{ Mia }
The connection wasn't fading. If anything, it was getting stronger.
It pulsed beneath my skin—a constant, buzzing warmth I couldn't shake. No matter how much I wanted to push it away, it clung to me like a shadow. And worse… it felt like him.
Ace.
I squeezed my eyes shut and curled my fingers into fists, hoping to block him out. But the harder I tried, the more his presence pressed against my mind—steady, unyielding. It wasn't just a feeling anymore. It was like a thread tying us together, one I couldn't break.
And it scared me.
A shiver crept down my spine as I tried to focus on something else—anything else—but the connection flared again, sharp and demanding. For a breathless moment, I wasn't in my room anymore.
I was with him.
A flash—
Ace stood alone in the dark, his shoulders tense. His hands curled into fists like he was holding something back. His jaw tightened, and behind his usual calm, I felt it—something raw. Something broken.
Another flash—
Pain. Fierce and sudden. But it wasn't mine. It was his.
My eyes snapped open as the vision faded, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to process what I'd just felt.
What was happening to me?
I'd always known my powers were different. But this? This wasn't normal.
And the worst part? I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop it.
Because beneath the fear, beneath the confusion, a small part of me craved the connection. Craved the piece of him it gave me—no matter how much I tried to deny it.
I hated him for lying to me. For keeping the truth from me. But I couldn't hate the way he made me feel less… alone.
I ran a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling in my chest. "Get out of my head," I whispered, but the words felt empty.
Because deep down, I knew—
He wasn't going anywhere.
And neither was this bond tying us together.
" Mia..." Ash started. " Why don't you talk to him... Try to understand him."
" Understand him? " I raised my brows. " He's been lying to me for 16 whole years!!" I crossed my hands over my chest.
" But Mia..."
" Don't Mia me... He could've come searching for me, he could've told me, but he didn't... Do you know how much I suffured feeling like someone was out there but never really finding them?"
Ash let out a deep breath. " Mia... But, don't you feel better knowing that you actually have a brother?"
I sighed deeply. " You don't get it Ash... I've always longed for a brother —"
" Then what's the problem!?!?" She growled clearly irritated.
" Just get out!!" I screamed frustrated.
Ace turned to me frowning. " You're really that mad huh ?"
" W-what?! N-No! I wasn't talking to you." I stuttered my eyes softening seeing him distressed.
" I—I'm sorry." We said at the same time.
Ace looked at me and shook his head. " How about a little chat cupcake? You can ask me anything..." He sighed rubbing his nape.
I looked at him my eyes sparking. "Anything?"
" Anything."
I gently plopped down on the couch and looked at him.
" What's you real name?"
He froze, then smiled. " Is this really your first question cupcake?"
I shrugged. " I just... I wanna know."
He hesitantly looked at me not saying anything. " I knew it... You'll always refuse to answer me." I sighed getting up and walking towards the door, but as soon as my palm touched the cold metal he spoke. " Hunter... "
I turned around my eyes wide in shock." What ?"
" My name is Hunter." He smiled.
I nodded. " Why didn't you tell me sooner ?"
His eyes darkened with something dangerous before he spoke. " I... I wanted to, but I was scarred."
" Scarred of what?"
He sighed. " Scared that I'd lose you before I even had you..."
My heart immediately turned soft as he uttered those word I wanted to go up and hug him but the voice in my head kept telling me. ' Focus Mia, get all the answers first then, you could go soft.'
" Why do I feel this... connection towards you ?"
I could barely breathe, the air thick with the unspoken words between us. And when Ace finally spoke again, his voice cracked the silence like glass breaking
His eyes softened a bit before he spoke. " Cupcake... you and I... we share a special bond that no one else does... You see... When you were born, I was already six years old... The moment I saw you... I felt this... Unexplainable bond towards you, the way you cried laughed, and felt, I felt all of them with you... Whenever you felt pain I felt the same, and whenever I felt pain you would cry your eyes out." He chuckled before continuing.
"The day you disappeared… it's a day I'll never forget." His voice wavered, the usual confidence stripped away. "We were just kids, playing hide and seek. You were counting, and I hid in the closet. I thought it was just a game, until they came."
His hands curled into fists as he spoke, like he was reliving it.
"These men… they were dressed in black. They stormed into the house and went straight for our parents' room. I didn't understand what was happening at first, but their energy—" He swallowed hard, his gaze locking onto mine. "It felt exactly like the man who attacked us."
I froze. My heart pounded in my ears.
"Our families… we've been in a feud for a long time, Mia. Longer than you can imagine." His jaw clenched as if the words physically hurt. "And that day… they killed them."
The air felt like it had been sucked from my lungs.
"I tried to save you," he continued, voice rough. "When I saw them coming for us, something inside me, snapped. My powers flared, stronger than ever. I wanted to teleport you somewhere safe. But I messed up, I wasn't strong enough to control it."
His shoulders slumped under the weight of his words.
"I didn't send you home, Mia. I sent you to an adoption agency." His voice cracked. "And by the time I found you again… it was too late. They had already taken you in."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He hadn't sent me to a home to be safe. He'd sent me away, to be lost, and I felt it. All those years, I had been waiting, hoping... and he had been trying to protect me the whole time. But the pain of those years apart felt too heavy to forgive in one moment.
"And from that moment on," he whispered, "I could feel you. My bond to you, it's grown. It's evolved in ways you can't imagine. No matter how far you were, no matter how much time passed… I always knew you were out there."
I couldn't even bring myself to cry. My chest was tight, as if there wasn't enough air in the room. His words felt like they were reaching into the deepest part of me, pulling me apart. I had always longed for a brother, but not like this. Not with all this pain. My heart told me to forgive him, to trust him, but my mind... my mind couldn't let go of the past.
Silence stretched between us, heavy and raw. My heart ached with too many emotions to name, grief, anger, confusion… and something else.
Something I wasn't ready to face.