LOGINCillian
I know something’s wrong the second I walk in. It’s not loud. Not obvious. But the air feels… off. The kind of tension that lingers after something has already happened.
Liam is in the main room. Alone. That’s the first problem.
“Where is she?” I ask, already moving.
“In her room.”
That makes me stop. Not because she’s there, but because of how he
CillianThe noise doesn’t matter. The screaming. The shattered glass. The chaos is ripping through the restaurant like it’s still alive. None of it matters. Because she’s gone. And someone is still breathing who shouldn’t be. I don’t leave. I don’t chase the exit. I don’t run after ghosts. I turn. Slow. Controlled. Deadly.“There,” Liam says, already dragging a man across the floor by the collar.Blood streaks across the tiles behind him. The man is half-conscious, face already swollen, one eye barely open. Good. Not enough.“Alive?” I ask.“For now.”Ronan appears from the side, cracking his knuckles, jaw tight with barely contained violence.“He’s one of them,” he mutters. “Didn’t make it far.”Perfect. I step closer. The man tries to move. Tries to crawl. Pathetic.
ElenaSomething feels… off. I don’t know when it starts. Maybe it’s the way the room is too quiet. Or the way everyone is pretending it’s not. Cillian and Kenji Takahashi are talking across from me, voices low, controlled, like every word matters more than it sounds.I try to follow. Numbers. Routes. Something about shipments. But my attention keeps drifting. Not to the conversation. To the room. To the way the staff move. To the way the guards stand just a little too stiff. To the feeling crawling up my spine. I shift slightly in my chair. Cillian notices. Of course he does.His hand brushes my knee under the table. Subtle. Grounding. Stay. I don’t look at him. But I still. Kenji’s gaze flicks to me again. Too observant. Too aware.“You’re distracted,” he says calmly.“I’m listening,&r
ElenaI didn’t expect to feel like this again. Nervous. Not scared. Not uncertain. Just… aware. Of everything. The room feels quieter tonight as I stand in front of the mirror, fingers smoothing over the fabric of my dress. It’s different from the gala, still elegant, still fitted, but darker. More controlled.More him. My reflection stares back at me, and for a second, I don’t fully recognize her. Not the girl from the bookstore. Not the one trying to survive day by day. This version of me, she knows she’s being watched. Judged. Measured. And somehow… she’s still standing. My breath leaves slowly.“You’re thinking too much.” His voice is low. Right behind me.I don’t turn immediately.“I’m going to dinner with a man you don’t trust,” I reply. “I think I’m allowed.”A faint huff of amusement brushes the air behind me.“T
CillianThe flowers are already in her room when I find out. Of course they are. Nothing about Kenji Takahashi is accidental. I don’t touch them at first. I just stand there, looking at the arrangement sitting on her table like it belongs in this place. White orchids. Clean. Precise. Expensive. Calculated.Everything about him is.“Who let these in?” I ask, my voice flat.Liam is behind me. “They were delivered through the main desk,” he says. “Cleared as a priority package.”Of course they were. I step closer slowly, my gaze dropping to the card tucked between the stems. I already know it’s from him. I don’t need to read it to know. But I do anyway. “For the woman who doesn’t fear dangerous men”.My jaw tightens. There’s more.“Dinner. Tonight. You and her. Consider it… a continuation of our conv
CillianI know something’s wrong the second I walk in. It’s not loud. Not obvious. But the air feels… off. The kind of tension that lingers after something has already happened.Liam is in the main room. Alone. That’s the first problem.“Where is she?” I ask, already moving.“In her room.”That makes me stop. Not because she’s there, but because of how he said it. Too controlled. Too measured.“What happened?”A beat passes, then he speaks, “She was approached.”Everything in me stills. Slowly. Dangerously.“By who?”“A journalist,” Liam says. “Bookstore.”My jaw tightens. Of course, it was the bookstore. Of course, it was the one place she’d feel safe.“What did she say?”“Nothing,” he replies. “
ElenaI wake up restless. Not the usual kind. Not the kind that fades after a shower, or a coffee, or pretending everything is fine. This one sits under my skin. Scratching. Pushing. Making the walls feel too close.I stare at the ceiling for a long second, then turn my head toward the window. The city is already awake. Moving. Living.And I’m trapped. My jaw tightens. I swing my legs out of bed, running a hand through my hair as I stand. I don’t bother looking for Cillian. He’s either in his office… or already gone.Either way… Same result. I step out into the main space, barefoot, arms crossed loosely over myself, trying to ignore the way the penthouse suddenly feels too quiet. Too controlled. Too his.Liam is already there. Of course he is. Leaning slightly against the wall like he’s been there for hours, watching everything without looking like he is.His eyes lift when I enter. “Morning.
ElenaI stare at the dress for a long time before I touch it.It’s laid out on the bed like it belongs there. Like I belong there. Black, sleek, expensive in a way I can’t even begin to understand, the fabric catches the light in soft waves that make it look almost liquid. There’s a pair of heels b
CillianBy the time Declan walks into my office, I’m already in a foul mood.That kiss should never have happened. Not because I regret crossing the line. I don’t waste time on regret. But because it told me something I didn’t want confirmed. She got under my skin faster than anyone has in a long f
CillianI know the second I step into the room that Ronan got to her first.Not because he says anything. He doesn’t have to. I can read it in the way she’s standing in the middle of the kitchen like she’s braced for impact, all rigid shoulders and lifted chin, as if sheer stubbornness can hold the
ElenaI don’t sleep. Not really.I close my eyes at some point, my body eventually giving in to exhaustion, but my mind never fully shuts off. Every sound feels too loud, every shift of light through the windows pulling me back to awareness like something is about to happen. I wake before I even kn







