Leon sat on the edge of his bed in the safe house, staring at his phone for what felt like hours. The screen had gone dark multiple times, but he kept turning it back on, thumb hovering over Sylvain’s contact.

His eyes were red and swollen from crying earlier. Every time he closed them, he heard Silas’s cruel voice repeating those devastating words.

"Your brother sold his body to me..."

"He’s my whore..."

Leon wiped his face with the back of his hand and finally pressed the call button. It rang twice before Sylvain picked up.

"Hey..." Sylvain’s voice was quiet, nearly cautious, like he was walking on broken glass.

"Hi..." Leon replied, his own voice small and flat. "You... you busy?"

"No. Not really." There was a long pause. "How are you?"

Leon swallowed hard. "I’m okay. Have you eaten today?"

Sylvain let out a shaky breath on the other end. "Yeah. I had some rice earlier. What about you?"

"I ate noodles. Mr. Park gave me some leftovers from the restaurant." Another awkward silence stretched between them. "They were pretty good. Spicy though."

"That’s good," Sylvain said softly. "You should eat more protein. You’ve been working a lot lately."

"Yeah... I will." Leon picked at a loose thread on his blanket. "How’s... work? With your friend?"

Sylvain’s hesitation was palpable. "It’s... fine. Same as usual. Long hours and nearly no breaks, you know how it is."

Leon nodded even though Sylvain couldn’t see him. "Yeah. Must be tiring."

"It is." Sylvain cleared his throat. "Are you... doing okay at the restaurant? No problems with customers or anything?"

"No problems," Leon said quickly. Too quickly. "Everyone’s nice. Mr. Park is a good boss and he pays on time."

"That’s good. Really good." Sylvain sounded like he was forcing the words out. "You should rest more. Don’t overwork yourself."

"I won’t." Leon’s voice cracked slightly. He bit his lip hard to stop it. "You too. Don’t... don’t push yourself too hard."

The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating. Both brothers could feel the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on the line.

Sylvain finally spoke again, voice gentle but strained. "Leon... if something was ever wrong, you know I will tell you about it. You know that, right?"

Leon’s eyes filled with tears again. He wiped them away angrily. "Yeah. I know."

Another long pause.

"You sure you’re okay?" Sylvain asked, softer this time. "You sound... tired."

"I am tired," Leon admitted. "But I’m fine, really fine."

"Okay." Sylvain sounded like he didn’t believe him, but didn’t push. "I love you, you know that?"

Leon’s throat tightened painfully. "Yeah. I love you too."

The call felt like it was dying. Leon could hear the beep signaling low battery on his end. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Leon, I—" Sylvain started.

Suddenly, Leon burst out, his voice breaking completely. "I’m not talking to Santiago anymore!" The words exploded out of him like they had been choking him for days.

Sylvain went silent on the other end.

Leon continued, tears streaming down his face. "I blocked his number. I’m not meeting him again. I’m not... I’m not doing any of it. So you don’t have to worry anymore. Okay? Just... just stop worrying about me."

"Leon..." Sylvain’s voice was thick with emotion. "You don’t have to—"

"I do!" Leon cut him off, voice rising. "I do have to. Because I don’t want you to suffer because of me. I don’t want you to... to do things you hate because of me. So I’m stopping. I’m done. I won’t see him again. I promise."

Sylvain sounded like he was crying too. "Leon, I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to—"

The phone beeped loudly — low battery warning.

"I have to go," Leon said quickly, voice shaking. "Battery’s dying. Take care of yourself, okay? Eat properly and take a long nap. I love you."

"Leon, wait—"

The call cut off.

Leon dropped the phone onto the bed and curled into a ball, sobbing quietly into his pillow.

He had made his choice, even if it hurt like hell.

On the other end, Sylvain stared at his phone screen, tears falling freely. He sank down onto the floor, back against the wall, clutching the device like a lifeline.

Silas watched him from the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

"He hung up," Sylvain whispered brokenly. "He said he’s not talking to Santiago anymore. He sounded so hurt, Silas. So broken..."

Silas walked over and crouched in front of him. "Good. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"

Sylvain looked up at him with red, devastated eyes. "I never wanted him to suffer like this. He doesn’t deserve any of this pain."

Silas tilted Sylvain’s chin up gently — almost tenderly. "Pain is part of life. You should know that better than anyone."

Sylvain closed his eyes, fresh tears slipping out. "I just wanted to protect him..."

"You did," Silas murmured. "In your own way. And if he is hurt then he can kill himself for all I care. I literally watched Gideon died by your hands, you should be grateful that I haven’t done such to your brother."

Sylvain look up at him his eyes begging to be freed. "I..I...I already promised to do whatever you say Silas, I will do anything but please let Leon go. He wasn’t the one that killed Gideon."

Silas grip tightened round his jaw, making Sylvain winch at the pain. "You don’t get to decide what I do to you and your brother. Back then you had fun— yes you did. You were untouchable and no one dares to touch you—"

Sylvain voice cut in. "No I didn’t."

Silas grips Sylvain’s arm with his other hand. "I said you don’t make decisions on my behalf. Now come to bed, let me remind you why you made this sacrifice."

Sylvain didn’t resist as Silas pulled him up and led him toward the bedroom. His heart was shattered, but he had no fight left.

Leon had chosen to pull away from Santiago and Sylvain could only hope it would be enough to keep his little brother safe.