Ryan had been buried in his own pile of work when the door opened with the soft click. Ryan was sitting assured, knowing no one dares to come into Kai's office. Kai Arden walked in, his presence immediately shifting the air inside the office. His movements were unhurried, casual almost, but Ryan had learned long ago that nothing about Kai was ever casual.
Kai stepped toward his chair, but before he could even lower himself into it, Ryan rose from his seat on the opposite side. Without a word, he extended his hand, holding out a thick manuscript. The sight of it in Ryan's fingers made something unreadable flash in Kai's eyes.
Kai didn't snatch it, didn't frown, didn't scold. He just reached forward, long fingers brushing against the edges, and accepted it with an almost reverent calm.
''This should be. The last," he said, his voice flat but edged with authority. "I wouldn't tolerate this next time, Ryan."
Ryan raised a brow, noting the subtle weight in Kai's tone. Something more than just privacy. Something closer to… protection.
Kai lowered himself into his chair, gaze fixed on the stack of papers as though it wasn't merely ink and pages but something fragile, something alive. He set it carefully on the polished surface of his desk, his hand lingering longer than usual.
Ryan's sharp eyes didn't miss the way Kai looked at it like a man who had finally found something he had been wandering toward for years. Suspicion pricked at him. Why was this manuscript different? What emotions did it stir in Kai that nothing else ever could?
Almost by chance, his gaze landed on the cover page. The author's name was typed neatly at the bottom: Inkheart.
Ryan let the name roll off his tongue slowly. "So… you finally finalized it?"
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Kai leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable, but there was a subtle exhale, like a weight he hadn't realized he'd been carrying finally eased off his chest. He gave only a single nod. A simple nod…but Ryan felt the heaviness of it.
That nod wasn't businesslike, wasn't detached, wasn't the cold professionalism Kai was famous for. No. That nod carried years of waiting, searching, rejecting, and quietly hoping. For years, they had combed through scripts, looking for something that could touch a nerve in Kai's stone-like heart. Something layered with the emotions he had always struggled to convey.
And here it was. At last.
Ryan sat back down slowly, his gaze flicking between the manuscript and Kai. So this was it… the missing piece.
He watched Kai, studied the way his fingers tapped once against the desk before stilling, the faint crease at the corner of his mouth that wasn't quite a smile, wasn't quite anything. But it was different.
"You've been chasing this for so long," Ryan said quietly. "And now that you've found it…So, shall we move forward?''
Kai's gaze lifted, sharp but distant at the same time, like his mind was already far beyond the four walls of the office. His lips parted, and for a fleeting second, Ryan thought he would finally open up. But instead, Kai said only one thing.
"It's not the right time." That was all.
Ryan blinked. "Not the right time? But we've been waiting years for this. You've been waiting. You finally have a script that's filled with what you've been missing: emotion, heart, soul. Isn't this what you wanted?"
Kai didn't flinch, didn't waver. He simply folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, eyes locked on the manuscript like it was both salvation and danger rolled into one.
"It doesn't matter," he said softly, a dangerous calm in his tone. "Having it doesn't mean I can use it. Not yet."
Ryan studied him carefully. And then, almost on instinct, he took a gamble, a shot in the dark. He asked quietly. "There's something else in those pages. Something… personal."
For the first time in years of working with him, Ryan thought he saw the slightest crack in Kai's armor. His jaw tightened. His fingers stilled completely against the desk. But then, just as quickly, Kai smoothed it over. A mask sliding back into place. He gave Ryan a sidelong glance, cool and unreadable again.
"You talk too much," he murmured.
Ryan smirked faintly because Kai was the only person who could say that he talked so much, but inside, he was more convinced than ever. His hunch was right. That manuscript wasn't just another manuscript. It was something else entirely, something tied to the emotions Kai had always denied having. Something, or… someone.
Kai sat in silence, eyes locked on the manuscript. His heartbeat, usually steady and calm, thudded just a fraction faster. Because inside those pages, between every line and every word, he had finally found something he couldn't fake, couldn't rehearse, couldn't strip away.
Emotion. And it terrified him as much as it thrilled him.
The living room had quieted down. The faint glow of the TV still played across the walls, the drama forgotten as Maya's head tilted sideways, her words trailing off mid-sentence. Within moments, soft breaths confirmed she was fast asleep, curled up on the sofa, blanket half slipping off her shoulder.
Alina sat there for a moment, staring at her friend, torn between waking her up and letting her rest. A small smile tugged at her lips; Maya always pushed herself too much. With a gentle hand, she tucked the blanket around her and stood.
But sleep wouldn't come to Alina. Not tonight. Her mind was buzzing, restless, stuck on the fragments of thoughts and the images that had refused to leave her since the evening. Kai Arden. His face on the television. His voice echoed through the room. His actions were so precise, so full of something she had once insisted he lacked.
She found herself walking toward the bedroom. It was quiet there, the shadows deep, the air cooler. She sat on the bed, pulled the laptop closer, and flipped it open. The screen lit her face in pale blue as she typed in his name.
"Kai Arden."