LOGINELOWEN Alexander shielded me with his body, his arm braced above my head, his chest crushing me against the rooftop floor.But he didn't even grunt! That moron was checking on me! What the!?...Alexander growled through clenched teeth, “Stay. Down.”His blood dripped onto my cheek.My vision wobbled. My breath broke. My heart tried to crawl up my throat.“Oh my God— your arm— your arm—”“I’m fine,” he snarled, eyes never leaving Liora. “You’re not hurt. That’s what matters.”Liora stumbled backward, pale and stunned.I pushed up on my elbows, shaking. “No— no, you— you got hit—”He grabbed my wrist with his uninjured hand. “Elowen.” It was a clear command. Before I could respond— another gun cocked.Liora shrieked and tried to run. But she barely took three steps.Rage roared up inside me, hot, raw, and explosive. Something feral took over.I kicked off the ground, sprinted, caught her shoulder, and used the momentum to pivot and throw her down.She gasped — then I slammed her wrist
ELOWEN The rooftop door thudded shut behind me, louder than it should have. The echo skidded across the open space and bounced off my nerves.Wind whipped against my face, cold enough to sting, sharp enough to remind me I was very much alone…Liora stood near the edge, her back was to me now, her posture strangely straight. Too straight, in fact. Her shoulders are tight. Her hands in front of her like she was… waiting.Something in my stomach rippled. A warning was stuck as a bile in my throat. I swallowed hard. “You wanted to talk.” I said, trying to sound calm. She didn’t turn immediately. She breathed out, slow and soft, as if steadying herself before diving within the real matter. Rooftop. Five minutes. It’s about the project update.“Liora?” My voice came out rough. “If you have nothing to say, I am leaving.”She finally turned — and her smile was very wrong. Like something she had glued onto her face and forgotten the edges.“Elowen, oh Elowen. Why so impatient?”And somethi
ALEXANDER The moment I stepped onto the adjacent rooftop, the wind carried a sound I recognized too well— Elowen.My jaw flexed.David stayed behind the stairwell entrance as ordered; I didn’t trust anyone near her right now except the man she didn’t even know was watching her like a hawk.I moved to the ledge, staying low so none of them saw me. The cold air bit into my skin but did nothing to cool the heat tearing through my chest.And then, I saw them…Elowen, and Liora. Standing alone under those dim rooftop lights with the city yawning in neon behind them.Elowen’s posture was wrong. Even from a distance I could feel her tense. Her shoulders were too tight. Her hands fidgeted once, then locked behind her back like she was trying to hold herself together, which I know she is. She was scared.My knuckles whitened around the concrete. Everything in me screamed to go to her. Take her out of there. Shield her from everything, especially Liora.But I held myself back….Not because I w
ELOWEN I stepped forward a bit, a small smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. “I can see the way you move around him. Stop doing so.” I said. My eyes frantically searched her hand and there it was— I noticed a shining stone bracelet in her hand.But I couldn’t see further. Damn it! I need to see it.She smiled. Cold and cruel. “Why? Who are you to tell me that?” She spoke, her tone had changed slightly. I could sense her anger.“Why, you ask?” My voice turned cold, even though my heart was shaking. “Don't you realise yet? I am not only his partner in contract.” I stepped before her further. “I am also his partner in life. So, tell me… why do you lean on him as though he is yours?” Her eyes narrowed, and the faintest tremor passed through her jaw, telling me I hit the jackpot. “Partner in life?” She laughed in disbelief. “What nonsense!” she hissed, voice dropping just enough to sound dangerous. “Alexander never takes pleasure to have a life partner.” She said, too confidently tha
ELOWENThe elevator doors hadn’t even finished closing when I pressed the “Roof Access” button with a little too much, vibrating from the inside out.I hated that feeling. It made me feel breakable. Even, vulnerable. And being vulnerable was dangerous…The doors slid open, and the night air slapped me in the face— crisp, sharp, and almost cold enough to cut through the panic crawling up my spine.The rooftop was quiet. Too quiet. The city pulsed below in neon veins, but up here, everything felt suspended.It's a quiet skyscraper building, where Liora had asked me to come.I was quite determined, but now— Should it be better if I had told Alexander? Did I make a mistake? Perhaps— I did.My thoughts were sprinting ahead of me, tripping over themselves.I spent the entire day replaying everything… The misplaced file logs. That stone. The faint yet distinct scent still lingering by my desk, and in my head.And then… the call with Liora. I came here alone, completely alone.Maybe I was par
ALEXANDER I didn’t want to believe it.Not Liora. Not her. And certainly not Charlie…I trusted her. I had trained Charlie myself, guided him, tested him. I believed in the loyalty of my team, in the integrity of my circle. And yet, the logs, the access data, the subtle traces— it all pointed to something else.A sense of disbelief settled over me at first, but it was there for a moment only, and then quickly gave way to sharp, calculated anger. Not a blind rage, not explosive. No, it was cold and methodical.I sat back in my chair, gaze fixed on the wall of monitors before me. The office was silent, the lights dimmed. Outside, the city’s glow bled through the blinds, but I hardly noticed. My thoughts were consumed…Elowen.She didn’t know I know. She hadn’t told me anything yet. She was still trapped in her own swirl of doubt, trying to make sense of the footprints left behind by someone meticulous, someone dangerous. Someone who wanted to unsettle her, to manipulate her.And she w







