Pluma_W143

Lily gulped, it's the 'devil'. She said in her mind with her hands still trembling.

Raven picked the phone from the girl's hand, turning it off, he said, "You don't want to do that. Now run along and forget everything that happened here, little girl." His voice low and chilly to the bone.

_ _ _

Sunshine Meets Grumpy

He's a hitman, a hacker, a serpent slithering through the city's underbelly. Not a hero, not even close. The mafia's ghost in the machine, shadows his only companions.

Then, there's her. Bookish, buried in debt and dreams, juggling endless shifts and late-night study sessions. Sunflower yellow amidst the grimy alleys, oblivious to the danger lurking beneath her hopeful smile. "Plain," they call her, "basic." But her light, it's undeniable.

One fated night, a muttered curse, a stolen glance. Their worlds, oil and water, are destined to collide. Can sunshine melt the frost around a killer's heart? Or will their tangled destinies ignite a storm that consumes them both?

The Hitman’s Sunshine

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: PAST LIVES ~ SAPIENTDREAM & SLUSHII]

Meanwhile, back inside, Shadow walked closely beside Ms. Havilah, heading to join others in the second round of the game.

"Old bat, where did you get the avatar you're using tonight, you must have spent a fortune, right?" the young man asked.

The older woman pushed her tiny glasses up with a smile. "The sea brought her to me; I didn't pay a dime," she muttered under her breath, remembering how she had found the girl and saved her life.

Shadow, who didn't understand, twitched his lips. The woman never gave a straight reply to her answers.

"What about Raven?" Ms. Havilah asked Shadow after a moment of silence.

Shadow shrugged. "I think he left with the girl," he replied as they made their way inside the game arena.

Ms. Havilah paused in her steps, her eyes looking at the entrance. Then she sighed, with a deep frown on her face.

FATE AND HATE