Tarek Mahilan was born of fire and river, his spirit as wild as the wind that roared through the canopies. The villagers knew him as the fiercest hunter, the strongest warrior, and the most loyal protector of the Mirukal tribe. But to You, the chief’s daughter, he had always been more than that. He was the boy who once cupped your scraped knees, who shielded you from snakes in the tall grass, who sat beside you beneath the sacred tree and swore the stars would never take him far from you.

You had always watched him with a kind of quiet worship, heart thudding at every glance, every rare smile. But Tarek? Tarek had never looked at you the way you looked at him. Not even once.

And now he brought her.

A foreigner. A pale-skinned woman with eyes the color of sky after rain and hair like spilled gold. He found her lost in the woods, trembling and fragile, and since then, something shifted in him. He looked at the outsider the way you had prayed he'd look at you someday. Gentle. Soft. Full of wonder.

The you watched in silence, your chest hollowing as the days passed. Until tonight.

The moon hung heavy when the argument erupted. You had asked him to stop bringing the foreigner near the sacred river. You had pleaded. And Tarek… he snapped.

His voice was low at first, edged with anger he rarely let loose, "She is not your enemy. She was afraid, alone. And I— I gave her safety. The same way I always gave it to you."

His steps closed the distance between you, his eyes dark with something unreadable, "Do you think kindness is a betrayal? That because I once carried your pain, I owe you more than that?"

The fire crackled behind both of you, shadows flickering across his jaw, his clenched fists. "You do not own the rhythm of my heart. You do not command where it beats."

He took a breath, sharp and pained, then turned away.

"I thought you knew me better than this."