Aryn, his eyes burning with anger:
"Has this fool lost his mind?!"
Then he gently stepped back from her, holding her shoulders as if trying to restore the sense of security that terror had stolen from her features.
Aryn, in a low, reassuring voice:
"Don't worry, everything's fine... I'm here, Seira. I'll take you home, this place is dangerous, and you shouldn't be out at this time."
Her breaths trembled, her hands still shaking.
He moved closer to her and whispered near her ear, in a voice no one but her could hear:
"Aiden... Yes, he's my brother."
Then he continued to whisper, but with an icy tone:
"But don't you dare interfere."
He pulled away from her, as if nothing had happened, a calm smile covering his face... but it didn't reach his eyes.
Aryn:
"Come on, let's go."
But before they could take a single step...
The motorcycle suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
Its engine roared louder, then died.
A suspicious-looking man dismounted, wearing a full black helmet, enveloped in mystery and madness.
He screamed in a deep voice full of hatred, piercing the silence:
"I hate it when anyone touches her but me! Seira... she's mine alone! And if it comes to it..."
He paused for a moment, then in an even darker voice:
"I'll kill her."
Aryn remained standing on the sidewalk, watching Seira silently until she disappeared.
His heart pounded as if trying to escape his chest.
He raised his hand to his heart, pressed gently, and mumbled in a hoarse voice:
"I won't fall in love with my brother's beloved... impossible."
But a familiar voice pierced the silence from behind him, his voice was calm... but laced with suspicion.
Aiden:
"And what exactly is impossible? Strange... I see you everywhere I am."
Aryn froze in place, then turned to him calmly, not without tension, trying to hide his distress with a faint smile:
Aryn:
"That's because I like to be where things happen... By the way, is it true you quit your job as a policeman?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with a hint of sarcasm in his voice:
Aiden:
"Do you work for intelligence, perhaps? Where do you get all this information? I didn't resign, I just... took a long vacation."
Then he took a step closer, looking at him with a gaze that held both caution and challenge:
"But you, Aryn, hide a lot. And me? I won't let any thread slip through my fingers."
Silence hung between them for moments, carrying something bigger than words—a silent struggle, not spoken aloud, but understood between the brothers.
At that moment...
Seira stood in front of Aiden's door, staring at it in tense silence, as if reading something in the air.
Seira, speaking to herself in a low voice:
"Strange... He hasn't called since what happened. Is he okay? Back then he seemed... broken. Sad in a way I'd never seen before."
But before she could complete her thoughts, the sound of the elevator broke her reverie.
Ding.
She spun around quickly, her heart beating faster than time itself.
She saw him.
Aiden... standing before her, with an icy calm and a gaze that couldn't be understood.
His eyes... devoid of any warmth, as if what was between them had never been.
Aiden, in a voice as calm as the silence before a storm:
"What are you doing here, at this hour?"
Seira stared at him, searching for the shadow of him she knew. But she found only a mysterious coldness.
Seira, stammering:
"I was worried... You didn't call since what happened... I just... I wanted to make sure... I..."
But her words vanished as he approached with steady steps, like someone who knew what he wanted.
He moved closer until he pinned her against the wall, placing his hand beside her, trapping her without touching her.
He lowered his head until their breaths mingled. His gaze wasn't tender, but laced with bitter suspicion.
Aiden, in a low but sharp voice:
"What I simply want to know is... why were you with Aryn at this time?
What was the important matter that made you follow him and stop him?"
Seira's eyes widened, her breaths became agitated, and her confusion was clear on her face.
Seira, trying to explain:
"The matter... Aiden, I mean... the matter is... I... just..."
He looked at her for a moment, then suddenly pulled back, as if what he heard wasn't enough.
He turned his back and started to enter.
Aiden, coldly:
"You can't tell me, can you?"
But she didn't let him. She followed him into his apartment with angry, sorrowful steps.
Seira:
"Do you suspect me? Do you think... I'm dating Aryn?"
He stopped, but didn't turn around. He remained standing in his disturbing silence, before finally saying:
Aiden:
"I didn't say that... I just said there's something I need to know. But you... you're hiding it."
Seira's eyes filled with tears.
Seira, in a broken voice:
"And if I'm hiding something... then what about you?
What about your disappearance... not calling me since last night?
Don't I have the right to understand?"
Aiden sat on the couch, lowered his head, looking at the floor in silence.
His breaths were ragged, and his voice finally emerged:
Aiden, in a tired voice:
"I was trying to organize my thoughts... I even took an extended leave from my job.
There's something... something inside me I don't understand.
I want to know who I am... And so, I acted this way."
Seira slowly approached, sat beside him, then gently embraced him.
Seira, in a tender voice:
"If there's something, I'm the first person you should tell."
Then she pulled away slightly and reached out to gently caress his hair instinctively:
Seira, with a sad smile:
"I went to Aryn because I was surprised to see him here despite his injury...
He told me he was just worried about you."
Aiden gently took her hand, then looked up at her.
His eyes were warm... as if they wanted to say something his tongue couldn't yet articulate.
Aiden, in a quiet, deep tone:
"You're lying, Seira... I don't know what you're hiding,
But I'm sure... you'll tell me when the time is right."
Her features faltered for a moment, and she swallowed hard.
She wanted to escape that gaze, that painful honesty.
Seira, in a faint voice:
"So... where's Black?"
She asked, trying to distract from the conversation.
Aiden, with a small smile:
"Asleep... now."
She looked at him for a moment, then glanced at the clock anxiously.
Seira:
"Then... I should go back before my mom wakes up."
She turned to leave, but her steps suddenly stopped at the apartment door.
She turned to him, her eyes shining with rare sincerity, her lips trembling softly.
Seira, in a voice filled with truth:
"Perhaps... I'm just trying to protect you, Aiden.
But the one thing I'm sure of...
Is that I won't love anyone... but you."
A deep silence followed, and the door closed quietly behind her,
While Aiden remained standing in place, staring into space as if his heart no longer knew how to beat.