he roared, his voice dropping deep and guttural, shaking the walls around us.

"NO!" I shouted right back at him, my voice breaking under the strain. "Let me in! What is wrong with you? Whatever it is we are facing, we will deal with it together, as a team!"