Se connecter∆EZEKIEL POV∆"Don't ask me as if you don't know," I rolled my eyes at him acting like he was innocent who has no idea about what I'm saying.He stayed silent for a moment, then quietly as if he was remembering a part of something he couldn't forget, he said, "you might not remember, but I remember the way you ran toward me without hesitation... When you collapsed in my arms after taking that bullet, for the first time in my life, I learnt the meaning of helplessness, even now whenever I close my eyes I fear that you might disappear... Why did you even do that? Why did you save me?"I stared at him blankly.Because honestly?I still didn’t fully understand why I did it either.The memory of Raymond aiming directly at him still made my chest tighten unpleasantly."I wasn’t thinking properly," I muttered eventually."That’s obvious.""Are you insulting me while taking care of me?" I narrowed my eyes at his words."Yes.""At least you’re honest."A faint huff escaped him. Not quite a lau
∆EZEKIEL POV∆"You’re not leaving this room."The moment those words left Zachary’s mouth, irritation immediately surged through me.That's the same dialogue he has been repeating from the past one week though I'm recovering well... He is acting more like a strict father not allowing me to leave the bed even for a second.I stared at him from the edge of the bed, already dressed despite the dull ache spreading through my shoulder and chest. The stitches still pulled painfully every time I moved too quickly, but after being trapped inside this room for days, I was officially losing my mind."You do realize I’m not dying anymore, right?" I asked dryly while reaching for the jacket laying beside me.Zachary, who had been standing near the window while speaking to someone on the phone moments ago, finally turned fully toward me. His expression remained calm, unreadable as always, but after spending enough time around him, I had started noticing the tiny changes he probably thought nobod
∆EZEKIEL POV∆"What do you mean by 'why'?" Zachary's jaw tightened slightly at the question, almost as if the answer irritated him. "You got shot." "That doesn’t explain…" I winced sharply as another wave of pain shot through my shoulder. "Even if I got shot, I'm the patient, but you're looking more like a patient than me as if you're the one who got shot." Immediately Zachary’s expression darkened with worry."Don’t move... The wound might reopen." His voice turned colder instantly, but underneath it I could hear something else now. Fear... Actual fear.I frowned weakly. "I’m not made of glass, you can stop worrying about small things like this.""Yes, you're not made of glass but you nearly died in my arms." That shut me up completely.The room fell silent after that. Not awkward but heavy. Because for the first time since meeting him, Zachary wasn’t hiding what he felt properly anymore. And somehow… that scared me more than his cruelty ever had.The machine beside me beeped ste
∆EZEKIEL POV∆"Ezekiel… open your eyes."That voice reached me from somewhere far away, cutting through the fire, through the smoke, through the sound of collapsing walls and screaming voices.For a moment, I still couldn’t tell what was real.The flames were everywhere. That little boy was crying. The man was burning while shielding him. And that lullaby… God, that lullaby wouldn’t stop echoing inside my head, soft and broken, like it had carved itself into my bones.My chest suddenly tightened painfully, and a broken gasp tore out of me as my eyes flew open violently."Fire…!"My entire body jerked upward instinctively before unbearable pain exploded through my shoulder and chest, tearing me apart from the inside."Ahh!" A strong arm immediately wrapped around me before I could fall from the bed."Easy."That voice is deep, low and familiar... It is none other than Zachary.My vision blurred badly for several seconds as I struggled to breathe properly. Everything looked hazy and di
∆NO POV∆"Why does it hurt so much…?"The thought surfaced weakly through endless darkness, faint and broken, like something struggling desperately to stay afloat before sinking again.Ezekiel couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t open his eyes either. Everything around him felt unbearably heavy, as if he had been dragged into the deepest part of the ocean and left there alone. Even breathing felt distant and unnatural, like it belonged to someone else. But the pain remained, sharp, burning, and spreading slowly through his chest and shoulder before turning into unbearable heat crawling beneath his skin.Then came the smell. Smoke... Burning wood, and blood.Ezekiel’s brows twitched faintly as uneasiness settled deep inside him. The darkness around him no longer felt empty. It felt alive, shifting slowly like something was waiting for him to notice it. Then suddenly, a child cried.The sound echoed somewhere far away at first, weak and trembling, yet painfully clear against the suff
"Well, you seem to have forgotten basic responsibility," Maddison shot back immediately, walking straight toward the table without hesitation. "Even if you're a chief here, do you think this behaviour of yours can be justified?" The tension in the room shifted dramatically. This was no longer internal. This was something public. Something dangerous.Maddison stopped in front of the table, his gaze locking directly with Raymond’s. "Do you even understand what your reckless decisions just caused?" Raymond’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Before raising your voice at me, I prefer you give an explanation, Mr. Maddison." Maddison let out a short, and humorless breath before speaking, his voice steady but heavy with accusation. "Ezekiel is in the hospital." The room froze completely. A few officers exchanged shocked glances."Injured? How does it happen to someone who disappeared all of a sudden from the middle of operation?" Raymond asked, his tone carefully neutral.Maddison laughed once, s
∆NO POV∆"Aren't you going to answer?" Zachary raised an eyebrow, his voice was low, but the seriousness in it left no room for avoidance.Ezekiel’s throat tightened.For a moment he simply stared up at Zachary, the weight of that question pressing heavily against his chest while the cold air again
∆NO POV∆"Then let’s see how honest you really are," Zachary murmured near Ezekiel’s ear, his voice carrying a quiet confidence that made the words sound less like a threat and more like a promise he fully intended to keep.Ezekiel could not see anything beneath the blindfold, yet the darkness only
∆EZEKIEL∆"What's your motive behind following me?" Zachary asked in a voice that had suddenly lost all trace of amusement as his eyes fixed on me with a cold intensity that made the air in the room feel heavier.My heartbeat stumbled immediately because that tone was very different from the teasin
∆EZEKIEL∆"Spread my legs? My ass," I shot back before my brain could catch up with my mouth. "Try it and I’ll break yours."For half a second there was silence, thick and uneasy.Then they laughed.Not normal laughter, but the kind that crawled under your skin







