The Arsenal smelled of burnt coffee, melted rubber, and accumulated desperation. The smell of my week.How long had I been there? I no longer knew. The days blended into nights, the nights into days, and the only marker of time was Raphaël’s cycle: coffee, screen, alert, coffee, screen, alert, twenty-minute nap, coffee, screen, alert.He was killing himself. And I was tired of watching.It wasn’t that I didn’t care. I mean, I did care. But I wasn’t going to admit it so easily. The problem was that Raphaël was stubborn. Stubborn and stupid. And handsome. And he smelled good, even after days without a shower. And he had those hands…“Anya, you’ve been staring at me for five minutes.” His voice cut through my thoughts, dry, tired, his eyes still fixed on the screens. “If you’re going to criticize my appearance, save it. I know I look like a sight.”“I wasn’t going to criticize.” I got up from the chair where I had been sitting for hours, stretching my legs. My body cracked in protest. “I
Last Updated : 2026-05-28 Read more