جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

Severiano's POVThe next morning, I was awake before the sun.That was not unusual. Sleep had never been something I depended on.I reviewed reports while the house remained quiet. Security logs. Access audits. Personnel movement. Everything from the night before had already been contained.I closed the file and rescheduled my first meeting for thirty minutes later. No explanation was given. No one asked for one. No one would dare.I stood and left my study.The corridor outside the medical wing was silent. Two guards stood outside her door. Both were men I trusted not to speak unless it was necessary. I stopped a few feet away and listened.Her breathing was steady.That mattered.I entered the room alone.The lights were low. The equipment had been pushed back. I adjusted the chair near the bed so it faced her without crowding her. I removed the small mirror from the counter and set it inside a drawer. I did not like the way reflections unsettled people after injury.She lay still.

Arlari’s POVAfter I left Severiano’s study, I went back to my room.I closed the door behind me and leaned my back against it.My legs felt weak, like I had walked too far without resting. I slid down slowly until I was sitting on the floor. The carpet was soft, almost too clean. Everything here was always too clean, too controlled, like pain had rules it was expected to follow.I’ll think about it.His words looped in my head.Thinking was dangerous. Thinking meant weighing risks. Thinking meant I might not get to see Danny.Just the thought of his name made my chest ache. I pressed my palm there, like I could hold the feeling still. He was the only thing in my life that existed before everything went wrong.I pushed myself up and sat on the bed. I stared at the wall, at nothing.I wondered what Danny would think if he saw me now. Pale. Watched.He would be worried. He would be scared. He would definitely nag at me to tell him my plans or leave with him.But I couldn't care less wha

Arlari`s POVI woke up alone. Danny had left the night before. His absence made the house feel colder, even though the guards were still there, watching. I tried to ignore them, but the weight of their eyes always lingered.Rafael appeared in the hallway like he’d appeared out of the shadows. He didn’t smile, or smirk. Just leaned against the frame, arms crossed.“You move too much where you shouldn’t,” he said quietly.I stiffened but kept my voice even. “I’m just walking.”He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle. “Severiano doesn’t forgive curiosity. Or betrayal. Remember that.”I nodded, keeping my face neutral. He gave me a subtle nod back and disappeared down the hall. My heart was racing, but I told myself not to panic. Rafael was dangerous, yes, but he wasn’t reckless.Once I was sure he was gone, I ducked into a storage room, locking the door behind me. My hands shook as I pulled out my phone. Esteban’s number flashed on the screen.“Mr Cortez,” I whispered, press

Arlari's POVI pressed myself harder against the car, trying to make myself disappear. Smoke still curled from the street, the air thick with dust, gunpowder, and the metallic tang of blood. My ears rang, my stomach churned, and my hands trembled. I couldn’t stop shaking.The shadowy figure from the wreckage was gone, or at least, I thought it was. My eyes scanned every alley, every rooftop, every corner. My pulse thundered in my ears.Severiano didn’t speak. He stood a few feet away, calm as ever, surveying the street like a predator assessing territory. Rafael crouched behind the car with me, eyes scanning, gun ready. I wanted to tell him I couldn’t do this. I wanted to beg him to let me run. But my voice refused to come.“Stay low,” Severiano said finally, his tone cold, precise. “Danger doesn’t always announce itself.”I nodded. My fingers dug into the seat. The words sank in, but fear made them feel hollow.The attackers were gone. Some had fled, some lay injured. The trucks and

Severiano’s POVWhen the door closed behind her, the room felt louder.Not because of any sound. But because of absence.I stood where I was, facing the dresser, hands resting flat on the wood. I did not move right away. Moving too fast after restraint always leaves marks. Invisible ones. I preferred control over the aftermath.Her scent still lingered. Warm. Untrained. A mix of fear and want she did not know how to separate yet. Just like Lilith.And that was the problem.Arlari was not weak. Weak people shatter early. She had not shattered. She had leaned forward instead. That instinct could either save her or ruin her. Tonight, it almost did both.I exhaled slowly.She should not have been there, she should not have seen the attack. That was my failure. Not hers.The battlefield had been simple. Clean. Noise, blood, precision. Rafael and I ended it before the threat could breathe twice. That kind of violence does not disturb me. It never has. Violence is honest. It does not pretend