The weather outside was warm, but Lana felt cold.
Leo had left early again.
No goodbye kiss, no teasing remark, no soft smile.
Just… gone.
She stood by the living room window, arms crossed, watching the city lights blur into streaks of gold.
> "He didn't even tell me where he was going," she muttered.
Her phone buzzed.
A notification.
Not the one she wanted.
Lily: "GOOD MORNING, ICE-CREAM QUEEN , Are you alive??"
Lana half-smiled and texted back quickly.
"Barely."
Lily immediately called.
> "What happened? Did Leo breathe too close to another woman, because I swear I'll pull his ears—"
> "Lil… he's been disappearing."
Silence.
That rare, serious Lily silence.
> "Okay… tell me everything."
Lana sat down on the sofa, hugging a pillow the way a cat hugs a blanket when it's scared.
> "He leaves early. Comes back late. Doesn't tell me why. When I ask, he just says 'work.'"
> "He is a CEO," Lily said carefully.
> "Yeah, but he wasn't like this before."
"Before."
The word echoed in her head.
Before feelings.
Before fear.
Before she started caring too much.
Lily sighed.
> "Do you think he's avoiding you?"
Lana didn't answer.
Her brown eyes dimmed as she stared at the doorway where Leo had disappeared that morning.
> "I don't know," she whispered.
"But it feels like he's hiding something."
Her heart twisted painfully.
> "What if Chloe is back?"
Lily groaned.
> "Girl. No. Absolutely not. Leo looks at you like you're the only song he hears."
Lana didn't respond.
Because deep down…
she knew her mind was lying to her, but her fear wasn't.
The door clicked.
Lana's breath stopped.
Leo walked in — tired, eyes shadowed, shirt sleeves rolled up.
He looked devastatingly good, which only made everything worse.
> "You're awake?" he asked gently.
> "Where were you?" she asked immediately.
Leo froze.
For a full second.
Then two.
> "Work," he said simply.
No details.
Nothing more.
Lana felt her stomach tighten.
> "That's it?"
His jaw clenched.
> "Lana… not tonight."
He walked past her.
Didn't look back.
Her chest tightened.
Her spirit animal — the cat — curled into a small, wounded ball.
But her mind whispered dangerous things.
Cold things.
> He was different with you yesterday.
He didn't smile today.
He came home late.
He's hiding something.
And for the first time…
the girl who once planned revenge felt the sting of insecurity.
She whispered into the empty room:
> "Leo… where are you really going?"