No Longer A Stand In Novels & Stories

he asks. “Yes,” I say honestly. “Good,” he replies. “That means you’re not hiding anymore.” The line isn’t gone. It never will be. But it no longer runs through me. And for the first time in a very long while— I am not standing guard. I am standing still.

Hearing my name, I stopped and turned. Dominic stood there, disheveled and worn. I stared for a moment. All I could see was the man he used to be, confident and larger than life. How had he ended up like this? I shook my head, hardly able to believe it. “Can I help you, Mr. Ashford?” I asked coolly, my brow furrowed. The smile on Dominic’s face froze. “Stella, how could you leave without saying goodbye? Are you okay?”

After Poppy Steele, the heiress of the Steele family, loses her sight, my brother, Trevor Nott, breaks off their engagement and moves abroad. Left with no other choice, my parents ask me—their adopted son—to replace Trevor as a form of compensation. I take meticulous care of her for five years until she regains her sight. Just as she is about to marry me, Trevor appears at the wedding holding a bouquet of flowers, gets down on one knee, and confesses his love to her. The usually aloof Poppy bursts into tears. She throws away her wedding ring and runs to him, asking why he has only shown up now. I instantly become the laughingstock. I don't make a fuss, though. I change out of my suit a

At first, I was angry. I wanted to confront Emily. Why did she stand me up? Why did she lie to me? But when the system announced the mission was complete, and Emily coldly told me it was over between us, I suddenly understood. I was never anything more than a stand-in. I had no right to demand answers. My disappointment came from wanting something I should never have wanted. I also forgot that my original goal was just to go home. I had truly let go. But Emily didn't believe me. She lifted her gown, hurried down from the stage, and forcefully shoved a card into my hand.

The three of us look at each other. None of us need to speak. The war isn’t over. But for now, the three of us are still standing. Together. Bloody. Alive.

A door that required nothing borrowed, nothing stolen, nothing that left traces in blind zones or legacy layers. Gone. We move to contingency. Tonight. Sent. Phone face-down. Lamp off.

I lifted my head, wiping my damp cheeks with my sleeve. Stan was standing near the small, cluttered window, silent as a shadow. He wore the oversized, faded flannel shirt and dark jeans I’d bought him at the thrift shop down the street, but no modern clothes could ever truly hide what he was. There was an unnerving, timeless gravity to the way he held himself—a stillness that belonged to another era entirely. He had been staying in the narrow alcove behind my cutting table for three days now, ever since he had appeared in my life like a ghost from an ancient storm.

“Where the heck is he?” The southwestern part of the city; A sudden rapid flow of air concentrated around the pub making it look like a stage with the roof and furniture blown off. Jared at the right side backing the pub stand while staring at the Inhumane with his singlet off glowing in white at the opposite side backing the henchmen while doing few shoulders stretches with a big smile on his face getting ready for what it looked to be a hand to hand combat only between them without the use of weapons or the usage of potency. “Hmm, why are we standing here without doing anything, again?” The one with the brown dreadlocks packed upward asked.

(Roden POV) We just sat at a table while watching the Stygian dancing. Zaneah and the others, drinking. Stan was talking to people I didn't even know. The party was not fun for a loner like me, so I just wanted to go home. I’m tired of being around and smiling at all of Stan’s partners. I also don't like to drink, so I'm just here in the corner.

A horizontal kick hit him in the stomach! Stanley stood up after much difficulty but was sent flying again. He crashed into a two-meter tall wall that separated the stage from the stands!