Deep Consuming Addiction

Chapter 114

✨Steel and Sunlight✨

Ari Darven

When he arrived at her apartment that evening, she opened the door before he could knock twice.

She looked tired.

But not fragile.

There was determination in her posture.

“Long day?” he asked.

“Longer than expected.”

He stepped inside.

Her apartment was warm. Books stacked on the coffee table. A laptop open with documents layered across the screen. Notes written in neat, deliberate handwriting.

She was in her element.

“What are you working on?” he asked.

“Internal affairs brief presentation.”

“How much time?”

“Two days.”

He walked toward the table, scanning the organized chaos.

“You’ll need to tighten your executive summary,” he said calmly.

Her head snapped up. “You haven’t even read it.”

“I can tell.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Sit,” she said.

"Is that an order," he asked. She smiled sweetly up at him. Ari leaned down and kissed her lips twice.

Then.

He did.

She handed him a draft.

He read quickly, efficiently.

She watched him as he read.

There was something about observing him think—focused, analytical—that steadied her.

When he finished, he placed the papers down.

“You’re solid on data,” he said. “But your argument assumes they’ll be fair.”

“They won’t be?”

“They’ll look for gaps.”

She sighed.

“Then help me close them.”

He rolled up his sleeves slightly.

And for the next hour, the room shifted.

From tension to collaboration.

He didn’t take over.

He refined.

He questioned.

He pointed out vulnerabilities not to undermine her, but to strengthen her.

At one point she paused, studying him.

“What?” he asked.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Because standing beside her felt right.

Because watching her fight for clarity made him respect her even more.

Because helping her succeed mattered.

“Because you matter,” he said simply.

Her breath caught slightly.

She looked down quickly, hiding the effect.

Hours passed unnoticed.

She worked, focused and sharp, occasionally pushing her hair back in frustration. He watched her in her element—unapologetic, intelligent, relentless.

This was a different kind of power.

Not corporate.

Not inherited.

Earned.

When she finally leaned back in her chair, exhausted but satisfied, he stood and crossed to her.

“You’re ready,” he said.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

She looked up at him.

In that quiet apartment, surrounded by drafts and deadlines and city noise beyond the window, something unspoken settled between them.

They weren’t just intensity.

They weren’t just headlines.

They were choice.

And as he brushed his fingers along her jaw gently, he realized something steady and unshakable:

For the first time in his life, strength didn’t mean standing alone.

It meant standing with her.

After a few minutes, the quiet of the apartment settled around them again, softer now, slower. Ari stood under the shower longer than he needed to, letting the water run over him as his mind drifted back to her— the tension in her body and the worries in her eyes. He knew how much this means to her.

When he stepped out, toweling off, the space felt different again, warmer somehow, like her presence lingered even when she wasn’t in the room.

Elena had already slipped back into bed by the time he returned, the covers pulled up loosely around her, her body relaxed in a way that told him she had finally allowed herself to rest. She looked over as he walked in, eyes softer now, no tension, no overthinking—just her.

“You took your time,” she murmured.

Ari smirked faintly, sliding back into bed beside her. “I was considering your earlier proposal.”

She frowned slightly, amused. “What proposal?”

“The one where you pretend you’re not joining me next time,” he said, settling in and pulling her closer without asking.

Elena huffed a quiet laugh, shaking her head as she let herself be pulled into him. “You really don’t let things go.”

“Not when they benefit me,” he replied easily, his arm tightening slightly around her.

She relaxed into his chest, her hand resting lightly against him, her breathing evening out as the room grew quiet again. The earlier tension, the noise, the questions—all of it felt distant now, like it belonged to another version of the day.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

They didn’t need to.

Ari’s hand moved slowly along her back, absent and steady, grounding both of them in the moment. Elena closed her eyes, her body settling further against him, comfortable, unguarded.

Ari pressed a faint kiss to the top of her head, his hold on her firm but easy, like he had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

“Let’s talk,” he said, shifting and pulling her up with him until she was sitting, her legs tangled loosely with his, his arm still draped around her like he hadn’t quite let go yet. “Move in with me.”

Elena blinked, caught somewhere between surprise and amusement. “I’m not ready to break my lease.”

“Baby,” he said, brushing his thumb along her arm absentmindedly, “we’ve been moving back and forth between spaces like we’re running a schedule. Wouldn’t it be more efficient if we just choose one?”

She tilted her head slightly, studying him. “You would move in here if I asked you?”

“Yes,” he said, without hesitation.

That made her laugh, soft and disbelieving, her shoulders relaxing a little. “My mother would kill me.”

Ari’s mouth curved faintly. “For what?”

“I haven’t talked to her about us,” she admitted, her tone quieter now, more thoughtful than teasing.

He watched her for a moment, something in his expression softening, understanding settling in. “Okay,” he said simply. “So you need time.”

Elena looked at him, really looked at him, like she was trying to measure the weight of that response. “You’re not going to push it?”

Ari shook his head slightly. “I said move in with me, not rush you into something you’re not ready for.”

She exhaled softly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she said. “It’s just… everything is happening so fast.”

“It doesn’t have to,” he replied, his voice steady. “We set the pace.”

Elena leaned back a little, her hand coming up to rest against his chest, her fingers tracing lightly without thinking. “You say that like you don’t move fast in everything you do.”

A faint smirk tugged at his lips. “I do.”

“And now?” she asked.

His gaze dropped briefly to her hand, then back to her face. “Now I’m trying to do this right.”

