A Step Away from the Tius

Anna sat alone in Shane's penthouse, the silence pressing in around her. Lucas had already left, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts and the faint hum of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. After telling Patricia she wouldn't return to the Tiu estate, she wasn't sure what to do next.

The weight of her decision settled heavily on her chest. She had stood her ground, refused to be dragged back into that suffocating mansion, but now what? Where did she go from here?

She exhaled slowly, leaning back into the plush couch. The penthouse was luxurious, spacious, yet it felt strangely empty. It wasn't hers—not really. It belonged to Shane, to a life Anna was still struggling to piece together.

Her gaze drifted to the glass coffee table, where an untouched bottle of water sat beside her phone. She hadn't checked it since waking up. With a sigh, she reached for it, her fingers hovering over the screen before finally unlocking it.

A string of missed calls.

Shane's father.

Anna stomach twisted. Even without checking the messages, she knew exactly why he had called. Patricia must have told him everything by now.

And knowing Samuel Tiu, he wasn't the kind of man to be ignored.

When Shane's phone rang again, Samuel Tiu's name flashing on the screen, Anna inhaled deeply before finally answering.

"Hello?" Her voice was quiet, steady—yet laced with hesitation.

A heavy silence stretched between them before Samuel finally spoke.

"You've made quite the statement today," his voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable weight behind it. "Leaving home. Talking back—defying Patricia."

Anna gripped the phone tighter. "I didn't realize I needed permission to leave," she said evenly.

"You don't," Samuel admitted. "But you do owe me an explanation."

Anna hesitated. Did she? She wasn't really Shane, after all. But to him—to everyone—she was. And Samuel Tiu wasn't a man who took defiance lightly.

"I just needed space," she said at last. "I have a right to decide where I want to stay, don't I?"

Samuel was quiet for a moment. "Is that really it? Or is someone influencing you?"

Anna's jaw tightened. "No one." She almost said Lucas but stopped herself—she wasn't even sure if Shane's father knew about him.

Samuel's tone dropped, turning cold. "I warned you before. People like Lucas don't belong in our world. And if you're not careful, neither will you."

Something in Anna snapped. The mention of Lucas caught her off guard, but it also fueled the fire burning inside her. "Then maybe I don't want to belong in this world." She hadn't realized Samuel knew about Lucas, and the fact that he did only raised more questions.

A sharp breath came through the receiver. "You don't know what you're saying."

Anna exhaled slowly, steadying herself. "Maybe I do," she said, her voice firmer. "Maybe, for the first time, I actually know what I want."

And for her, that was something new. Wanting something had always been a luxury. But now, standing her ground wasn't just for her—it was for Shane, too.

Samuel was silent for a long moment. Then, finally, his voice softened—just slightly.

"If this is truly what you want, then prove it," he said. "Show me that you can stand on your own. But understand this, Shane—" he paused, his voice dropping lower. "Walking away doesn't mean you're free from the Tiu name. That's something you can never escape."

The call ended before Anna could respond.

She stared at the screen, her heart pounding.

She had won this round. But something told her the real battle was just beginning.

Then it was finally decided—Anna, or rather, Shane, could finally live on her own. No more suffocating presence of the Tiu family, no more feeling like an outsider in a house that never truly felt like home. Here, in her own space, she could move freely, make her own choices, and live without constantly being watched.

Yet, as much as she tried to embrace this newfound independence, an unsettling feeling gnawed at her. It was as if her decision had set something in motion—something she couldn't quite predict. Would this change the course of Shane's life? Would there be consequences she wasn't prepared for?

Shaking off the thoughts, Anna focused on her next task. She made her way down to the fifth floor, where her studio apartment was. It was the only place where Shane's family knew she was living, not the luxury of the penthouse.

As soon as she stepped inside, she took a deep breath, absorbing the silence. It felt different from the penthouse—smaller, cozier, but undeniably Shane's.

Without wasting time, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work, cleaning every corner of the apartment. Dusting shelves, wiping down counters, changing the sheets—anything to keep her hands busy and her mind from wandering. By the time she finished, exhaustion was creeping in, but for the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of control over her own life.

Even if she wasn't sure what the future held, this was a start.

The next morning, Anna stepped out into the crisp air, her strides light yet purposeful. Living on her own meant taking full responsibility for herself—starting with something as simple as keeping her kitchen stocked. Unlike the Tiu mansion, where meals appeared effortlessly and every need was met without a second thought, here, she had to handle everything herself. And she didn't mind it one bit.

