SERAPHINE
The bright studio lights finally dimmed.
"Cut! That's a wrap for today."
The director's voice echoed across the set as crew members immediately began moving equipment, cameras rolling away on metal tracks and assistants rushing around with clipboards and cables.
I slowly stepped away from the filming area, the long silver dress I had worn for the final scene hugging the elegant curve of my waist and hips. The slit of the dress brushed against my thigh as I walked toward my trailer, exhaustion resting quietly behind my composed expression.
It had been a long day.
Another emotional scene. Another performance under the watchful eyes of directors, producers, and dozens of cameras.
But that wasn't what weighed on my mind.
Inside my dressing room, the noise of the set faded behind the closed door. The quiet was almost suffocating.
I sat down in front of the large mirror surrounded by warm lights. My makeup artist had already left, leaving only the faint scent of perfume and powder in the air.
I reached for my phone on the table.
The screen lit up.
Notifications.
Messages.
Social media tags.
But not the one she unconsciously expected.
My fingers paused.
Azrael.
For the first time in weeks… nothing.
No late-night message.
No short call asking how me filming was going.
No quiet check-in the way he usually did without making it obvious.
I leaned back in the chair slowly, staring at the phone in my hand.
"That's strange…"
Normally, even when he was buried in work, Azrael always found a moment to reach out. It wasn't frequent, but it was consistent. A simple message. A short call.
Something.
But lately…
Silence.
I remembered hearing that he had traveled abroad for business, something big involving international contracts. Still, it had been long enough that the absence was beginning to feel… noticeable.
Annoyingly noticeable.
I stood and walked toward the small couch inside the trailer, slipping off my heels and stretching my legs out.
My mind drifted back to the last time I had seen him.
The quiet tension between us.
The way his presence seemed to fill every space he walked into. That cold control in his eyes that somehow still managed to draw her in like gravity.
"And the way he always watched her."
Carefully.
Intensely.
I sighed softly and dropped my phone beside her.
Well I guess he's really busy.
"Why am I even thinking about this?"
I wasn't the type to wait around for someone to call.
My life was busy enough. Filming schedules, interviews, brand deals, and endless scripts waiting to be read.
Yet the silence from Azrael felt… unusual.
Almost deliberate.
Outside the trailer, the film crew continued packing equipment, the distant sounds of laughter and conversation filtering through the walls.
I stood and walked toward the window, crossing my arms as I looked out across the studio lot.
Night had fallen.
Bright production lights illuminated the massive set where they had filmed all day.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass.
Elegant.
Composed.
Unbothered.
At least on the surface.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, a quiet thought refused to leave.
What is he doing right now?
Across the city, inside the towering headquarters of Valken Dynamics, Azrael Aurelios (Backwood)was still awake, buried beneath stacks of documents and contracts that demanded his attention after returning from Germany.
Neither of them realized yet how close they were.
Or how quickly their paths were about to collide again.