The kettle started whistling loudly and Tristian got up with a sigh. My eyes followed him as I leaned on my cheek on my palm.

He moved around the kitchen as if he lived here. He knew where I kept the mugs, the tea bags, and honey. He poured the hot water in one of my big mugs and dipped in the tea bag.

He finally took off his long coat and stood there just with a long sleeve black turtleneck with a light sweatshirt. His hood covered his hair and ears, much to my disappointment. His sweatpants seemed to be tighter without his long coat on.

I quickly looked away when Tristian came over and placed the tea in front of me. I muttered thanks and played around with the tea bag.

Tristian folded his arms over the table and sighed again. "It wasn't your fault."

I sniffled and took a small sip. "I know it wasn't. I just can't help it. If I—"

"You could not have done anything to change what was in store for her. No amount of 'ifs' can change it. There was no way you could have known."

I ran my hands through my hair and teared up. "She didn't deserve it, Tristian. She didn't deserve going out the way she did."

"People are the most creative creatures on Earth. It's... horrible how it can be used in so many ways."

I took a deep breath in and dried my eyes. "I hate people."

Tristian softly chuckled and reached across the table. He warped his fingers around my arms and slowly lowered my arms. He held my hands and rubbed my knuckles until I looked at him.

"I hate people, too."

I forced a small smile and glanced at the time on the microwave.

It was only ten.

I yawned and Tristian pulled away as he stood up. "You should take a nap before you pick up Drakon from school." He said as if he read my mind.

I nodded and drank the rest of my tea as Tristian pulled on his coat. I quickly washed the mug and dried my hands as Tristian opened the back door.

He paused halfway out the door and looked back at me. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

I nodded and he left with a small wave. Throwing the hand towel on the counter, I turned off the lights and dragged my feet up the steps.

I yawned again and grabbed my phone as I laid on the bed with a heavy sigh. I scrolled through my music on my phone and played "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. I put my phone down on the nightstand and turned over on my stomach.

I tucked my hands under my pillow and hummed along until I felt my eyes give out towards the ending of the song.

It didn't feel like five seconds had passed by when I was woken up by someone's arm draped over my waist.

My heart jumped to my throat and I wanted to turn around, but my body was frozen. I couldn't move and my eyes slowly opened to see the moonlight cast shadows over the bed.

I started to panic and as I looked around the room, my heart calmed down to its normal rate. This wasn't my bedroom. There were no windows in my bedroom and I didn't remember lighting a candle or owning a cabin.

From the candlelight and the moonlight, I could see the cabin was homemade, old, and disorganized. There were leaves everywhere and clothes. The old squeaky mattress was on the floor and chair next to me held some books and the candle.

I breathed in deeply as the wind blew in through the open window. I turned over to lie on my back and glanced up.

I couldn't see who was next to me as the shadow covered his face up to his mouth. I reached up and cupped his stubble cheek.

A million questions started running through my head and I only could watch as if I wasn't in control of my own body.

The man hummed and tightened his hold. He kissed the top of my head and my lips formed a smile.

"I wish we could stay here forever." I whispered, turning my body to face him.

It was only then that I realized I was naked under the covers. I wanted to pull the covers up higher to my chest, but my arms were locked.

The man sighed and ran his knuckle over my cheek. "We can, but he will find us here."

I frowned and propped myself up on my elbow to glance at the door behind the man. "Why don't we run away together?"

The man chuckled and I found myself memorized by his beautiful smile. "We tried that once and we couldn't get through your backyard without you going back."

I glared at him and dropped back on the bed. "But this time, he is taking care of his business in Britain, which is on the other side of the sea."

He sighed and leaned over to kiss me on the lips. My eyes fluttered shut and I ran my hands through his soft hair and gripped at it as his hand ran down my thigh.

I pulled for air and he rubbed his nose against mine. "I don't ever want to sleep another night without you or him."

He exhaled through his nose and he got off of me. I opened my eyes and saw him sitting up, the shadow covering his face and part of his neck.

"What?" I said, pulling the covers to my chest and sitting up next to him.

"It's that... We... He's my brother and you..." He stuttered, trailing off as he ran his hands through his hair.

"He and I are nothing." I snapped, knowing where this was going. "I was forced to marry him because my—"

"Yeah, I know. Your parents needed money."

"So then you must also know that I don't love him."

"We could be in a lot of trouble if we're caught." He said.

I felt my eyes roll and my back leaned against the cold wall. "Why do we always have this talk every single time we get to be alone, Tristian?" I asked, feeling my throat close up.

He came out from the shadows and gave me a small kiss on the lips again. He leaned on my forehead and I could only make out his soft brown eyes.

"We always have this talk because I know we'll never be together forever." He whispered, his breath fanning my lips and a tear escaping his eye. "And that hurts me, Varia."

I woke up with a sharp gasp and I sat up. I grabbed my phone and stopped the music. I sighed in relief when I saw an hour has passed by.

I put my phone down and buried my hands in my hair as I rested my elbows on my knees. I stared at the thread work of my blanket as I tried to remember what my dream was.

Only bits of it came back to me and I felt a shiver go through me when I remembered the names.

Tristian. The man's name was Tristian. And he called me Varia.

Was the dream one of those futuristic or a fantasy dream?

"It couldn't be..." I muttered to myself when I remembered us saying "him".

He and I are nothing. I remembered saying.

He's my brother. I remembered him saying.

I covered my face with my hands and threw myself back on the bed. It had to be one of those fantasy dreams.

I remembered having weird fantasy dreams when I first dated Javon. The odd one that always stood out was when we were dancing in a beautiful ballroom and in Europe as everyone had an accent.

Javon was the drop-dead gorgeous man in the ballroom and when we danced, everyone's eyes were on us. It felt like I was having my Cinderella moment and I couldn't stop smiling like a fool.

The music was all instrumental and pretty old for my taste. In fact, everyone dressed in big puffy dreams and breeches with stockings and long coats or cloaks.

The room felt hot and crowded, especially with all the women's dress taking up half the space.

When the long song finally finished, everyone applauded and a new song started playing. We stepped to the side and Javon's face brightened up when he saw someone.

"Ah! You have finally arrived. Come. I want you to meet my wife." He said with a cheery tone as he waved someone over.

I remembered my heart fluttered when he called me his wife.

I sat up again as I remembered the man hug Javon and then turned to me. His eyes were what first caught my attention.

He had the warmest brown eyes I had ever seen.

"This is my brother Tristian. Tristian, this is Varia." I said aloud as Javon introduced me to his brother in my head.

He and I are nothing.

He's my brother.

"I need help..." I whispered and quickly scramble out of my bed.