Hellbound Heart

It was the most passionate night Elle and Sebastian had ever shared together in the entire duration that they were married. They took pleasure in being in each other's arms and made love to each other to their heart's content. And yet, the entire night was not long enough. It was just not enough. They wanted more time to be with each other like this.

But dawn was coming, ending the night.

Staring quietly at the window, Elle's dazed eyes blinked slowly. She knew it was silly but she still wished the sun would not come out just yet.

The sound of Sebastian's heartbeats was steady and soothing. It was calming as she put her head sideways on his chest, her ears pressed right over his heart. It was like they were his voice whispering to her that everything would be alright. And a small, tender smile tugged at the corner of her lips. That was right. Everything would be alright. This separation would not last long. It was not a permanent parting between them. She was willing to accept this wholeheartedly… she would have anything except him sending her back to Dalenn and never seeing him again.

"I… Iza… Iza…" Sebastian moaned her name. Elle was not sure if he was calling out in his sleep or he had just awakened.

Elle could not say 'yes' because of the weird strain in his voice. So instead, she carefully pulled herself up and looked at him.

His eyes were still closed. "Iza…" he called out again. His brows creased tight.

Looking at him made Elle immediately remember those times when he was calling out for someone else. For Alysa.

She silently took a deep breath. Was she hearing it right? Was he really calling for her name and Alysa's? Or was she just hearing it wrong?

Her heartbeat thudded hard within her chest as she waited for him to speak again. She kept herself still as she held her breath, waiting for him to say her name.

"Iza…" The soft breath of her name escaped his lips and Elle widened her eyes when she clearly heard that it was her name that was called out.

Elle's hands flew to her mouth. Emotion flooded her eyes, her entire being feeling as though it had been electrocuted. She was so terrified she was wrong and that he would call out someone else's name again. But Lord… he really called her name.

"Izabelle?" The change in his voice had Elle lifting her face from her palms.

He was already sitting up, eyes reflecting his worry as he reached out and gently cupped her face. He ran his eyes all over her face, trying to see what was the matter and if there was something bothering her. "What's wrong?" he even glanced around like searching for threats.

"There's nothing wrong. I'm fine…" she smiled at him through her teary eyes. "I'm just a bit emotional."

Deep lines appeared between his brows after hearing her words. "Why?" He looked so upset, thinking that there might be anything negative that had caused her to turn emotional.

"Because…" her smile widened while her tears fell, "because it's my name that you finally called out while you're holding me in your sleep."

Sebastian froze upon understanding what she had said.

Seeing the utter shock in his eyes had Elle dropping her gaze. She was about to wipe her tears when Sebastian yanked her into his embrace. As he drew in a breath, she could hear how his intake of breath rattled slightly. He must have been shaken after hearing her words. Then his arms tightened around her a little more.

His hold on her was tight. So very tight that she could not move even a muscle. But he still did not say a thing. He just hugged her, caged her in his strong yet warm and tender arms.

"May I… know…" she hesitated, swallowing as she considered whether she should continue speaking or not. But Elle knew she must bring it up now or else this would bother her to no end again especially once they get separated. It was time for her to ask about Alyssa now. "Who is… Alyssa?" Elle paused just a little before mentioning the name.

He became very still after hearing her speak that name. She could swear that he even stopped breathing for a while. But she waited and did not move nor talk until his hold on her loosened.

Letting go of her, he pushed himself away from her at arm's length before staring into her eyes. "Since when did I… start saying her name?" he asked lowly.

Elle looked at him for a couple of seconds before answering his question. "Ever since the first night we slept together."

His eyes widened and then he pressed the heel of his palm against his forehead, looking as though he could not believe what he had just heard.

"This was the first time… I heard you call out mine." Elle added in a careful tone, observing him. "Though lately, I haven't awakened at dawn like today to hear if you were still calling out for her."

"Could this be the reason why back then, you had always acted cold and distant to me the next morning almost every time we had slept together?" Sebastian immediately identified the problem that he did not know why had kept cropping up previously.

Elle bit the insides of her lower lip. Now that she thought about it, he was actually right. She softened for him every time he touched her. But she had always managed to steel herself immediately the next morning, thanks to him calling out someone else's name in his dream.

She heard him curse under his breath and he pulled her into him again, kissing her hair. "I'm sorry… I really wish you had told me about this before."

"I had felt I didn't have the right to ask about her, back then. And there's also our agreement, remember? I never wanted to risk myself getting divorced by you even though… even though hearing you calling that name hurts me every single time."