The bell above the campus library door jingled as Lila stepped inside,and for a moment,the quiet hum of studying students calmed her.
For a moment.
Her chest still thudded from the memory of the alley,Roman's gaze,the red-inked warning. The safety of fluorescent lights and dusty bookshelves was a thin veil—she could feel the city pressing against the glass outside,hungry, while waiting for her to falter.
She clutched her bag tighter,letting her fingers graze the smooth leather,twisting the strap nervously as if the motion could ground her. Around her,students whispered and shuffled papers,oblivious to the storm inside her,and she tried to convince herself that opening her notebook,scribbling her notes,following the routine of books and lectures,could somehow make the world normal again...it didn't work.
She sat at her usual corner table,tucked near the window where sunlight fell in angular strips across the floor.Every step on the tile echoed too loudly, every cough or whisper in the library made her glance up,half-expecting Roman—or someone worse—to be standing there.
He told me to be careful,he told me to go home. But safe…safe isn't a word he used.
Lila sighed,opening her notebook,her handwriting,neat yesterday,now wobbled as her mind circled again to Roman.His voice,his eyes… that impossible calm...the kind of calm that killed without raising a hand.
A faint chill tickled her neck,and she shivered despite the warmth of the room.She wasn't used to feeling watched,and yet she did.....every shadow seemed to stretch toward her.
And then it happened.
Then it happened,the library door creaked,a long, deliberate sound that made her spine stiffen.A shadow crossed the threshold,and her head snapped up automatically. ....it wasn't him,her stomach twisted with unease as a tall, broad-shouldered man walked slowly down the aisle toward the reference section,each step measured,silent and controlled.The soft rustle of pages and the low hum of conversation faded around her,as if the library itself were holding its breath,the way he carried himself—the calm, subtle authority—reminded her of Roman,and it made her pulse spike.He didn't glance at her,but she could feel it anyway,that sharp,inescapable attention.
Her body stiffened,every muscle suddenly alert. She kept her gaze on her notebook,pretending to be absorbed in notes she wasn't reading.
He's here for someone else,she told herself,not me...but the knot in her stomach wouldn't loosen.She had already learned that in Roman's world,being in the wrong place—even by accident—could be dangerous.
Her phone vibrated inside her bag,a small,almost innocent buzz,she ignored it.
Ignore it,she repeated It's probably nothing.
The man paused by a shelf,thumb brushing over the spines of old law books,his movements were casual,but his eyes were sharp, calculating—every small gesture precise.Lila's fingers twitched,she wanted to move,leave,run—but the library was public,running would only draw attention.
And someone always noticed.
She reminded herself of Roman's words...Your silence has a price.
Her hands grew clammy,sliding against the smooth surface of the notebook.She clutched her pen so tightly the tip dug into her palm,tapping it nervously against the page in uneven rhythms. Each deliberate step of the man's shadow made her stomach knot tighter,a cold dread twisting through her chest,the low hum of the library seemed to fade into silence,leaving only the soft scrape of his shoes against the tile echoing like a warning he wasn't looking at her—but she felt it anyway,like the air itself had weight.... Breathe, she told herself,counting silently as panic crept up her.
She did,shallowly,counting silently in her head. One… two… three…
A sudden laugh from a group of students startled her,breaking the tension for a fraction of a second,she blinked,and he was gone,slipping between the shelves like he had never been there.
Her heartbeat finally slowed—barely.,She looked down at her notebook,pretending to study, pretending to be ordinary.
Ordinary didn't exist anymore.
By mid-afternoon,Lila was exhausted,her body ached from tension she didn't even realize she was holding.She packed her bag slowly,making sure nothing rattled or drew attention she stepped outside,the sun warm on her skin but hollow.
The city didn't feel alive it felt aware,watching and judging.
A sleek black car was parked across the street, idling quietly,Nothing about it was innocent.,her stomach tightened....And yet,instinct told her to keep walking,eyes forward.,no sudden movements.
She reached the corner and froze Roman stood there,his back to the sun,hands in pockets,calm as always.He didn't move when she stopped,he didn't even look at her immediately,but she could feel him before she saw him—the kind of presence that stretched around you like a shadow you couldn't escape.
He didn't follow me,she thought,not yet.
And then he turned,his gaze found hers,sharp and assessing,not a word,not yet.But the air between them thickened,dangerous,undeniable.
You walked fast,he said finally,his voice low, smooth,a whisper that somehow cut through the street noise.
I… didn't want anyone noticing me,she replied, voice careful.
You think they wouldn't?His gaze didn't waver. "They always notice."
She felt a twinge of panic and shame. Not for herself, but for the fact that she had walked without thinking. Roman noticed everything. He always noticed.
"You're still alive," he said. "That's good."
"Thanks," she muttered, hating how weak her voice sounded.
"Not thanks," he said. "Awareness, preparation… that keeps you alive."
Lila clenched her fists. "I don't need lessons. I just… want to survive."
He studied her. Long, careful, like he could measure her soul in the pause of a breath. The kind of attention that makes skin crawl and heart race at once.
"You think you know what surviving is," he said, "but surviving in my world… it's more than breathing. It's knowing who watches you. Knowing what can happen in a blink. Knowing… when to trust."
She swallowed. The weight of the words settled in her chest. She felt the edges of panic sharpen into something else—something harder.
I need to learn this world, she realized. Or I won't survive at all.
Roman's eyes softened—just a fraction. Not enough to feel safe, but enough to make her ache with something she couldn't name.
"Tomorrow," he said finally, "we start your lessons. Pay attention."
Lila nodded, feeling the truth in the warning. Lessons weren't optional. Survival wasn't optional. And being noticed by Roman DeLuca… that might never be safe.
But somehow, she couldn't look away.