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Sixteen years was a long time to love someone. Somehow, for Lili and Sylus, it still felt like a beginning.
The years had softened some edges and sharpened others. Their bodies had changed, their minds carried the weight of time, and their relationship had evolved into something neither of them had thought possible. And yet, they remained the same in all the ways that mattered.
It was a quiet night, the buzz of Linkon City’s outskirts barely audible beyond Sylus’s study. The air was thick with the lingering warmth from the day, but the breeze drifting through the open window was cool against Lili’s skin. She sat in the reading nook by the windowsill, scribbling her latest reflections on her worn but beloved notebook. She was waiting for the time to pass until her husband arrived. He had promised to come home early tonight—well, earlier than usual, anyway.
Then she heard it: the front door opening, followed by a deep sigh that could only belong to him. Her breath stilled, fingers pausing on the edge of the page. She listened as his slow footsteps moved through the house. They were deliberate and familiar. First, he checked on Aria; the creak of her door barely audible as he peered inside. Then it was Kai’s room. And finally, he entered their bedroom by the end of the hall. He lingered for a moment before realizing she wasn’t there. A short silence followed before his footsteps made their way closer to her. The door of the study finally clicked open, and there he was, leaning against the doorframe—his silhouette outlined by the dim lights of the hall.
“You made it just in time,” Lili quipped, eyes still on her notebook as she continued writing. “I almost went to bed without you.”
With a soft chuckle, he glided across the room, carrying with him the chill of rain and lingering embers of a life he kept far from their sanctuary. Every time Sylus came home, he shed the weight of that world at the door—leaving only the man who belonged entirely to her in the quiet hours when their children lay safe in slumber and the rest of the world had faded away. Still, on nights like this, Lili could see the exhaustion settling over him. He wasn’t twenty-eight anymore, after all.
Sylus kneeled in front of her, pressing a kiss to the skin left bare by the hem of her nightgown as his hands found their place against her legs. His thumbs brushed over her in a way that made her feel light and sent shivers down her spine. Yet somehow the fleeting sensation didn’t leave her feeling adrift. Quite the opposite—the weight of his presence always anchored her. His quiet reverence was something she would never tire of.
Lili set her notebook aside and cupped her husband’s face. Her fingers pressed into the sharp lines of his jaw, brushing over the faint scratch of stubble beneath her palms. Sixteen years had passed, and he still looked at her like she was the first fire after a harsh winter.
“Long night?” she murmured, though she already knew the answer.
Sylus only hummed in response, leaning into her touch. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. Over the years, she had come to realize that she, too, was his anchor. So she let him soak her in.
Then, without hesitation, he lifted her into his arms. She let out a quiet gasp before leaning against him, trusting him to take her wherever he pleased. They ended up in their bedroom, where he laid her down with deliberate gentleness, pressing his forehead to hers, his body a familiar warmth against her own.
There was no rush between them. Sixteen years had stripped away any need for urgency. Sylus moved like he knew every inch of her—every place where she melted, every shiver and sound he could pull from her with nothing more than his fingertips.
The room was dark, save for the soft glow of the moon catching the chain around her neck. It was a gift from him for their 10th anniversary—one of many. And he was pleased to see how it looked against her skin. He had draped her in wealth over the years, but nothing shined as brightly as the way she looked at him right now.
“You should never sleep alone,” he murmured, voice low and rough. She never had to. Not when he had spent every night of their life together bringing her home in every sense of the word, one way or another.
Lili pressed her lips to his as he moved against her, slow and lingering—a reminder of all the nights they had spent learning each other and all the mornings that had followed. Sixteen years of building spaces for one another within themselves, of carving out rooms in their hearts where only they belonged.
Their love was one that endured and thrived—a love that had withstood time and every storm life had thrown their way, never fading out. It was a love that had changed them, shaped them, made them better people, lovers, and parents.
And as the night stretched on, Sylus knew without a doubt that he would love her like this for the rest of his life. Because if there was one thing he had learned in sixteen years, it was that Lili and the family they had built were the only home he had ever needed.