The Weight of Choices

Every choice comes with a price. Some are paid in blood, others in trust.

Celeste...

The city stretched before me, glittering in the darkness like a living, breathing entity. I had always found comfort in its noise, its constant hum of movement, but tonight it felt suffocating. The weight of my choices pressed against my chest, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could carry them before something inside me snapped.

I had kissed him.

No, he had kissed me—and I let him. Worse, I kissed him back.

And now, I couldn't get it out of my head.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the rooftop railing. The wind whipped through my hair, cold and sharp, biting against my skin. I welcomed the sting, the clarity it offered. I had let myself slip, let my guard falter. In a world where every move had to be calculated, I had acted on something dangerously close to impulse.

And now Adrian Russo was looking at me differently.

A part of me wanted to deny that it mattered, to brush off the moment as nothing more than a mistake. But I knew better. It meant something.

And that made it dangerous.

My earpiece buzzed, snapping me from my thoughts. "Celeste, where the hell are you?" Sienna's voice was sharp, laced with irritation and something else—concern.

I sighed, forcing myself to loosen my grip on the railing. "I needed air."

"Air?" She scoffed. "We have bigger problems than your existential crisis right now. Something's happening on Russo's end. There's movement—unusual movement. You need to be inside, not playing ghost on rooftops."

I frowned, pushing off the ledge. "What kind of movement?"

"Encrypted files being accessed. High-security meetings. Someone's cleaning house, and fast. I don't think it's just about the attack anymore."

My stomach twisted. Adrian had said he was done playing games. That meant whoever had been feeding information from the inside was about to find themselves at the end of his gun.

"Damn it." I rubbed a hand down my face. "I'll handle it."

"Celeste—" Sienna hesitated. "Be careful. He's watching you more closely now. You're not just some asset to him anymore. And that makes things... messy."

She didn't need to tell me that. I could feel it every time Adrian's eyes lingered on me, every time he spoke my name with that impossible mix of amusement and warning. I knew I was in too deep.

I just didn't know how to pull myself out anymore.

I walked into the estate with practiced ease, my posture steady, my mask firmly in place. The house was quieter than usual, tension rolling through the hallways like a heavy fog. The men barely looked at me as I passed, their gazes dark with unspoken threats and paranoia.

Lorenzo was waiting just outside Adrian's office, arms crossed. His eyes flicked over me once before he smirked. "Back already? Thought you might have finally grown a conscience and run."

I met his stare evenly. "Not my style."

"No," he mused. "I suppose not."

I didn't bother responding. Instead, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Adrian stood behind his desk, hands braced against the polished wood. His head lifted as I entered, his gaze locking onto mine instantly. There was something in his expression, something unreadable yet charged.

I shut the door behind me.

"Busy night?" I asked, keeping my voice light.

He tilted his head slightly. "You tell me. You've been out longer than usual."

My pulse jumped, but I didn't let it show. "Needed to clear my head."

His lips twitched into something that wasn't quite a smirk. "And did you?"

I walked toward him slowly, keeping my steps measured. "Not really."

Something dark flickered in his eyes. "Then maybe I should help."

The air between us crackled, thick with something unspoken. I should have turned around. I should have walked away.

But I didn't.