Shadows Don’t Stay Quiet

I didn't sleep.

Even after the article vanished from the trending list.

Even after Kian made good on his word and had his team bury it under three layers of celebrity gossip and market crashes.

Even after he told me—again—that I didn't have to do anything. That I could stay. That I was safe.

I still couldn't sleep.

Because I knew better.

You can erase a headline. But you can't erase people. You can't erase the ones who remember who you used to be.

The next morning, I begged the system to let me stay in bed.

📢 System Notification[Emotional Thread (3/5): Stable][Task Suggestion: Light Movement + Outdoor Air = Restore Focus]

"Shut up," I mumbled into my pillow. "You're not the one being hunted by rumors."

But the system didn't disappear.

It just blinked softly. Waiting.

Kian didn't force me to leave the penthouse again—but I think he knew I wouldn't be able to stay cooped up for long. Around noon, he left for a short business meeting. Said he'd be back by three. Gave me the code to the main floor in case I wanted a change of scenery.

I paced the apartment for a while. Opened windows. Closed them. Checked my scent. Rechecked the patch.

And eventually… I left.

Just to breathe.

Just for ten minutes.

The main floor of the building had a small, private café. Open only to residents and invited guests. Clean. Quiet. Safe.

Or so I thought.

I was halfway through sipping a cup of lukewarm green tea, tucked in a corner booth, when I heard it.

"Rui Chen?"

The voice didn't belong to anyone in a suit or staff uniform.

It belonged to a ghost.

I turned slowly, and there he was.

Yunhao.

Tall. Still lean. Still sharp around the eyes. Only now dressed in secondhand prep school arrogance instead of schoolboy cruelty.

"I thought that was you," he said, slipping into the seat across from me without asking. "Funny. You didn't strike me as the kind of omega who'd end up in a place like this."

I froze.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

He knew.

He remembered.

📢 System Alert[Emotional Distress Detected – Cortisol Spike][Bond Energy Fluctuating]

⚠️ Suggested Action: Call Alpha / Exit Area

Yunhao leaned forward, that same smirk from years ago etched into his face. "Didn't you used to mop floors at that crappy tutoring center? Guess someone's upgraded, huh? What's the trick? Heat-scent baiting?"

My hands clenched in my lap.

"Didn't think someone like you would get a rich Alpha to bite," he added, his tone curling. "Or maybe he doesn't know what you really are."

Something in me cracked.

"I'm leaving," I said, voice trembling.

He laughed. "Oh, come on. Don't be shy, Rui. You used to cry every time someone looked at you wrong. Still the same weak little—"

A shadow fell across our table.

"I'd suggest you step away from him," came Kian's voice.

Yunhao turned—and paled.

Because standing there wasn't just some suited man.

It was Kian Elros. The Alpha. The CEO. The man whose hand I'd touched in public.

His eyes didn't burn with fury. They froze.

"I don't tolerate harassment," Kian said evenly. "Especially not toward someone under my protection."

Yunhao tried to recover. "I-I didn't mean anything. We went to school together. Just catching up."

"I'm sure," Kian said. "Now leave."

And somehow, Yunhao knew better than to argue.

He stood and scurried off like a kicked dog.

Kian turned to me next, his expression softer but laced with worry. "Are you alright?"

I wanted to say yes.

I wanted to say I'm fine.

But instead, my throat closed up and I just nodded.

Back in the penthouse, Kian handed me water. Sat beside me. Close. Silent.

I drank.

I breathed.

And then I spoke.

"He used to shove my head into lockers. Said I smelled like trash even when I didn't have scent yet."

Kian didn't respond.

"He called me broken. Useless. Said no one would ever love someone like me."

He still didn't speak.

But he reached for my hand.

Held it.

Tight.

📢 System Notification✅ Task Complete: Experienced Conflict – Chose to Stand with Alpha+100 Points💫 Bond Energy: 19.1%💖 Emotional Thread: 4/5