Lucian turned his head, his voice low and cutting.
"What exactly did I promise you?"
Elena's fists clenched in the sheets, her body trembling as if she'd been cornered. She forced the words out, desperate, reckless.
"You said… if I acted for you, you'd save my brother."
"I never promised you anything," Lucian replied, lips curving into a cruel arc. "That was your delusion. You mistook my silence for consent." He tilted his head, eyes glinting with disdain. "Besides, your performance wasn't even worth watching."
Shock rippled through her. Then the realization hit—he'd played her.
"Lucian—!" Rage and humiliation surged through her chest. She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him with all her strength. "You bastard! You heartless bastard!"
His hand shot up, catching the pillow midair. His voice was icy, final.
"Since you know I'm a bastard, then stay the hell away from me. For the rest of your life, don't you dare provoke me again." His eyes narrowed, cold enough to pierce bone. "Otherwise… I won't hesitate to be even more cruel."
"Lucian!" Her voice broke, hoarse with anguish. She screamed after him as he turned away. "Why do you have to humiliate me like this?"
"Elena…"
For once, he spoke her name gently. But the words that followed gutted her.
"Don't twist this into something it isn't. You came here begging to be humiliated. I never asked for you."
Bang!
The door slammed shut, and silence devoured the entire apartment.
So silent she could hear the drop of a single strand of hair. So silent her sobs scratched raw in her throat, echoing back at her like ghosts of the past.
Lucian… will you protect me like you did today? Will you keep me safe for a lifetime, so no one can ever hurt me again?
"…"
Hey, what does that silence mean? Why won't you answer me?
"…"
Lucian, say something! If you don't, I'll be angry!
"…I will."
Liar.
Lucian, you damned liar.
You promised me, and now you've broken it.
Elena crawled under the blanket, hugging herself tight, curling into a ball. She hated this weakness in her, hated how badly she wanted to scream until her voice shattered.
—
The moment Lucian stepped into the elevator, the air thickened, suffocating him. His chest burned with something he couldn't name.
He yanked at his collar, ripping too hard—the buttons snapped free, clattering against the metal floor.
His eyes darkened, rage clawing deeper. With a sudden roar, he kicked the elevator wall so hard the sound rattled in the confined space.
"Fuck!"
By the time he slid behind the wheel of his car, his hands were shaking. He lit a cigarette, dragging in smoke like he was drowning. He didn't even start the engine. The car sat buried in the shadows of the garage, filling with smoke until it became impossible to see. But he didn't open a window. Maybe he forgot. Maybe he didn't care.
The shrill ring of his phone cut through the haze. He grabbed it, answering without a word.
"Lucian! Where the hell are you?" Ethan's voice boomed from the other end.
Lucian said nothing.
"Hello? Hey, is the signal bad? Can't hear me?"
"Just say it." His voice was like ground glass.
Ethan, oblivious, chuckled. "We're one short for a game. Adrian and Jason are here already. Get your ass over."
Lucian exhaled smoke, his jaw tight. "Not free."
"What do you mean not free? It's late already. What else could you possibly—"
Lucian hung up.
A second later, he silenced his phone altogether.
He sat there, smoking one after another until the entire pack was gone. Finally, in frustration, he crushed the empty box in his palm and tossed it aside, slamming his foot on the accelerator. The car roared out of the garage—only to return ten minutes later.
He killed the engine, lit another cigarette, and stared blankly ahead, the flame flickering against his eyes like a ghost of memory.
—
Sean… don't cry.
Your sister will protect you. I'll never let anything happen to you.
Sean! SEAN!!
Elena jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat, her breaths ragged and shallow.
The nightmare clung to her skin, a haunting replay of seven years ago. The car crash. Sean's tiny fists pounding her legs as he sobbed until he couldn't breathe.
"You took my daddy! Give me back my daddy!"
Then the call from school—Sean had fainted. The hospital's verdict: leukemia.
Then Sean, soaked in blood, being wheeled into the emergency room. This time he hadn't come back out.
Even awake, Elena couldn't tell if it was dream or reality. Was Sean still alive?
Her trembling hands scrambled for her phone. She dialed the caretaker's number, pressing it hard against her ear. Her voice shook so much it was almost unrecognizable.
"Hello—Miss Liu? How's my brother? Tell me he's okay!"
"Uh?" The groggy voice on the other end was slow, like she'd just been woken from sleep. "Oh… Miss Sung…"
"I visited Sean this evening. The doctor said there's no immediate danger. He's still in critical care, but stable for now."
The words loosened the tight fist clamped around Elena's chest. "Good… thank God. Miss Liu, I might be tied up the next few days. Please watch over him for me. And if anything happens—anything—you call me first. Don't let anyone else near him."
"Of course, Miss Sung."
When the call ended, Elena glanced at the clock. Nearly five in the morning. She looked around. Still in Lucian's apartment.
At some point, exhaustion had dragged her under. She didn't even remember falling asleep.
The silence of the vast apartment pressed in on her, eerie and suffocating. Lucian hadn't come back. She wanted to leave, but her clothes had been shredded beyond repair.
Instinctively, she thought to call Vivian, to ask her to bring a change. But the memory of Vivian holding her, crying, stopped her. Elena couldn't let her friend see her like this—not again.
Besides, she didn't want to worry A'shu anymore.
Thank God her undergarments were still intact. She slipped them back on, then wandered into Lucian's walk-in closet. The neatly pressed loungewear hung in silence. She picked a set and dressed herself before stepping out of the bedroom.
—
Meanwhile, in the garage, Lucian sat slouched in the driver's seat, cigarette smoldering between his lips. His phone screen glowed faintly in the dark.
The live feed from the hallway camera filled the display.
This was his building, his development. Every corridor camera linked directly to the owners' devices. He could check them anytime.
And though the video showed nothing but black, Lucian stared at it without blinking—watching as though, if he looked hard enough, he could see what haunted him.