Fragile Hearts & Iron Walls

Synopsis:

Valeria Sinclair has built walls higher than the sky. Scarred by the men in her past, she refuses to trust them, let alone feel anything for them. To her, they’re nothing but walking disasters. She calls it her "Anti-Man Syndrome"—a defense mechanism, a survival instinct.

Elias Hawthorne, on the other hand, is delicate in every way. Born with a rare heart condition and a body that bruises too easily, he’s spent his life wrapped in caution. He’s used to people treating him like he’s made of glass. But he craves something real—something that doesn’t see him as a weakness, but as a person.

When Valeria is forced to tutor Elias in literature, their worlds collide. She is fire; he is glass. She is stone; he is silk. And yet, somehow, the cracks in their walls align just perfectly.

But when one wrong move could break Elias and one wrong word could push Valeria away forever, how do you learn to love when love itself is the biggest risk?

---

Chapter One: The Glass Boy and the Iron Girl

The library smelled like old pages and lost dreams. Valeria Sinclair would rather be anywhere else than here, stuck with a boy who looked like he’d shatter if she breathed too hard.

“Valeria,” the professor said, “this is Elias Hawthorne. You’ll be tutoring him in literature for the next semester.”

She barely spared Elias a glance. Messy brown hair, pale skin, and a frame so thin she swore a strong gust of wind could take him out. His deep blue eyes, however, held something she didn’t expect—resilience.

“I don’t do well with... men,” she said bluntly.

Elias blinked. “I don’t do well with... living,” he replied dryly.

For the first time in years, Valeria almost laughed. Almost.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. “Fine. Just don’t expect me to be nice.”

Elias smiled, small and knowing. “Don’t expect me to break so easily.”

---

Chapter Two: A Tutor, Not a Babysitter

Valeria had exactly three rules when it came to tutoring Elias Hawthorne.

No unnecessary talking.

No personal questions.

No dying on her watch.

The last one wasn’t a joke. She’d done her research. Elias had a heart condition, some rare disorder that made his body fragile. That meant no yelling, no pushing, no scaring him—basically, everything that made up Valeria’s personality.

“So, what exactly is your problem with men?” Elias asked casually as they sat in the library.

Valeria looked up from Pride and Prejudice with a deadpan stare. “That question just broke rule number two.”

“Oops.” He didn’t look sorry at all.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Let’s just get this over with. Do you even read?”

Elias grinned. “I can read text messages. Does that count?”

Valeria groaned. “You are the reason women lose faith in humanity.”

“Not all women,” he said, winking.

She stared at him, unimpressed. “Flirting with me is a waste of your energy.”

Elias placed a hand over his heart dramatically. “Energy conservation is important. I’ll flirt efficiently.”

For a moment, Valeria didn’t know whether to laugh or smack him. Instead, she shoved Pride and Prejudice toward him. “Start reading before I change my mind about this tutoring thing.”

Elias took the book and flipped it open. “‘It is a truth universally acknowledged—’”

Then, he gasped.

“What?” she asked, alarmed.

“The font is so small. I think I just lost three years of my life.”

Valeria dropped her head onto the table. This was going to be a long semester.

---

Chapter Three: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Break (Yet)

Valeria was trying. She really was. But Elias Hawthorne had the energy of an old man and the confidence of a golden retriever. It was an infuriating combination.

“So, did you actually read the chapter I assigned?” she asked, arms crossed.

Elias leaned back in his chair, looking way too relaxed for someone who had done absolutely nothing. “Define ‘read.’”

Valeria narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t read it.”

“I skimmed it?”

She took a deep breath. Do not strangle the fragile boy. Do not go to prison.

“Fine. Summarize it for me.”

Elias grinned. “Okay, so there’s this rich dude, Mr. Darcy—”

“Fitzwilliam Darcy.”

He waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah, Fitzpatrick or whatever. Anyway, he’s super moody and bad at flirting. And Elizabeth is like, ‘You suck,’ but also, ‘Wait, do I like you?’ And Darcy is like, ‘I don’t like you, except I totally do.’”

Valeria stared at him, torn between horror and mild amusement. “…I hate that that was accurate.”

