Chapter 37 – The Weight of a Name

Elian exhaled, letting the tension settle between them. Rylan's eyes hadn't left him—not even for a second.

The man was waiting. Watching. Like he expected something.

Elian finally broke the silence, his voice smooth. "I wouldn't have come tonight if it weren't for Taro."

There. A small shift. A flicker in Rylan's expression.

Subtle—too quick for most people to notice. But Elian wasn't most people.

Rylan's fingers tapped against his glass. Just once.

"Is that so?" His tone was light, but there was something under it. Something tightly controlled.

Elian nodded, studying him now. "He insisted. Told me you were someone I should meet." He took another slow sip of his wine, watching carefully. "He thinks very highly of you."

Rylan hummed, swirling the deep red liquid in his own glass. "Taro is… ambitious."

It was an answer that said nothing.

But the silence after said everything.

Elian leaned against the gallery wall, tilting his head slightly. "You must have a lot of faith in him," he mused. "Promoting him so suddenly. Giving him such an opportunity."

Rylan finally looked at him, his gaze sharper than before.

"You're curious about me, Elian." A statement. Not a question.

Elian smiled—the kind that hid more than it revealed.

"I like to understand the people around me."

Rylan took a slow step closer. "Then tell me…" His voice dipped lower, words deliberate. "Do you understand me now?"

That was the real question, wasn't it?

Elian held his gaze, the air between them stretched tight. He knew what this was. He knew what kind of man Rylan was.

But knowing didn't mean escaping.

He exhaled slowly. "Not yet."

Rylan's smirk deepened, like he'd won something.

"You will," he murmured.

A promise. A warning. A trap.

And Elian had just stepped further inside.

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