Kai couldn't sleep. The mansion was silent, yet every creak of the floorboards made his heart jump. He sat cross-legged on the cot, staring at the wall, replaying Lucias's words over and over. "You're different."
Different. That word pulsed through him like a warning—and something more he wasn't ready to admit.
The door clicked open quietly. Kai tensed instantly, expecting a guard—or worse, Lucias himself. Instead, it was Mark. Calm, composed, leaning casually against the doorway, his eyes assessing.
"You're still awake," Mark said softly, though the quiet of the hallway made his voice sound louder than it was.
"I could ask you the same," Kai replied, smirking despite the tension coiling in his chest.
Mark stepped inside, holding a small tray with water and a wrapped sandwich. "Eat. You'll need energy if you plan to survive tomorrow."
Kai arched a brow. "You're feeding me? What is this, hospitality from the devil's right-hand?"
Mark didn't smile. "Consider it… a courtesy. You'll need all your strength to keep yourself alive in this place. And, believe me, you'll need it."
Kai glanced at the sandwich, then back at Mark. "I don't trust anyone in this mansion. Least of all you."
Mark's expression softened. "Good. Don't. Trust is a luxury. Survival isn't."
Kai rolled his eyes but unwrapped the sandwich anyway. It was warm. Fresh. A small act of normalcy in a world designed to remind him of danger. For a moment, he allowed himself to breathe.
---
Hours later, the sound of Lucias's voice echoed through the hall. He didn't knock. He never did.
Kai's chest tightened as the door opened. Lucias stepped in, black hair falling perfectly around his sharp face, eyes dark, dangerous.
"You're awake," Lucias said, voice low. "I thought I warned you last night. Your defiance… it's reckless."
Kai lifted his chin, defiance blazing in his chest. "And yet, here I am. Still alive. Still me."
Lucias's lips twitched—almost a smirk. "Yes… still alive. But only because I've been distracted by… you."
The words hit Kai like a punch he hadn't expected. Distracted. Lucias, the untouchable, feared man, distracted… by him?
Kai's pulse throbbed in his temples. He refused to look away. "You make it sound like it's my fault."
Lucias stepped closer, the distance between them shrinking to nothing. "It's not your fault… it's the truth."
Kai swallowed. Something inside him stirred—a mixture of fear, exhilaration, and a thrill he couldn't name. "Careful," he muttered. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
Lucias's eyes darkened. "I'm not flattering you. I'm warning you."
Warning? Or… something else? Kai didn't have time to decipher the tone before Lucias stepped back, turning sharply, leaving the room with an echo of menace in his wake.
---
Later, Kai replayed the scene endlessly. Distracted. Warning. Those words burned in his mind, mingling with a dangerous attraction he wasn't ready to acknowledge.
It wasn't just Lucias's words. It was the way he moved, the way he carried himself, the way he looked at Kai as if he were both a threat and a prize. Every gesture, every glance… stirred something dark, thrilling, impossible to ignore.
Kai hated it. Loved it. Both.
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the mansion, Mark found himself lingering outside a quiet room. Inside, Jas, Kai's best friend, had come to check on him.
"You don't have to stay in there all night," Jas said gently, a soft smile on his lips.
Mark leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "I don't interfere where it isn't necessary."
Jas tilted their head, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "And when is it necessary?"
Mark's gaze softened despite himself. "When people get in over their heads. When they can't protect themselves."
Jas laughed lightly. "So… I'm in over my head?"
Mark didn't answer immediately. Instead, he studied them, the warmth in their expression, the gentle defiance that reminded him how different the outside world was from the one he lived in. The walls he'd built around himself felt weaker around Jas, and he hated how much that frightened him.
"You have no idea what you're stepping into," he murmured.
Jas's smile didn't falter. "Maybe not. But at least I'm not alone."
Mark's chest tightened. He didn't know when he had started caring, but he knew he couldn't let Jas walk into danger unprepared. Not when this world had a way of consuming people whole.
---
Back in the safe room, Kai finally set his laptop aside, running a hand over his face. Lucias's words, his presence… they haunted him. He knew he should feel fear, hatred, or both. But buried beneath adrenaline and defiance was a spark that refused to die—a spark that made his pulse quicken whenever Lucias entered the room.
Kai shook his head. No. Focus. Survive first. Obsess later.
But deep down, he knew. That obsession had already begun.
Enemies now. But fire, once sparked… never dies easily.
And in the shadows, a second pair of hearts were quietly lighting, fragile and unassuming—Mark and Jas—finding warmth amidst the cold storm of the mafia world.
The mansion was quiet again, but Kai knew it wouldn't stay that way.