Part 102
The moment comes quietly, disguised as nothing.
Aura has left for groceries — something she hasn't done alone in weeks.
It's midmorning; the house hums with the faint echo of her absence.
Adrian stands in the middle of the living room, motionless.
Every instinct screams at him to run, to tear the door open and vanish, but reason holds him still.
It's too soon. The locks, the cameras — he's seen the red light blink near the entryway.
She's watching, even when she's not here.
So he starts smaller.
On the counter, her phone lies half-buried under a folded receipt.
Unlocked.
He swallows, fingers trembling just a little as he picks it up.
For a second, his reflection stares back at him in the black screen.
He looks like a ghost.
Then he opens the messages.
The last one is from an unknown number:
"No update on Adrian's location. Last confirmed sighting: two months ago."
He scrolls higher — texts from fan forums, from contacts saved under fake names.
And then one message catches him:
"If he's really gone, maybe it's better this way. He was breaking."
Adrian stops reading. His chest tightens.
He doesn't know if the tears that sting his eyes are from relief or exhaustion.
He locks the phone and puts it back exactly where it was.
Then he exhales — slow, steady.
It's a small step, but the first real one.
He knows now:
The world still believes he's missing.