LOGINI laughed so hard that my body shook, my stomach tightened, but my eyes still stung, and a huge lump formed in my throat.
The smile instantly dropped from my face, and I looked back at Medea to see her jaw clenched.“Are you listening to yourself, Medea?” I asked, my voice low but hard. “Huh? Do you even know the rubbish you’re spitting? You’re doing all this because I was arrogant and rubbed it in your face? How? When you came into my life, I was mourning my mother! And I was slowly losing my father. And you say I was being arrogant?”She rose from her seat slowly, planting her hands on the desk and getting close to my face, her teeth bared. “When I came into your house, you looked at me like I was nothing! You looked down at me from your high horse like I meant nothing.”“That’s because you meant nothing!” I shouted into her face, but she didn't even flinch. “You were nothing to me because I didn't even know you. Because you came and took my mSADEI didn’t sleep after Kross left.I tried. I lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the silence he left behind. The house felt wrong without his weight, without his presence filling the rooms. Everything felt hollow, like air after something important had been pulled out.He didn’t explain.That was the part that hurt the most.Kross had always been blunt with me. Painfully honest. Even when the truth was ugly or heavy, he never softened it. He never hid. That was one of the reasons I trusted him. That was one of the reasons I gave him everything.But this time, he just… left.“I’ll be back soon,” he said.Soon.No reason. No explanation. No truth.I sat up in bed and wrapped my arms around myself. My chest felt tight, like something was squeezing it from the inside.I had begged him to stay.I hated myself for that part.“Please,” I had said, my voice small even to my own ears. “Just tell me why.”He looked at me like he was breaking from the inside.“I can’t,” he said.
KROSS“Hello?”My voice came out rough, like I’d been holding my breath too long.The room was still warm from Sade. From us. The sheets were a mess. Her scent was everywhere, on my skin, in my lungs, in my head. I hadn’t moved yet. I was still lying there, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince my body that it was allowed to rest.“Kross,” a male voice buzzed through. It sounded clean, professional. “We have a new lead.”My chest tightened instantly.“A real one?” I asked.“Yes. On Sade’s mother.”Everything in me went cold.I sat up slowly, one hand pressing into the mattress. My heartbeat was loud in my ears. Too loud, like it wanted to escape.“Where?” I asked.“Greece,” he said. “Athens. But not where you’ve been looking.”I closed my eyes.Of course.There was always another door. Another shadow. Another truth waiting to hurt.“We need you here as soon as possible,” the man continued. “This lead won’t sit for long.”I didn’t answer right away.Behind me, I felt movement.Sad
KROSSI wasn’t done searching.That truth sat heavy in my chest the entire drive home, pressing against my ribs like it wanted out. Greece had given me pieces. Names. Handwriting. Half-truths wrapped in dust and regret. But no ending. No clean answer.And then there was my father.Dead.Just like that.I wasn’t even prepared enough for that. No last conversation that fixed what we never said. Just a body that went quiet and a house that felt empty afterward.And Sade’s mother.A ghost that refused to stay buried.It all piled up inside me until I felt like I was carrying too much weight for one man.So I came home.Not because I had answers.But because I was tired of holding everything alone.When I stepped out of the elevator, the house smelled like her.Her soft, familiar scent. Comforting in a way nothing else had been lately.Sade stood in the kitchen, barefoot, wearing one of my shirts. Her hair was pulled back, her face bare. She looked up when she heard me, and the moment our
SADEI met Ms. Harrin on a Thursday evening when my legs were tired, and my head was full.It had been one of those days where nothing went wrong, but nothing felt easy either. Class ended late, and most students rushed out, laughing and talking about dinner plans. I stayed behind, cleaning my station like always. I liked leaving things neat. It made my thoughts quieter.That was when I noticed her.She stood near the doorway, watching me…not in a judging way, not like Madame Valée. Her eyes were curious. Calm and patient.“You don’t rush,” she said.I turned, startled. “I’m sorry?”“You don’t rush,” she repeated, stepping closer. She wore a simple blazer and flat shoes. No strong perfume. Just something light and clean. Intentional. “That tells me a lot.”I nodded, not sure what to say.“I’m Ms. Harrin,” she added, holding out her hand. “I consult for the academy sometimes. Branding. Fragrance identity.”I shook her hand carefully. “I’m Sade.”“I know,” she said, smiling a little. “I
KROSSI didn’t think losing my father would hit me this hard. I didn’t want to feel it, but I did, so I did the next thing my mind could think of: a distraction.That was why I went to Greece.Not to escape his death. I knew better than that. Death follows you. But I needed motion. I needed purpose. If I stopped moving, I’d start thinking too hard, and thinking was dangerous right now.The hospital sat on a hill overlooking the city. Old stone walls. Faded paint. I had been here before, weeks ago, collecting records, snapping photos, asking questions. This time, I came back with the pictures printed, laid flat in a folder.I needed confirmation.At the reception desk, a woman with silver hair and tired eyes looked up at me.“Yes?” she asked.“I’m looking for a nurse who worked here about twenty-five years ago,” I said. “Her name might be Eleni.”The woman studied my face for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “She’s retired. But she still comes by sometimes. For paperwork.”“Is she he
SADEThe day of the funeral came quietly.It was quiet and calm, nothing extraordinary. Just a gray morning that felt heavier than the others.I stood in front of the mirror longer than usual, smoothing the black dress Kross had picked out for me the night before. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t tight. It covered me properly, like he wanted the world to look at me and see respect first and not judge me.My hands trembled as I tied my hair back.Today, I was stepping into his world.And his family, they’d never seen me before.Kross waited for me by the door. He wore a black suit, sharp and clean, but his eyes looked tired. Hollow. Like he’d been carrying something heavy for too long.“You ready?” he asked.I nodded even though my chest felt tight. “As I’ll ever be.”He studied my face for a second, then reached out and fixed a loose strand of hair near my temple. His touch was gentle, grounding.“They don’t bite,” he said quietly. Then he scoffed softly. “Most of the time.”That made me sm







