୧ 𝓔 ＲＩＣ ＧＡＲＣÍＡ
THE GALA GLITTERED — CHANDELIERS SCATTERING GOLD ACROSS POLISHED GLASS, LAUGHTER RISING AND FALLING LIKE WAVES AROUND YOU. Music pulsed softly, blending into the hum of voices and the clinking of champagne flutes. Pedri had brought you along, his protective hand at your back when you arrived, his pride almost tangible when he introduced you to the others.
But it wasn’t Pedri’s eyes you felt on you now.
It was Eric’s.
Across the room, his gaze followed you with a quiet ferocity that no polite smile could soften. He watched as Gavi leaned in closer, his boyish grin pulling laughter from your lips. The two of you glowed under the chandelier’s light, an easy rhythm building between you — one Eric knew too well, and hated seeing slip from his grasp.
His jaw tightened, his glass untouched in his hand. Every flicker of your smile toward Gavi was a knife, every soft touch of your fingers against his sleeve a spark of something Eric couldn’t smother anymore.
When your eyes lifted — almost by accident, almost like you felt the burn of his stare — you found him.
And that was when you knew.
Because his eyes didn’t lie.
Not when they burned with love, not when jealousy curled hot in their depths, not when the raw need of him — of everything he’d never said — reached across the crowded room and pinned you in place.
You broke the stare first, heart racing, pretending to listen to whatever Gavi was saying. But the moment had already rooted itself in you. Eric’s silence spoke louder than any words he could have whispered in your ear.
@𝓜𝐑𝐒𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒𝐒