The doors clicked shut, and the silence inside the car thickened. Elias didn't start the engine. He sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, knuckles taut, his gaze fixed on the glow of the dorm entrance as though waiting for Leila to appear again.
Kai leaned back in the passenger seat, arms crossed, eyes narrowing as he studied him. "You look like a man who's just lost a war."
Elias's jaw tightened. "Don't."
"I will," Kai replied flatly. "Because I need to know. What happened?"
Elias exhaled slowly, the sound raw, as if the words had scraped his chest on the way out. "She doesn't want me."
Kai raised a brow, unfooled by the simplicity. "That's not what she said, is it?"
Elias finally turned to look at him, his eyes sharp, hollowed with something Kai hadn't seen before. "She made it clear. We can never be what I want. She said it herself."
For once, Kai didn't have a teasing remark at the ready. He sat forward, elbows on his knees, letting the weight of Elias's words settle between them.
"Never?" Kai asked, his tone quieter, more careful.
Elias shook his head, staring down at the steering wheel as though it might split under his grip. "She didn't push me away out of dislike. It's… something else. Something bigger. She called it the one thing she has to herself. And she begged me not to take it away."
Kai let out a low whistle, running a hand through his hair. "That sounds like more than just a polite rejection. Sounds like she's protecting something… maybe herself."
Elias closed his eyes briefly, the memory of her voice, her trembling words, the verses of the poem she recited echoing back. A lump formed in his throat. "She's already decided. And I… I don't know how to fight against that without breaking her."
Kai leaned back, studying him with uncharacteristic seriousness. "Then don't fight. Not like this. She doesn't need force, Elias. She needs the truth. Patience. You can't push her into a place she's terrified to go."
The car filled with silence again, except this time it wasn't empty—it was heavy with Elias's restlessness, his fear of losing her, and Kai's words lingering like a steady hand on his shoulder.
Leila slips out of her dorm room, careful not to wake Sofia, and the night air brushes cool against her face. The campus park is quiet, bathed in silver moonlight. She walks slowly, hugging her arms around herself, as though the silence might soothe the heaviness in her chest.
Leila (muttering to herself): "I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have said it like that. But what else could I do?"
Her voice cracks, but she keeps walking, staring at the path lit faintly by the lamps. Then she hears it—the faint crunch of footsteps behind her.
Leila (whirling around): "Sofia? … Hello?"
Silence. Just the rustle of leaves. She shakes her head, forcing a laugh.
Leila: "You're imagining things. Get a hold of yourself."
She takes a few more steps, but this time the shadows lengthen, moving unnaturally across the path. From behind the trees, figures emerge—three, maybe four men.
Leila (stiffening): "Who—who's there?"
The tallest steps forward, his face half-hidden beneath a hood. His accent carries a sharp Italian edge.
Man 1: "Ah, so this is the girl. Elias Romano's… precious little secret."
Leila (backing away): "I don't know what you're talking about. Let me go."
They close in, circling her like wolves.
Man 2 (mocking): "Don't play innocent. We've seen the way he looks at you. You're coming with us, Birdie."
Leila (voice trembling but firm): "If Elias has a problem with you, that's between you and him. Leave me out of it."
Man 1 (snapping): "Exactly why you're useful. He won't ignore us now."
Before she can scream, a hand clamps over her mouth. She thrashes, kicking hard, her muffled cry echoing into the night.
Leila (muffled, desperate): "Mmmph—!"
Man 3 (grunting as he grabs her arms): "Feisty one. Careful—don't bruise her too much. The boss wants her unharmed."
Her eyes widen at that word—the boss. She struggles harder, but the men are stronger, dragging her toward the shadows beyond the trees.
Leila (breaking free just enough to yell): "Help! Somebody—!"
Man 1 (slamming her back against his chest, voice low in her ear): "Shhh, little dove. No one's coming. By the time Romano realizes, you'll already be ours."
The moonlight flickers through the branches as they vanish into the dark, her muffled cries swallowed by the night.