Ares's POV
The moment my phone lit up with Jasmine's name on the contact list… no new messages, no returned calls, nothing… my chest tightened again.
She was gone.
And I had no idea where she went after storming out.
The memory of her walking away from me in the lounge… the parking lot… and finally leaving the safehouse hours later… all of it kept replaying like a punishment.
Her cold voice. Her trembling hands. The look in her eyes wasn't anger anymore.
It was something worse.
Fear mixed with disappointment.
I dragged both hands through my hair and leaned against the cold glass wall of my safehouse office, trying to breathe.
It wasn't working.
The city lights below looked blurry, like someone had smeared the skyline with their thumb. My eyes burned. My throat felt tight. And I hated all of it.
I was Ares Knight.
I did not lose control.
I did not break over anyone.
But Jasmine… Jasmine had a way of tearing through every wall I had built.
