Chapter 132

ANDRES Terrified gasp sliced through the silence, flying my eyes open. I sat up instantly, my instincts faster and sharper. Valentina struggles in my embrace, her breathing ragged and frantic, as though she is submerged in something beyond my ability to reach. “Valentina!” I grip her tighter, pulling her against me, my voice breaking through the hazy moonlight. “What is it?” Her lashes fluttered, terror still clinging like shadows around her. She doesn’t answer at first, only trembling in my hold. My heart felt like it’s being ripped from my chest. “Valentina,” I breathed her name again, softer this time, almost pleading. “N-nothing,” she whispered, her voice still shaking slightly. “Just a dream…” A dream… The word tasted too bitter in my ear. She's lying. I have lived too long to know this was not just any dream, this was something else—something clawing into her which she won't share with me. She hummed softly as she pressed her face into my chest. I curled my arms around her, holdi