ログインJULIANShe loves me. All the way. Always has.I read Marcus's message for the third time. Then a fourth. Then a fifth.He sent it an hour ago. A screenshot of something Paige said to him. Something private. Something I wasn't meant to see.But Marcus wants me to know. Wants all of us to know. That she loves us. All the way. Always has.I set my phone down. Stare out the window.The city is awake now. Morning light spills between buildings. Traffic hums. People rush to work. Normal people living normal lives.I haven't slept.Not because I was waiting for her. Not because I was jealous. Just... because.Because sleep doesn't come easy when your mind won't quiet.She loves me.She said it. In my apartment. After dinner. After everything.But does she? Really? Or does she love the idea of me? The mystery. The quiet. The challenge.I don't know.That's the problem. I don't know.---My phone buzzes.Dante: You awake?Me: Always.Dante: Thinking about her?Me: Always.Dante: You need to sl
MARCUSThank you for choosing me. Even when you didn't have to.The words hang in the dark long after she falls asleep.I say them again. Quiet. Just to myself. Just to hear what they sound like out loud."Thank you for choosing me."She doesn't stir. Her breathing is slow. Even. Peaceful. Her hand is curled against my chest, right over my heart. Like she's holding it while she sleeps.I don't move. Don't want to wake her. Don't want to break this moment.The city glows through the windows. The stars have shifted. The night is half gone. And I'm lying here with Paige Chen in my arms, wondering how I got so lucky.My phone buzzes on the nightstand.I reach for it carefully. One-handed. Trying not to disturb her.Haruto: She's with you tonight.Not a question. A statement.Me: Yes.Haruto: Is she okay?I look down at her. Her lips are slightly parted. Her dark hair is spread across my arm. She looks younger when she sleeps. Softer. Like the weight of everything disappears.Me: She's sle
PAIGE"Marcus, the city is watching us.""Let them watch."I laugh as his hands find my waist again. The fairy lights strung between planters flicker above us. Candles burn low on the small table where we just finished dinner. Empty wine glasses catch the moonlight. The city sprawls beneath us, thousands of windows glowing like earthbound stars."You're impossible," I say."You love it." He spins me around. Pulls me against his chest. His chin rests on my shoulder. "Look at this view."I look. Really look. The sky is dark purple, almost black, with real stars peeking through the clouds. Traffic hums somewhere far below. A plane blinks across the horizon. Somewhere out there, Haruto is in his glass tower. Julian is in his quiet apartment. And I'm here. With Marcus. Under the stars."It's beautiful," I admit."Not as beautiful as you.""Marcus.""What? I'm not allowed to tell the truth?" He turns me to face him. His blue eyes are soft in the low light. His sandy brown hair falls across
PAIGEThe elevator doors start to close. But I catch them. Push them back open.Haruto is still standing there. Still watching me. Still looking at me with those dark eyes that hold six years of waiting and a future of uncertainty.I step back out."Paige?" His voice is confused. "What—""You're doing it again.""Doing what?""Staring at me like I'm about to disappear." I walk back toward him. Stop inches away. "I can see it, Haruto. The jealousy. The fear. The way your brain is already spinning, wondering if I'm walking out of your life for good."He opens his mouth. Closes it."You're not subtle.""I'm not trying to be." His jaw tightens. "I just—""You just what?"He looks away. At the city. At the glass. Anywhere but me."I just watched you leave. And part of me wondered if you were really coming back."I reach up. Touch his face. Turn it toward me."Haruto. Look at me."He looks."I haven't left you." I say it slow. Clear. So he can't miss it. "I'm going to work. That's all. I ha
HARUTO“But I don't think it'll be that easy for me.““Paige! “ “Paige!”I whisper softly, but it looks like she's passed out. One moment we were talking, her voice soft against my chest. The next, her breathing slowed. Her body relaxed. Her hand went limp in mine.I look down at her. Paige. In my arms. On the glass floor of my office. The city spread out beneath us like a promise.She's here. She's real. She said yes.My chest aches. Not from pain. From something else. Something I haven't felt in six years.Peace.I've been holding myself together for so long. Building walls. Controlling everything. Never letting anyone see the cracks.But she sees. She always has."I love you," I whisper. She doesn't hear. She's too far gone. "I never stopped. Not for one day."Her lips part slightly. She mumbles something in her sleep. My name maybe. I don't know. But I'll pretend it was.I hold her tight.---Hours pass. Or minutes. I can't tell anymore.My phone buzzes somewhere nearby. I ignore
PAIGEIt's been 3 days I said yes, Haruto texts me at noon.Haruto: Can you meet me at my office tonight. 8 PM. I want to show you something.I stare at the message for a second Me: Your office? At night?Haruto: You're coming?I think I know but I don't know what he wants ---8 PM. Shinsei Technologies. The building rises into the night sky like something from the future. Glass and steel and lights that never sleep.The lobby is empty. A security guard nods when I give my name. Points me toward a private elevator.The ride up takes forever. My reflection stares back at me from the polished doors. Hair down. Red dress. The one Sadie said would make him forget his own name.The doors open.I step out.And I forget how to breathe.The entire floor is glass. Walls. Ceiling. Everywhere. The city spreads beneath me like a map of lights. Stars and streets and everything in between.Haruto stands in the middle of it all. Dark suit. Dark eyes. Watching me."Paige." His voice is soft. "You'r
PAIGEI type the message. Delete it. Type it again. Delete it again.My thumb hovers over the keyboard. Three names. Three men. Three futures hanging on a few words.Sadie watches me from across the booth at Mrs. Chen's. She doesn't say anything. Just waits.I take a breath. Type one more time.Me:
MARCUSI start talking."Here's what I know." I look at both of them. Haruto's dark eyes. Julian's grey ones. "Paige loves you, Haruto. You were her first love. The one who got away. The one she never stopped waiting for."Haruto's jaw tightens. He doesn't speak."She loves me too." I say it withou
MARCUSMonday morning starts like any other.I'm in my office at Aethelred Tower, staring at spreadsheets I don't care about, thinking about her. Always her. Paige in my arms. Paige on my rooftop. Paige whispering my name in the dark.My phone shows a photo from yesterday. Sent by someone on my sec
PAIGEHaruto points a gun at Marcus.Marcus points a gun at Julian.Julian points a gun at Haruto.Three men. Three weapons. Three faces twisted with hate.I stand in the middle, frozen. Can't move. Can't speak. Can't breathe."She's mine." Haruto's voice is cold. Hard. Nothing like the man who kis







