If he doesn't, I will

"But then, after a while, you all stopped showing up. The young master vanished. And you? You disappeared too."

Her gaze finally locked onto him, really looking. Sizing him up.

Like she was trying to compare the bratty, scrawny delinquent from back then to the man standing in front of her now.

The same boy—now bigger. Taller. Broader. Stronger.

A man who looked like he could bend anyone over the nearest fruit stall and fuck them until apples rained from the heavens.

'Shit, is she checking me out?'

Her gaze lingered just a bit too long, flickering down his frame, trailing over his arms, his chest, his stance. And maybe, just maybe, her eyes dipped just a little lower before she snapped out of it.

Her cheeks darkened. Artis smirked.

'Yeah, you see it now, don't you?'

Lily's eyes widened. For just a second. A tiny moment. But it was enough.