Elias beamed. “See? I’m a genius.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“A charming idiot.”

Valeria sighed and rubbed her temples. “I regret everything.”

Elias nudged her arm gently. “C’mon, admit it. You’re starting to like me.”

Valeria shot him a look. “If ‘not actively plotting your downfall’ counts as liking you, then sure.”

Elias grinned. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Valeria rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t fight the small smile tugging at her lips.

Maybe this tutoring thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.

---

Chapter Four: Handle With Care (Or Not)

Valeria had never been more aware of someone’s existence in her life.

Elias was delicate. Not in a pathetic way—more like in a “please-don’t-touch-me-too-hard-or-I-might-actually-break” way. And for someone like Valeria, whose default setting was forceful, this was a nightmare.

“Why are you hovering?” Elias asked as they walked through the campus courtyard.

“I’m not hovering,” she said, stepping precisely two inches away from him. “I’m making sure you don’t, you know… collapse or something.”

Elias gasped dramatically. “Valeria Sinclair, do you care about me?”

“No.”

“You do.”

“I don’t.”

He clutched his chest. “Wow. First, you stop plotting my downfall. Now, you’re my personal bodyguard. I feel so loved.”

Valeria sighed. “I swear, if you trip and die in front of me, I will haunt you.”

Elias smirked. “Promise?”

She gave him a withering stare before pushing open the library doors. “Sit. Read. Don’t die.”

He saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

Valeria rolled her eyes and sat down across from him, opening her book. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw him fidgeting.

“What now?” she asked.

He hesitated. “Uh. Don’t freak out, but I think I got a paper cut.”

Valeria went stiff.

Elias held up his finger, where the world’s tiniest, most pathetic scratch was forming. He looked at her, eyes wide, like a child showing their first scraped knee.

Valeria stared. “Are you kidding me?”

Elias pouted. “It stings.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Unbelievable.”

She pulled a bandaid from her bag and shoved it at him. “Fix yourself.”

Elias looked at the bandaid, then at her. “You carry these around?”

“Yes. For when you inevitably injure yourself doing absolutely nothing.”

Elias chuckled as he carefully wrapped the bandaid around his finger. “You definitely care about me.”

Valeria buried her face in her hands. “I regret everything.”

“Liar,” Elias teased.

And annoyingly… he was kind of right.

---

Chapter Five: Cracks in the Glass

For weeks, their routine stayed the same—Elias teasing, Valeria pretending to be annoyed, and somewhere between sarcasm and stolen glances, something warm grew between them.

She wouldn’t call it friendship. That felt too soft for what they had.

But she also wouldn’t call it nothing.

Because somehow, she found herself watching him more closely—waiting for his usual jokes, his tired-but-bright smile, his over-dramatic sighs when she made him actually study.

And then one day, he wasn’t there.

Valeria stared at the empty chair across from her in the library, tapping her pen against the table. Late, she told herself. He’s just late.

But Elias was never late.

She checked her phone. No messages.

Something in her chest twisted.

After an hour of waiting, she shoved her books into her bag and marched out of the library, her mind buzzing with possibilities—maybe he got caught up in another class? Maybe he fell asleep somewhere? Maybe—

“Valeria.”

She turned to see their professor approaching her. The look on his face made her stomach drop.

“Elias is in the hospital,” he said gently.

The world blurred for a second.

“What?” she whispered.

“He collapsed this morning. His heart…” The professor sighed. “It was unexpected.”

Valeria’s fingers clenched around the strap of her bag. The hallway felt too bright, too loud, too… wrong.

Elias—annoying, ridiculous, fragile Elias—was in the hospital.

And she wasn’t there.

She didn’t even think. She just ran.

---

Chapter Six: Handle with Care (I Should’ve Been There)

Valeria hated hospitals.

The sterile smell, the too-bright lights, the beeping machines—it all felt suffocating. But right now, none of that mattered.

Because Elias was here.

She stormed through the halls until she reached his room. Her heart was racing, though she’d never admit why. When she finally pushed the door open, her breath hitched.

