Gunnar was so in love with her—so deeply, so intensely that it sometimes felt like a raw ache beneath his skin. It made him restless, even a little crazy at times. When he watched her sleep, peaceful and unaware, a dark, fleeting thought would sometimes cross his mind—what if he could hold her so close, so tightly, that she could never leave him? It was a terrifying impulse, one he'd never act on, because love, for all its complexity, wasn't about control or pain. He loved her too much to ever hurt her. Except—sometimes, the fear of losing her felt like a vice tightening around his chest, making him question everything he knew about himself.

His eyes drifted to the picture perched on the mantelpiece—a rare, precious photo of him and his parents. They were all smiling, carefree, frozen in a moment when life was still simple and love had seemed like a magical, unbreakable force. It was a stark contrast to the shadows that crept into his memories.

Before his dad left, leaving his mum shattered and spiraling into a maze of depression and mania. Before her world turned upside down, before she slipped into that dark stalking phase that terrified everyone around her. Gunnar was just fourteen the day he came home from school to find her barely alive, slumped on the floor with a bottle of over-the-counter meds spilled around her. He'd tried—desperately tried—to save her, holding her trembling body, whispering words she might have heard, but it was no use. She died in his arms.

That moment shattered something inside Gunnar. It fractured his view of love, warping it in ways he never fully understood. It left a scar beneath his heart, one he hid beneath layers of toughness and silent strength.

Subconsciously, his fingers twitched as they traced her ring, the one he always wore on his right hand. It was a small talisman, a steady anchor for his anxious mind when she wasn't near.

His heavy thoughts were broken by the sound of the front door opening. She stepped inside, laden with bags, her face radiant with a bright, tired smile that warmed his soul. Without hesitation, Gunnar rose, crossing the room swiftly to take the weight of the bags from her hands. He set them gently on the floor, then pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her familiar scent, letting the steady rhythm of her heartbeat calm the storm inside him.