Masuk70. Two travellers, One lie...Two sleek cars screeched to a deafening halt opposite each other, the sound of tires against asphalt cutting through the silent night.The car doors opened.Sasha stepped out.Liam stepped out.Liam stood beside his car, a lazy smirk resting on his face. He brought a stick of cigarette to his lips and Sam appeared immediately to light it up for him.He took a slow drag. Exhaled. Then looked at Sasha.Sasha stood there, hands clenched tightly at her sides as she watched him. Her makeup was slightly smudged under her left eye. She hadn't noticed. Her coat was buttoned wrong at the top, one side higher than the other.She had left the house in a hurry and it showed.Liam noticed all of it.He took another drag. "You're on the run, Sasha.""And you're oddly not surprised at all," Sasha forced the ghost of a smile."Lucien will still find you," Liam said. "No matter how far you run."Sasha looked at him. "And here you are. Running with me."Liam's brows shift
69. What doesn't work anymoreThe mansion lights were on.Every single one of them.Lucien saw it from the gate and something in him went very still. Not surprise. Just the particular kind of resignation that comes from knowing exactly what you're walking into.Jace fell into step beside him the moment the car door closed."She dismissed the staff at nine," Jace said, voice low and quick. "All of them. Camille refused to leave so she's in the kitchen. The others are outside.""The knife?" Lucien questioned. "Kitchen knife. She took it from the rack before Camille could stop her.""How long?""Almost two hours now."Lucien didn't slow down. His hand pushed the front door open and the warmth of the house hit him, too bright and too still, the kind of quiet that comes right after something breaks."She's been calling your name," Jace added from behind. "On and off."Lucien said nothing.He already knew what this was.He had watched Dahlia fall apart upstairs, quietly, with her face in h
68. Still Falling "Go," she said.That was all.No raised voice. No trembling. Just that one word, quiet and final, like a door being shut from the inside.Lucien looked at her for a moment.She wasn't looking back.Her face was turned slightly away, one hand resting flat against the bed beside her. Like she needed something to press against.He nodded once.And left.The same way he came. No sound. No dramatic pause at the door. He just walked out and pulled it gently behind him, the click of the latch the only proof he had ever been there.She waited until she heard his footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs.Then she put her face in her hands.The sound that came out of her wasn't pretty. It wasn't the quiet, dignified kind of crying she had mastered over three years of marriage to a man who made her feel invisible. This was different. This came from somewhere older. Somewhere she had locked up so tightly she had almost convinced herself it didn't exist anymore.Her shoulders sh
67. And still lost youAn hour ago.The folder sat in his hands and he didn't open it.Not yet.Lucien just stared at it. The dim light from his desk lamp barely reached the edges of the room, and everything outside that small circle of light felt like it didn't exist.Jace had dropped it off without a word. He always knew when not to talk.After a long moment, Lucien opened it.The sound of paper felt too loud for the silence.His eyes dropped to the first page.And stopped.Dahlia Winters.The name just sat there. Plain. Printed cleanly on white paper like it was nothing. Like it hadn't just reached into his chest and grabbed something.His fingers pressed a little harder against the edge of the file.No.That wasn't right. That couldn't be right.He kept reading. Slowly. Each line like he was afraid of what the next one said.Then he got to the photograph.He went still.She didn't look like the Dahlia he knew. Not the woman who moved through rooms like she'd already decided nothin
66. "Little Lia..."Silence lingered. Longer than it should.It stretched between them, thick and heavy like something waiting to break. Liam's fists clenched slowly at his sides. Not enough to be obvious. But enough.His eyes darkened. Not playful this time. Not teasing.Dangerous."You don't have to find him" his voice came. Low and steady.But something under them wasn't. Dahlia's eyes flickered. Just for a second. Confusion. Brief. Gone. "You...." she said, calmly, "are not in a position to tell me what to do and what not to do".It landed wrongly on Liam's chest. His jaw ticked slightly.Without hesitation, Dahlia turned to leave, back straight. Decisive. A step. Two steps. A sudden pull on her wrist. Not tight. Just enough to make her stop in her tracks. However, she didn't turn. She only allowed her gaze to drop to his hand which held her wrist. Quietly. Still. Watching. Liam followed her gaze. And as if he had touched fire, he let go.A breath passed. "I hope you
65. The Queen doesn't move...Silence settled between the duo— sharp and cutting, with Liam's eyes resting intently on her masked face. A low buzz came, slicing the tension in two. Dahlia reached for her phone which was in her pocket. It was Gaux. She picked up. "Yes?" her voice was cool. Dahlia's brows furrowed as the minutes went by, fingers wrapping tightly around the phone. "Alright" she said, tone measured as the call neared its end. "I will handle it". The call ended. Dahlia turned back to Liam whose eyes were still on her, his hands resting easily in his pockets. "You ready?" he asked, the arch of his lips a faint ghost of a smile. Dahlia said nothing. Liam took a step forward. "It's just a game Dahlia" he said, voice low and soothing. "Besides, you gave my brother the chance and now, you both are working on a very huge project together".Dahlia's eyes narrowed. "So, why can't you give me this chance as well?" Liam asked, cocking his head to the side. "I find it rid
29. Home, on the line...Liam stood there for a moment too long. His gaze flickered once to his reflection in the pool before resting on the spot his mother had left from. A marriage proposal. And not just any proposal. But one to the woman he has ever loved. Dahlia Winters. An offer he wasn't sup
30. At His side...Next Morning. The conference room at Nine Lives Hotel hummed with quiet precision. Glass walls. Soft lights. A long polished table reflecting the faces that knew how to smile for investors and cameras alike. Mr Fisher sat at the head, relaxed, satisfied. The proposal lay before
28. Pools and positions...The meeting finally came to an end. Lucien left, gloom etched sparsely across his face.The room fell back into silence save for Dahlia's soft tapping on the desk. Her face held no expression but the slight shift in her eyes said otherwise. Gaux walked in. "Miss Winters"
26. A memory of her. Morning arrived in washed out tones, the sky bruised with grey as sunlight edged cautiously forward. It wasn't bright— not yet. Just present, like a truth that had decided not to hide anymore. Lucien remained awake long after the night had passed, standing by the window as if







