Aurora’s POV

​The silence between us stretched out, but it didn’t feel heavy like it did at the club. It was steady and strangely comforting.

​"I went too far tonight," he said finally.

​The words were quiet and rough, as if he had to force them out. My breath caught. I had spent so much time thinking he was just a cold monster with no feelings; this didn’t fit my image of him at all.

​"You didn’t seem to think so then," I whispered. My voice sounded thin and shaky.

​"I did," he replied. I could hear the frown in his voice. "That’s why I stopped them."

​I swallowed hard and pulled the blanket tighter. I didn’t know how to feel. It was easy to hate a man who was purely evil, but it was much harder to hate someone who showed kindness when he wasn’t supposed to.

​"Are you in pain?" he asked. His voice was softer now, full of a quiet kind of care.

​"A little," I admitted. The truth slipped out before I could stop it.

​"You should put something warm on your shoulders," he murmured. The low sound of his voice buzzed against my ear. "And drink water, Aurora. Real water. Not just the soup I gave you."

​A small, sad smile touched my lips. "You sound like a doctor."

​He let out a quiet breath. It wasn’t quite a laugh, but it was close. "I’m not," he said. "Just... used to taking care of things that are broken."

​Something in the way he said broken made my chest tight. It sounded like a secret he was sharing.

​"Is that what I am to you?" I asked softly. "Something broken?"

​There was a long pause. Then his voice came through, lower and more certain. "No. You’re the result of what broke you."

​That hit me harder than anything else. He saw it—the cracks in me that I tried so hard to hide. I pulled my knees to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible.

​"You don’t talk like a man who is supposed to be an assassin," I said.

​"And you don’t act as innocent as you look," he shot back.

​The way we talked felt so natural, so dangerously easy. The silence came back, but this time it felt like something we were sharing.

​"Why are you really calling, Raymond?" I asked quietly.

​"I told you," he said. "I’m checking up on you."

​"That’s not a real reason," I pushed back. I wanted to be angry, but I was too tired. "You don’t seem like the type to stay awake thinking about a girl like me."

​There was another long silence. I heard a small sound on his end, like he was sitting back in a chair, staring into the dark just like I was.

​"I can’t sleep."

​My heart skipped a beat. "...Why?"

​"Because I kept thinking about whether you were okay," he said. His voice was so low it felt like a touch. "And I don’t like not knowing the answer."

​It wasn’t the full truth—I could feel the weight of what he wasn’t saying—but it was more honesty than I had any right to expect from him.

​"You’re a very strange man," I murmured, my eyelids starting to feel heavy.

​"I’ve been called worse." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

​Despite everything—the bruises, the betrayal of my own body, the mission—a small, unexpected huff of laughter escaped me. It surprised both of us. The line went quiet, but the air felt lighter.

​"Try to sleep," he said. It wasn’t a command; it was a request.

​"I don’t think I can," I admitted, the fear of the nightmares returning the moment I closed my eyes.

​"Stay on the phone," he said.

​I blinked, my mind reeling. "What?"

​"Just... stay," he repeated. There was a faint trace of his usual firmness, but it was buried under a layer of something that sounded almost like vulnerability. "You don’t have to talk. I just want to know you’re resting."

​My chest tightened in a way I couldn’t understand. This was wrong. Everything about this was a violation of the rules I’d set for myself. He was the enemy. He was the target. And yet... I didn’t want him to hang up.

​"Okay," I whispered.

​I lay back against the pillow and stared at the dark ceiling. I listened to the soft, steady sound of his breathing. It gave me something to hold onto. It helped my own heart slow down and calmed my mind.

​Minutes passed. The room didn’t feel so cold anymore.

​"You still there?" I murmured, my voice thick with sleep.

​"Yeah," he whispered back.

​That one word made me feel safe. I don’t remember when I finally fell asleep, but for the first time in years, the bad memories didn’t find me. I just drifted away, listening to the sound of his breath.

​The morning sun peeked through my curtains, bringing a big frown to my face. I reached for my phone, my fingers brushing the cool screen. I expected the line to be dead, but as I pressed it to my ear, the soft, rhythmic sound of breathing was still there.

​"Good morning, little bird."

​His voice was husky, deep and scratchy from sleep. It sent a shiver straight down my spine that had nothing to do with the morning chill.

​"Stop calling me that," I grumbled, though my heart wasn’t in it.

​He chuckled. It was a real, deep-chested laugh that vibrated through the phone. My breath hitched. For a split second, that sound—that specific, warm rumble—felt so familiar... it sounded just like Oliver. I shook the thought away; it was just the lack of sleep playing tricks on my mind.

​"I ordered breakfast for you," he said, his tone casual, almost domestic. "It’ll be at your doorstep in thirty minutes. Eat it all. You need the energy."

​I frowned, sitting up and pulling the duvet to my chest. Why was he acting like a perfect boyfriend? This was the man who had shared me with strangers last night, who fucked me mercilessly...

​"Why are you doing this, Raymond?"

​"Because I can," he replied simply. "So, how is your day looking? What does the little bird have planned?"

​I wanted to snap at him, to tell him it was none of his business, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I found myself responding. "I have to go to work by 9:00 AM."

​"Oh? To see your boyfriend, the Alpha King?" His voice took on a teasing, slightly sharp edge.

​"Oliver and I... we aren’t dating anymore," I said, the words feeling heavy in the quiet room.

​Silence followed. A long, heavy pause that made me hold my breath. "Why?" he asked finally.

​I didn’t respond. I couldn’t tell him I broke Oliver’s heart because I was too busy hunting to kill him.

​"Is it because of me?" he asked, his voice low.

​"Hell no," I snapped, my face heating up.

​"Aurora... are you in love with me?"