Elias looked small in the hospital bed, wires attached to his chest, an oxygen tube resting under his nose. His skin was even paler than usual, like he was carved from glass and someone had already started chipping away at him.

And yet—

“You should see the other guy,” he said weakly, his voice scratchy but teasing.

Something inside her cracked.

“You’re an idiot,” she snapped, stepping forward.

Elias smirked tiredly. “Nice to see you too.”

“I mean it.” Her hands curled into fists. “You collapsed, Elias. Do you have any idea—” She exhaled sharply, trying to shove down the lump in her throat. “You should’ve told me you weren’t feeling okay.”

His expression softened. “Didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well, congratulations,” she said sarcastically. “Because I’m definitely not worried now.”

Elias chuckled—a mistake. He winced immediately, pressing a hand to his chest. Valeria froze.

“…Do I need to get a nurse?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

He shook his head. “Just… give me a second.”

She did. And for the first time, silence settled between them—not the comfortable kind, but the fragile kind.

“…How bad is it?” she finally asked.

Elias sighed. “Bad enough that they’re keeping me here for a while.”

She swallowed. “Define ‘a while.’”

He hesitated. “They’re running tests. Seeing if… if my heart can handle things long-term.”

Her stomach clenched.

For weeks, she had treated Elias like a joke, like an annoyance. And now, the truth sat between them like a shadow—his body wasn’t just fragile. It was failing him.

And she hated that there was nothing she could do.

“…You scared me, you know,” she admitted, looking away.

Elias blinked. “You?”

She scoffed. “Obviously. Who else is supposed to suffer through your awful summaries of classic literature?”

His lips quirked. “I knew you liked me.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

Instead, she pulled out something from her bag and tossed it onto his blanket-covered lap.

Elias looked down. “…A bandaid?”

She crossed her arms. “For next time you try to break yourself.”

He smiled—small, real. “Thanks, Val.”

And for once, she didn’t correct him.

Chapter Seven: Hearts Don’t Break That Easily

Elias stayed in the hospital for two weeks.

Two long weeks of tests, nurses scolding him for sneaking snacks, and Valeria showing up at his bedside like it was her second job.

“I swear, you’re enjoying this,” Elias teased as she set down a new book on his tray.

She raised an eyebrow. “You think I enjoy dragging myself to this depressing place just to watch you be a nuisance?”

“Yes.”

She sighed dramatically. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet, you’re still here.”

Valeria had no comeback for that.

Because he was right.

Somewhere between the late-night tutoring sessions, his ridiculous flirting, and the terrifying moment she thought she might lose him—Elias had become important.

She just wasn’t ready to say it out loud.

---

Chapter Eight: No Returns, No Refunds

The day Elias was finally discharged, he looked almost too pleased with himself.

“Freedom!” he declared, stretching his arms as they stepped outside.

Valeria smacked his shoulder. “Careful, idiot. You’re still recovering.”

Elias grinned. “You like worrying about me, don’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I like making sure my tutoring student doesn’t die before finals.”

He smirked. “Suuure.”

They started walking toward campus, the late afternoon sun casting a warm glow over everything.

“So,” Elias said casually, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I was thinking…”

Valeria side-eyed him. “That’s dangerous.”

He ignored her. “Since you’ve basically made it your mission to keep me alive, maybe we should make it official.”

She blinked. “Make what official?”

Elias stopped walking, turning to face her. His expression was still playful, but underneath it, there was something serious.

“Us.”

Valeria stared.

Elias shifted on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I like you. And unless I’m totally misreading things, you don’t hate me as much as you pretend to.”

Valeria opened her mouth—then closed it.

Because damn it, he was right again.

She exhaled, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you like that about me,” he said confidently.

She sighed, then—before she could overthink it—grabbed his collar and kissed him.

Elias made a surprised sound, but quickly melted into it, his lips soft and warm against hers.

When she pulled away, his eyes were wide, his face pink. “Wow. I should almost die more often.”

She smacked his arm. “No.”

He laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they started walking again.

“You know,” Elias mused, “for someone with ‘Anti-Man Syndrome,’ you sure seem to like one particular man a lot.”

She groaned. “Shut up, Hawthorne.”

“Never,” he said, grinning.