That softened her completely.

Elena swallowed, her fingers stilling against him. “You think moving in together is right?”

“I think building something that doesn’t feel temporary is right,” he said. “And right now, this”—his hand moved slightly between them—“doesn’t feel temporary to me.”

Her chest tightened at that.

“It doesn’t to me either,” she admitted.

Ari nodded once, like that was all he needed to hear for now. “Then we get there. Not overnight. Not under pressure. But we get there.”

Elena studied him for a moment longer, then leaned forward, resting her forehead lightly against his.

“You’re very sure,” she murmured.

“I’ve been sure about you,” he said quietly. “That hasn’t changed.”

She let out a small breath, something between a laugh and something more emotional. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not easy,” he replied. “I just don’t make it complicated.”

That made her smile.

Elena pulled back slightly, looking at him with a softer expression now. “Give me a little time,” she said. “To do this the way I need to.”

Ari nodded, his hand coming up to brush her hair back gently. “Take it.”

A small pause settled between them, but it wasn’t tense.

Just real.

“And when I’m ready?” she asked quietly.

Ari’s mouth curved slightly, his thumb brushing along her cheek. “Then we stop pretending we don’t already live together.”

---

The next morning, Ari woke slowly, the unfamiliar quiet of Elena’s apartment wrapping around him before anything else registered.

Then—

The smell.

Coffee.

Fresh.

Warm.

Real.

His brows pulled together slightly as he pushed himself up, glancing to the empty space beside him. The sheets were still warm, but she was gone.

He hadn’t even felt her leave.

A small smirk touched his mouth.

Of course she slipped away without waking him.

He dragged a hand through his hair and stepped out of the bedroom, the scent growing stronger as he moved down the short hallway.

And then he saw her.

Elena stood in the kitchen, barefoot, one of his shirts hanging loosely off her frame, the fabric brushing mid-thigh. Her hair was slightly messy, like she hadn’t bothered to fix it yet, and she was focused on sliding a bagel into the toaster like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Domestic.

Calm.

Unaware.

Ari leaned against the doorway for a second, just watching her.

And something in his chest shifted.

His mind didn’t ask permission.

It just went there—

A different kitchen.

A bigger space.

Her moving around like this every morning.

His place.

Their place.

He pushed off the wall and walked toward her, his voice still rough with sleep but edged with quiet amusement.

“You know,” he said, reaching past her for a mug, his body brushing lightly against hers, “since you wake up without me…”

Elena glanced at him, already smiling faintly.

“…you forfeit your independence privileges,” he continued smoothly, grabbing the coffee pot. “Which means you now owe me a shared morning routine.”

She raised a brow. “That sounds very made up.”

“It is,” he admitted easily, pouring coffee. “But it benefits me, so we’re going with it.”

Elena laughed softly, shaking her head as she turned back to the toaster. “And what exactly does this ‘shared morning routine’ include?”

Ari stepped closer behind her, his hand resting lightly at her waist, his voice dropping just enough to brush her ear.

“Showering with me,” he said, completely unbothered.

She let out a small laugh, nudging him lightly with her elbow. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Efficient,” he corrected, taking a sip of his coffee. “We save time. Water. Energy.”

“Right,” she said, turning to face him fully now, her expression amused. “Very environmentally conscious of you.”

“I try.”

She shook her head again, smiling despite herself, and handed him a plate as the toaster popped.

The moment lingered.

Simple.

Easy.

And for a second—

Ari didn’t want to leave.

But he did.

Because he had to.

By the time he reached his office later that morning, the shift was immediate.

From soft to sharp.

From quiet to controlled.

But the moment he stepped inside—

He paused.

She was already there.

Flora Darven sat comfortably, like she belonged in every space she entered. She looked up as he walked in, her expression warm, composed, but her eyes sharp with awareness.

“Well,” she said, taking him in fully, “you look like you’ve had a very good morning.”

Ari exhaled a quiet breath, loosening his cuff slightly. “Good morning to you too.”

She smiled faintly, rising from her seat and walking toward him, her presence soft but deliberate. She reached up, adjusting his collar like she had done a hundred times before.

“You’ve been busy,” she added casually.

Ari glanced at her. “Work tends to do that.”

Flora gave him a look.

Not convinced.

“Ari.”

That tone.

Mother first.

Everything else second.

He sighed lightly. “Yes?”

She stepped back slightly, studying him now instead of fixing him.

“The photos,” she said simply.

There it was.

Ari’s jaw shifted slightly, but he didn’t avoid it. “Unauthorised?”

Flora’s expression didn’t change, but there was curiosity there. Not judgment. Not disapproval.

Interest.

“I know that,” she said. “She’s the one?”

Ari didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

That alone told her everything she needed to know.

Flora’s lips curved slightly, something softer, almost knowing.

“I’d like to meet her.”

Ari studied her for a second.

“You don’t even know anything about her,” he said.

Flora tilted her head slightly. “I know my son.”

That was enough.

“And I know,” she continued, “you don’t show up like that for just anyone.”

Silence settled briefly.

Ari exhaled slowly, then nodded once.

“You will,” he said.

Flora smiled, satisfied, but not pushing further.

“Good,” she said lightly. “Because I’m very curious about the woman who has you looking like that in the morning.”

Ari huffed a quiet breath, shaking his head slightly as he moved past her toward his desk.

But there was no denying it now.

Things were shifting.

And this time—

It wasn’t just between them.