Hey guys, sorry I was a bit busy yesterday—and honestly, still am—but I managed to carve out some time to get new chapters out for you.
Hope you enjoy them ❤️
Don't forget to vote and drop a rating—it really helps more than you think.
see you tommorow
with love,
your Author
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The room didn't return to normal after the voice faded.
It settled into something quieter, but not calmer. The kind of quiet that made every movement feel deliberate, every breath slightly too loud, like the space itself was listening for what would come next. Nothing pressed in on them the way it had before, yet the absence of that pressure didn't bring relief.
It only made the awareness sharper.
Lia stood where she was, her thoughts no longer scattered but not entirely steady either. The mark on her chest had gone still again, but she could feel it there in a way she couldn't ignore anymore, like something that had chosen to remain instead of forcing its presence.
She exhaled slowly, grounding herself.
"I think it's gone," she said, though her voice carried more caution than certainty.
Evan didn't answer immediately. His gaze moved once across the room before settling back on her, his expression unreadable but tense.
"For now," he said.
That didn't help.
Lia let out a quiet breath, her shoulders easing just slightly, though not enough to call it relief. Her focus shifted, almost instinctively, toward Damien.
He hadn't stepped away.
Not once.
The space between them was still too close to ignore, his presence steady in a way that felt deliberate, not accidental. His hand had loosened its grip on her arm, but it hadn't left completely, as if he hadn't decided whether to let go or not.
Lia noticed.
And this time, she didn't pretend she didn't.
"…You can let go," she said quietly.
Damien's gaze flicked down briefly, as if only now registering the contact. For a moment, he didn't move. His fingers remained where they were, warm, steady, not tightening but not withdrawing either.
Then, slowly, he released her.
But he didn't step back.
The distance between them remained.
Intentional.
Evan watched the exchange without saying anything, though something in his expression shifted—subtle, but there.
Lia became aware of it immediately.
"…What?" she asked, her tone edged slightly.
Evan lifted a shoulder, casual on the surface.
"Nothing."
She didn't believe him.
But she didn't press.
Not when the air between her and Damien still felt… charged.
Different.
She turned her attention back to Damien, studying him more carefully now. There was something in his expression she hadn't seen before—not entirely new, but clearer than it had ever been.
Less guarded.
More focused.
On her.
"You didn't answer me earlier," she said.
His brows lowered slightly. "About what?"
Lia held his gaze.
"Why you're still here."
A brief pause followed.
Not long.
But long enough to feel intentional.
Damien exhaled quietly, his posture shifting just enough to show that he was choosing his words this time, not just reacting.
"…Because you're involved now," he said.
Lia tilted her head slightly.
"That's not an answer."
His eyes didn't waver.
"It's the one I'm giving you."
There it was.
That familiar edge.
The one that usually pushed her away.
But this time—
It didn't land the same.
Lia stepped a little closer before she could stop herself, her voice lowering just enough to shift the tone of the moment.
"You're avoiding the real reason."
Damien's gaze sharpened.
"And you think you know it?"
Her lips parted slightly.
For a second, she almost said it.
Then stopped.
Because the answer sitting at the edge of her thoughts felt too direct. Too revealing.
"…No," she admitted quietly. "But I think you do."
The space between them tightened.
Not physically.
But in a way that made it harder to breathe normally.
Evan shifted again in the background, clearly aware of the shift but choosing not to interrupt it this time. His silence felt deliberate, like he was watching something unfold that he didn't want to interfere with.
Damien took a slow step forward.
Just one.
But it erased the last bit of distance between them.
Lia felt it immediately.
The change.
The closeness.
The way her focus narrowed without her meaning it to.
His voice dropped slightly.
"Be careful what you assume."
It wasn't a warning.
Not entirely.
Lia didn't step back.
Instead, she held his gaze, steady despite the way her pulse had started to pick up again.
"Then give me something real," she said.
For a moment—
He didn't answer.
And in that moment, the silence wasn't empty.
It was full.
Of everything neither of them was saying.
His gaze dropped, just briefly.
To her lips.
Then back to her eyes.
That small shift didn't go unnoticed.
Not by her.
Not by him.
The air changed again.
Not like before.
Not sharp.
Not dangerous.
But heavier.
Warmer.
Lia's breath slowed without her meaning it to.
"Damien—"
She didn't finish.
Because something shifted again.
Subtle.
But enough.
The mark on her chest stirred—not painfully, not sharply, but just enough to remind her that they weren't alone in this, that something else still lingered at the edge of whatever this moment was becoming.
Her expression tightened slightly.
Damien noticed immediately.
His focus shifted, just enough to catch the change in her face.
"It's back?" he asked quietly.
Lia shook her head once.
"No… not like before."
She hesitated, her hand hovering near her chest again.
"…It's just… there."
A pause.
"…Watching."
The word settled differently this time.
Not as a threat.
But as an interruption.
Evan exhaled slowly.
"Of course it is."
Lia glanced toward him briefly, then back at Damien.
And the moment didn't fully break.
But it shifted.
Pulled back just enough to remind them that whatever was happening between them wasn't isolated.
It was being… observed.
Damien's expression hardened slightly, but his stance didn't change.
If anything—
He stayed exactly where he was.
Closer than before.
His voice lowered again.
"Then let it watch."
Lia blinked slightly.
That wasn't the answer she expected.
"Damien—"
His gaze didn't waver.
"It doesn't get to decide what you do."
The words landed differently.
Not strategic.
Not analytical.
Personal.
And for the first time since this started—
Lia felt something steady again.
Not safety.
Not certainty.
But something close.
Her hand lowered slowly from her chest.
And the tension in her shoulders eased just enough to breathe normally again.
"…You really believe that?" she asked.
Damien didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The certainty in his voice didn't leave room for doubt.
And for a moment—
She wanted to believe it too.
The air settled again, not fully calm, but no longer pressing.
The presence lingered.
Distant.
Watching.
But not interfering.
Not yet.
And between all of that—
The space between Lia and Damien remained.
Close.
Unresolved.
And impossible to ignore.
Lia held his gaze a second longer than she should have.
Then— Her phone vibrated.
Once.
Sharp.
Intrusive.
The sound cut clean through the moment, pulling her attention away just enough to break whatever had been building between them.
She glanced down.
A message from unknown number. Her stomach tightened before she even opened it.
Damien noticed. "What is it?"
Lia didn't answer.
Because she had already read it.
And the words didn't feel distant.
They felt immediate.
Personal.
"If you want the truth… come alone."
She froze.
Because this time— It wasn't just a pull.
It was a choice.
And something told her that whatever she chose next…
Wouldn't just affect her.