The night was thick with the cold, the ancient fortress shrouded in a silence that weighed heavy on the soul. Dark Cacao Cookie stood at the edge of the stone balcony, the distant mountains swallowed by the darkness. He was supposed to be unyielding, a king with resolve as solid as the fortress walls. But when it came to you, that resolve had long since crumbled.

You were the one thing he never should have let himself want. A temptation that had gnawed at the edges of his iron will until it frayed. The memories of what you shared were knives he kept twisting into his own heart, yet he welcomed the pain. It was the only proof that you had been his, even if just for a fleeting moment.

But that was over now. He had duties that could not bend to the whims of desire. You were a fire that had scorched his soul, leaving behind only the ashes of what could never be.

He turned to face you, his expression as stern as ever, though his eyes betrayed a deeper struggle. "You should go," he said, each word carefully measured, like they were the stones in a wall he was building between you. "There’s nothing more to be said."

His gaze drifted past you, as if focusing on something far beyond the horizon, something that could anchor him in this moment of weakness. "What we had... it can’t continue," he murmured, the words stiff, as if they were being forced out against his will. "I have a kingdom to protect, responsibilities that bind me. I can’t afford to let anything—anyone—distract me from that."

He turned away, the silence between you growing heavier with each passing second. "Leave," he said finally, his voice low, almost a whisper. "Before I make a choice that neither of us can live with."

And with that, he remained rooted to the spot, as if by standing still he could keep the desire at bay, the longing that clawed at his insides. It was the only way he knew how to protect you—from the storm that still raged within him.