Blake
Blake had never forgotten that conversation.
It always came back in moments of weakness, like a deep voice lingering behind his shoulder.
"My daughter is not like other women.
She is young. She is exposed.
I am entrusting you with more than her safety, Blake.
I am entrusting you with what I have not always been able to give her: boundaries."
He remembered nodding without hesitation.
— I understand, Mr. Morel.
And he still understood it today.
Perhaps too well.
Standing near the large window of the security office, Blake watched the estate slowly wake up. The sun was rising, indifferent to the silent storm raging inside him.
Eighteen years old.
Twenty-six.
Eight years that made all the difference.
It wasn't just a matter of age.
It was a matter of position.
Of power.
Of trust.
He clenched his fists.
He didn't know where this feeling had come from, nor exactly when it had settled in.
Maybe in the way she looked at him without calculation.
Maybe in that fragile maturity she carried far too early.
The night before, he had seen something in her eyes that he should never have allowed himself to notice.
Expectation.
Hope.
And the worst part… was that he had responded to it.
Not with words.
But with his silence.
— That's enough, he murmured to himself.
He made a decision — clear, painful, definitive.
I'm pulling away.
Before I do something irreversible.
Morning – Aïnis
Aïnis noticed the change as soon as morning came.
He hadn't come into her room.
He hadn't asked if she had slept well.
He was there… without really being there.
— Good morning, Blake, she said as she passed him.
— Good morning, Miss Morel.
Miss.
The word hit her straight in the chest.
She stopped.
— You call me that now?
— It's appropriate.
— Before, you used my first name.
He paused, barely perceptibly.
— Before, I was showing unnecessary familiarity.
Unnecessary.
The word got stuck in her throat.
Something cracked inside her, but she refused to let it show.
— I see.
In the car, the silence wasn't the same anymore.
It wasn't gentle.
It was cold. Calculated.
And it hurt.
Blake
Every word he held back burned.
He saw her out of the corner of his eye. Too calm. Too quiet.
It was worse than if she had protested.
— You have classes until four p.m., he said in a neutral voice. I'll be at the main entrance.
— Okay.
Just one word.
But something had changed.
A new distance.
He felt his chest tighten.
Hold on.
It's now or never.
At the university
— You're strange today, Sofia said as she dropped her bag.
Aïnis blinked.
— Strange how?
— You haven't responded to a single one of our conversations for ten minutes, Maya added. That's worrying.
— I'm thinking.
— Bad sign, Sofia joked.
Aïnis forced a smile that never reached her eyes.
— Are you still thinking about your arranged marriage? Maya asked more gently.
She hesitated.
— Not only that.
Sofia narrowed her eyes.
— Oh. Not only that means someone.
Aïnis lowered her gaze to her hands.
— It's complicated.
— Everything that affects you is complicated, Maya sighed.
Through the campus window, she caught sight of Blake leaning against a pillar, alert, flawless posture.
He wasn't looking at her.
Her heart tightened.
Blake
Every word he swallowed was a wound.
He watched her from a distance. Too calm. Too absent.
Still worse than if she had confronted him.
— You have classes until four p.m., he repeated evenly. I'll be at the main entrance.
— Okay.
Just one word.
But the distance was unmistakable.
His chest tightened again.
Hold on.
It's now or never.
Lunch break
At the cafeteria, Aïnis pushed her food around her tray.
— You've barely eaten, Sofia noticed.
— I'm not hungry.
— Try lying better than that, Maya said.
Sofia leaned closer.
— Tell me… does this have something to do with him?
Aïnis looked up.
— With who?
— Your silent shadow, Sofia replied, vaguely gesturing outside.
Aïnis took a deep breath.
— He's changed.
— How has he changed?
— He talks to me like… like I'm a child.
Maya frowned.
— That doesn't sound like him.
— Maybe it is, Aïnis murmured.
She lowered her voice.
— Maybe I just misunderstood everything.
Afternoon – silent confrontation
As she exited a building, their eyes met briefly.
Aïnis hoped.
Blake looked away.
That simple gesture hurt her more than any words could have.
Evening – Blake alone
He watched her walk away, surrounded by her friends.
Every step she took made him want to run after her.
To tell her that he had been thinking about her far too often lately.
That he noticed the way she frowned when she was thinking.
That she wasn't just an eighteen-year-old girl.
But that was precisely the danger.
— I'm sorry…, he whispered.
He had kept his promise.
Even if it cost him more than he had ever imagined.
In her room – Aïnis
Aïnis sat on her bed, staring into nothingness.
She understood now.
Or at least, she thought she did.
He wasn't pulling away because he felt nothing.
He was pulling away because he saw her as a child.
Because he refused to see her any other way.
And that certainty…
hurt even more than the silence.
That's what she believed.