Chapter 31.

The drizzle had picked up just enough to mist the air, beading on Drake’s hair as he stepped toward the door. He had decided, quietly and firmly, that he should leave. Miguel had asked him to, and there was no point in staying where he wasn’t wanted.The door opened, and the cool evening air rushed in. Drake didn’t bother to pull up his hood. The soft patter of rain against the pavement was strangely calming, even as the air clung cold against his skin. Without looking back, he stepped out of the apartment, his shoes carrying him toward the gate.From the doorway, Miguel’s gaze followed him like a shadow that refused to detach. His chest felt tight, not from the chill, but from the guilt gnawing at him, a relentless, bitter taste of the past. Every step Drake took away from him seemed to echo against the walls of his memory, dragging with it all the moments he wished he could rewrite.He wanted to run after him, to grab his arm and spill out everything, the truth about his parents mur

Last Updated : 2025-08-10

Chapter 32.

Miguel said, almost too fast, as though sealing the words before Drake could contradict them.The guard’s brows lifted, and then almost imperceptibly, his mouth curved into a grin. Not mocking, exactly, but threaded with the kind of amusement a man wore when he’d just caught someone bluffing.“Delivery guy, huh?” he murmured, more to himself than anyone else, eyes flicking between Miguel and Drake like he was replaying the words in his head.Drake stood there, unsure whether to take offense or laugh it off. Delivery guy? Of all things Miguel could have said… He could feel a retort prickling at the back of his tongue, but it snagged there, caught between his confusion and the heavy atmosphere pressing in on them.The guard’s gaze lingered on Miguel with an ease born from years of familiarity. He’d known him since he was a boy. Back when Miguel’s charm was clumsy but genuine, before he learned how to sharpen it into something dangerous. And if there was one thing he’d learned over thos

Last Updated : 2025-08-10

Chapter 33.

They slipped out of the noisy circle together, finding a quieter spot near the edge of the terrace. The city lights spilled in behind her as they talked, their conversation starting light. From family ties, old events, and passing jokes, but soon their words took on a different weight. It was then filled with flirtatious contents.Soon, she was pulling his hair. Both lips locked in a provocative kiss.Miguel’s lips lingered on hers, the kiss deep enough to draw a flush across her cheeks and a low whistle from someone watching nearby. Then a pointed cough cut through the moment.Miguel broke the kiss, with furrowed brows, his gaze snapping toward the sound. A guard stood a few feet away, rigid in posture, though his eyes betrayed the discomfort of having walked in on the scene.Miguel’s voice sharpened, low and edged.“What do you want?”The guard’s throat bobbed as he straightened further. “Your father… he requests your presence.”For a beat, silence hung between them, Miguel’s anger

Last Updated : 2025-08-16

Chapter 34.

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. It was final and left no room for questions, then the guard lowered his head in obedience instead, but his eyes flickered with unease.Adams tapped his finger once on the desk, “Do not fail me.”Meanwhile outside.Miguel froze outside the heavy oak door of his father’s office. He hadn’t meant to stop, hadn’t even meant to listen, but the sharp edge in Adams’ voice when he choose to believe him was suspicious, and this confirmed his suspicions. “…quit wasting time following Miguel,” Adam's voice kept on ringing in his mind. “From now on, your eyes stay on the boy. Drake.”His breath hitched. His palm pressed flat against the cold wall as his heartbeat thundered in his ears.“If my suspicions are true, don’t waste time. Eliminate him.”He heard the voice replay his father's words in his mind, to the extent he could even taste the venom in his words.The word hit him like a blade sliding between his ribs. He staggered back a step, fightin

Last Updated : 2025-08-19

Chapter 35.

He flinched back, pulse surging, braced for the worst, for the shadow that haunted his dreams to step through at last. Instead, a familiar reek of alcohol rushed in before the man himself. “Drake!” his uncle’s voice thundered, slurred yet vicious. His eyes were bloodshot, his figure swaying unsteadily as he filled the doorway like some looming wraith. “Evil child… I should’ve known. You think I can die of the cold outside? You can’t kill me the way you killed your parents!” The words lashed like knives, sharp and cruel, dragging old wounds wide open. Drake froze, staring at him, the accusation coiling through the silence. And yet, against all expectation, his chest loosened with a raw, shaky exhale. His uncle’s presence, though pathetic, staggering, and loud, wasn’t an intruder. It wasn’t the masked man from his nightmares. Relief washed over him, strange and bitter, clashing with the insult. At least it wasn’t someone come to finish the job. At least it wasn’t real death wai

Last Updated : 2025-08-22

Chapter 36.

The world tilted. Drake’s heart slammed against his ribs, his body caught between disbelief and something dangerously close to hope.He let out a nervous laugh instead, the kind that scratched against his own throat. “ I should be…your..boyfriend? Like we should be dating? That’s… that’s ridiculous,” he stammered, the words tumbling over themselves in an awkward rush. He expected Miguel to laugh too, to shrug it off as some reckless joke born out of late-night teasing and too much honesty.But Miguel wasn’t laughing.When Drake finally dared to look up, he found those sharp eyes fixed directly on him, unwavering, and unreadable yet so intent it made his stomach tighten. Miguel wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t teasing. He was staring straight at his face, and straight through him and Drake’s laughter died in his throat.His heart sank.“I’m dead serious, Drake,” Miguel said quietly, every syllable sounded serious, and stripped of playfulness.The air in the car shifted. Drake’s chest tightene

Last Updated : 2025-08-26