Eliza didn't deny it.
"I suspected," she said. "Not this way. Not this fast."
Mira slid down to sit on the ground, exhausted. "He says he doesn't feel anything. He pretends he hates Rhea. But Auntie... hatred doesn't make you bleed for someone. It doesn't make you forget who's watching."
Eliza closed her eyes on the other end of the call.
Ling's control breaking was not a small thing.
"And now?" Eliza asked.
Mira's voice was hollow. "Now I don't know where I stand. I've been here my whole life. I waited. I stayed. And he... he chose someone who doesn't even want him."
That last part hurt the most.
Eliza inhaled slowly. "Mira... listen to me. What you're feeling is not wrong. But Ling is walking toward something he doesn't understand yet."
Mira laughed bitterly. "He understands enough to kneel."
Eliza didn't argue.
Instead, she said quietly, "Come back safely. Don't confront him not now I know him he won't listen."
Mira hugged her knees, tears drying on her cheeks, leaving her tired instead of broken.
"I hate him," she whispered.
When Mira's voice broke on the other end, Eliza's jaw tightened, not in surprise, but in confirmation.
"Mira," Eliza said softly, almost maternally, "I knew this trip was a mistake."
That gentleness undid Mira faster than anger ever could.
She cried again, openly this time. "Auntie... I tried. I really tried to stay patient. But Ling... he crossed a line."
Eliza closed her eyes, fingers curling around her phone. Of course it was Rhea Noir.
"He always does this," Eliza said, voice controlled but edged with disapproval. "He enters places he doesn't belong and pretends he has no effect."
Mira swallowed. "Ling almost died. And still... still he wouldn't let go of her."
Eliza's expression hardened. "That isn't love," she said firmly. "That is recklessness. Obsession masquerading as instinct."
Mira clutched her jacket tighter around herself. "But Ling has never been reckless before."
"Because he has never been challenged before," Eliza replied. "You ground him. You always have."
There it was.
The truth Eliza had never said out loud, but had always acted on.
"Mira," she continued, voice lowering, "you are the only person Ling has trusted without resistance since childhood. You are stability. You are... family."
Mira's breath trembled. "Then why doesn't he look at me?"
Eliza's pause was brief but deliberate. "Because Ling doesn't understand the difference between intensity and permanence yet."
Mira listened silently.
"Rhea is a disruption," Eliza went on. "And disruptions feel powerful when you're young and wounded. But they burn out. They always do."
Mira bit her lip. "He touched her. I saw it."
Eliza didn't flinch. "Touch doesn't equal choice."
Her voice softened again, almost reassuring. "I already see you as his future. That hasn't changed. One university girl won't change a lifetime of belonging."
That sentence settled heavy in Mira's chest, comforting.
"You don't need to compete," Eliza added. "You only need to endure. Ling will come back to what is safe."
Mira looked down at her hands, unsure whether she felt relief or something darker.
"And Rhea?" Mira asked quietly.
Eliza's answer was immediate. "She will be removed, from Ling's life or from his illusions. One way or another."
The call ended shortly after.
Mira stayed seated long after the screen went dark.
She should have felt secure.
She should have felt chosen.
Instead, a cold realization crept in:
If Ling had to be guided back to her,
then maybe, just maybe, Ling had never truly chosen her at all.
>>>>>>>>
Eliza didn't wait long after hanging up on Mira.
She dialed another number, this time without softness, without hesitation.
Rina answered on the second ring. "Auntie?"
Eliza's voice came calm, clipped, dangerous. "Tell me what is happening with Ling."
Rina straightened instinctively. She knew that tone. "Nothing serious," she said quickly. "Trip stuff. Ling's just being... Ling."
Silence.
Then, "Don't lie to me."
Rina's throat tightened. "Auntie, it's really not..."
"I spoke to Mira," Eliza cut in. "Fully."
Rina closed her eyes. Damn it.
"He put himself in danger," Eliza continued, every word measured. "Again. Because of that girl."
Rina exhaled slowly, choosing her words with care. "Ling didn't plan anything. Things just... happened."
"That is exactly the problem," Eliza snapped. "Nothing ever 'just happens' with Ling Kwong. Unless he allows it."
Rina tried one last time. "Auntie, Ling's under pressure. University. Expectations. He doesn't even know what he's feeling..."
"And you think that excuses recklessness?" Eliza's voice sharpened. "That excuses letting someone else destabilize him?"
Rina swallowed. "Rhea isn't manipulating him..."
"I didn't say she was manipulating," Eliza replied coldly. "I said she doesn't belong."
There it was. Final. Absolute.
Eliza inhaled, then delivered the order like a verdict. "You are with Ling. You have access. I don't."
Rina's fingers tightened around her phone.
"Your job," Eliza said, "is to make sure Ling stays away from Rhea Noir. I don't care how."
"Auntie..." Rina started, uneasy now.
"You distract him. Anchor him. Remind him who he is," Eliza continued. "You do not let him spiral into something that will destroy his future."
Rina hesitated. "And if Ling doesn't listen?"
Eliza's pause was brief, and chilling.
"Then you protect him from himself," she said. "Even if he hates you for it."
The call ended.
Rina stared at her phone long after the screen went dark.
She loved Ling. Fiercely. Unconditionally.
But for the first time, she felt the weight of something she'd never carried before,
Being asked to stand between Ling Kwong and the one person who had managed to break through his armor.
And Rina knew, deep down, this wasn't going to end cleanly.
Because Ling didn't just like Rhea Noir.
He had already chosen her,
even if he would never admit it out loud.
>>>>>>>
Ling pushed the flap of the tent aside like it was his right.
Rhea was inside, half-turned, struggling to fasten her top properly. The faint red stain at her waist was still there, darker now. Fresh.
Ling's jaw tightened.
"I told you to take care of it," Ling said flatly.
Rhea didn't look at him. "I didn't ask for your concern."
Ling stepped in anyway, lowering himself in front of her. "Sit."
Rhea laughed, sharp and dismissive. "You don't order me around outside your kingdom, Kwong."
Ling's eyes flicked to the blood again. Something dark crossed his face. "Sit. Before you faint again and I have to carry you."
That did it.
Rhea glared, but she sat.
Ling reached for the antiseptic kit without asking. His movements were precise, controlled, the same way he handled everything else in his life.
Only his hands betrayed him, too careful, too restrained.
"I can do it myself," Rhea snapped.
Ling didn't look up. "Clearly."
He cleaned the area slowly. Rhea hissed when the antiseptic touched the wound, fingers curling into the fabric beside her.
"Stop acting like it hurts," Ling muttered.
Rhea scoffed. "Says the guy who almost cracked his skull saving me."
Ling's hand paused for half a second.
Then continued.
"You didn't tell anyone," Ling said, quieter now.
"I don't need sympathy," Rhea replied. "Especially not yours."
Ling finally looked up at her then, eyes dark, unreadable. "This isn't sympathy."
"Then what is it?" Rhea challenged.
Ling didn't answer. He pressed the gauze in place, securing it firmly but gently. His thumb brushed Rhea's skin once, an accident he didn't acknowledge.
"There," Ling said. "Try not to bleed out. It's inconvenient."
Rhea stared at him. "You're unbelievable."
Ling said, "And yet, you still let me touch you."
His hand was still at Rhea's waist.
Not gripping.
Not pulling away.
Just... there.
Their eyes locked, too close, too aware. Rhea's breath hitched despite herself, and Ling felt it, felt the heat under his palm, felt the dangerous pull he refused to name.
Then,
Clap. Clap.