Anna never once regretted her decision to live independently. If anything, it was liberating. No suffocating rules, no burdensome expectations—nothing to remind her of the life she once had. For the first time, she could move at her own pace, make choices not just for herself but for Shane as well. The best part? Shane had her own money, enough to spend freely without hesitation. For Anna, having control—over both the big decisions and the small, everyday choices—was a luxury she had never imagined she'd experience.

As Anna stepped into the grocery store, the soft hum of background music filled the air, blending with the quiet chatter of shoppers. Bright overhead lights cast a sterile glow on the neatly organized shelves, while the faint, comforting scent of freshly baked bread drifted from the bakery section.

Grabbing a shopping basket, she navigated the aisles with ease, scanning the shelves for essentials—rice, eggs, fresh vegetables, and a few instant noodles, just in case. Each item she placed in her basket was a small reminder of her newfound independence, a life where she was responsible for herself—Shane—in every way. And for the first time, that thought didn't feel daunting—it felt empowering.

As she reached for a carton of milk, a strange sensation prickled at the back of her neck. It wasn't fear, exactly—more like a shift in the atmosphere, a subtle charge in the air. It was a presence she recognized, even before she turned around.

Her fingers tightened around the carton as unease settled in her chest. Slowly, she turned.

Nathaniel.

He was standing only a few steps away, leaning casually against a shelf as if he belonged there, as if he hadn't just materialized in the middle of the grocery store. His fitted black T-shirt stretched over his toned frame, dark jeans hugging his long legs. He looked effortlessly put together, as if he had stepped right out of a fashion ad rather than just running errands.

"You're up early," he remarked, his lips curling into a familiar smirk. His voice was smooth, his tone light—but there was something else beneath it, something unreadable.

Anna swallowed, forcing herself to stay composed. She hesitated, unsure if Shane had any connection with him, but there was no denying that he seemed to know her—or at least, know Shane. And yet, as Anna, she felt compelled to respond.

"I could say the same to you," she replied, placing the milk into her basket. "Didn't take you for the grocery-shopping type."

Nathaniel let out a low chuckle. "I'm not." His gaze flickered over the items in her basket before returning to her, eyes glinting with something knowing. "But I had a feeling I'd run into you."

Anna narrowed her eyes. "A feeling?"

He shrugged, the smirk never leaving his face. "Call it intuition."

She exhaled sharply, shifting the basket to her other hand. "Well, congratulations. You found me. Now what?"

Nathaniel tilted his head slightly, observing her reaction. "Just wanted to see how you're holding up," he said casually, though his tone carried an unmistakable weight. "A lot has happened, hasn't it? You were in a coma, then suddenly taking special exams just to move up to second year next semester."

Anna stiffened. So he really had been keeping tabs on her. But why? What was his relationship with Shane?

She studied him carefully, trying to decipher his intentions. Nathaniel stood there, relaxed but alert, as if he were waiting for her to slip up.

"And how exactly do you know all that?" she asked, keeping her voice neutral.

Nathaniel's smirk deepened, but there was something sharper behind it now. "Let's just say I have my ways."

"That's not an answer," she shot back.

He chuckled, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Maybe not. But does it matter?"

Anna's grip on the basket tightened. "It does to me," she said firmly. "Because as far as I know, Shane—" She hesitated, carefully choosing her words. "I don't remember ever being close to you."

Nathaniel's expression shifted, amusement flickering into something more serious. His eyes darkened slightly, his smirk softening but never quite disappearing. "Maybe you just forgot," he said, his voice deceptively light. "Or maybe, you were never meant to remember."

A chill ran down her spine, but she masked it with a small, forced laugh. "That's a cryptic way of avoiding my question."

Nathaniel took a step closer, just enough to invade her space without actually touching her. "And yet, you're still talking to me."

Anna swallowed. He wasn't wrong. There was something about him—his presence, his words—that made it impossible to simply turn away.

"Enjoy your groceries, Shane," he said, taking a step back, his gaze lingering on her for just a moment longer. "I'll see you around."

And just like that, he walked past her, disappearing down the aisle as if he had never been there in the first place.

Anna stood frozen in place, her heart pounding in her chest.

Nathaniel wasn't just some casual acquaintance.

He knew something.

And now, she needed to find out what.