A silence.
The air between them thickened, suffocating. Yuzuha's breath hitched as her eyes locked onto the small object lying on the ground—a watch, its glass face reflecting the cold glow of the streetlight.
Eiji turned his head slightly, his sharp gaze following hers before he bent down, picking it up with an eerie calmness. His fingers ran over the surface of the watch, as if tracing a memory. Then, without lifting his eyes, he spoke.
"You mean your friend, Haruto?" His voice was smooth, detached. "The one who went missing yesterday?"
Yuzuha felt her throat tighten. A wave of unease crawled up her spine, its grip cold and relentless. Her hands clenched into fists as she forced herself to ask the question that had been gnawing at her insides.
"You… you kidnapped Haruto, didn't you?" Her voice trembled, barely more than a whisper.
Eiji stepped forward. Just one step—but it was enough to send her pulse into a frenzy. He leaned in, so close she could see the ghost of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Wait," he murmured, lifting the watch between them, letting the dim light catch on its cracked face. "I will kidnap Haruto?" His voice carried amusement, but there was something unsettling beneath it, something unreadable.
Yuzuha's breath came shallow, her heartbeat a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
"This watch belonged to a boy who lived in an orphanage," Eiji continued, his tone soft but unyielding. "He had cancer. He died." His fingers curled around the watch, as if holding onto something unseen. "I keep it with me as a reminder."
Yuzuha's stomach dropped. A wave of guilt crashed over her, drowning her in its weight.
"I—I'm sorry for doubting you," she stammered, her voice barely holding steady.
Eiji exhaled, tilting his head slightly. "As I said, you need a change of scenery," he mused, almost absentmindedly. "That's why you're starting to doubt people."
He turned, unlocking the sleek black Lamborghini waiting by the curb. The car gleamed under the moonlight, as silent and predatory as the man who owned it.
"Get in."
Yuzuha hesitated for a second before stepping inside, the door clicking shut behind her like the sealing of a fate. The engine rumbled to life, purring like a beast awakening from slumber.
As the city blurred past the tinted windows, a numbness settled over her.
She had spent years trapped in a nightmare—forced into a life where love was nothing more than a transaction, where family was a word drenched in betrayal. "After my parents died," she whispered, staring out at the empty streets, "my relatives took me in. I thought they were kind… but they were nothing more than monsters, greedy for my father's wealth. They treated me like a servant."
Her nails dug into her palms. "I left when I turned eighteen. And not long after… someone killed them. Burned the house to the ground." She paused, her voice hollow. "I don't know who did it."
Eiji's grip on the wheel tightened. His expression remained unreadable, but Yuzuha could feel something shift in the air around him.
"Do you think it was right or wrong?" he asked, his voice steady, almost too calm.
Yuzuha swallowed, staring at her reflection in the window. "I… don't know."
Eiji smiled then. A slow, knowing smile. "Your emotions are complicated, Yuzuha," he murmured. "You lived with them. Let them walk all over you. And now, you hesitate to say what should be obvious…" His voice dropped to a whisper, something dark curling at the edges of his words. "They got what they deserved."
A cold shiver ran through her. She couldn't tell if it was his words or the fact that somewhere, deep down, a part of her agreed.
The car rolled to a stop in front of her house.
"Your home is here," Eiji said, his voice returning to that same eerie gentleness.
Yuzuha unclasped her seatbelt slowly, her limbs feeling heavier than before. She stepped out, lingering by the door. "Thank you for spending time with me, Eiji-san." Her voice was quiet, uncertain.
"You're welcome." He leaned back against the seat, his gaze unreadable. "And Yuzuha?"
She turned.
"From now on, deactivate all your social media. Cut off all social media, ignore it. If they call, don't answer. Don't let them reach you." His voice softened, but the command in it was absolute. "It's for your own good."
Yuzuha nodded. "Got it."
With that, Eiji drove off, disappearing into the night like a shadow swallowed by darkness.
As she stepped inside, the silence of her apartment wrapped around her like a suffocating embrace. The weight of his words clung to her skin, sinking into her bones.
She turned on her phone, fingers hovering over the screen. Then, with mechanical precision, she erased everything. Every account. Every friend. Every connection to the outside world.
For the first time in a long while, there was no noise. No voices demanding attention. No ties pulling her back.
Finally, she typed out one last message.
"I'm leaving social media. I need time—days, months, maybe more. Depends on how much healing I can do. But I promise… I'll come back someday."
Her fingers hesitated for just a second before adding the final line.
"Love you all…"
She hit 'post.'
The comments started flooding in instantly.
"I pray for your recovery."
"No, please! How can you leave us?"
"What happened?!"
Yuzuha didn't reply. She didn't even read them. Instead, she placed her phone aside, ignoring the sharp pang of loneliness that settled in her chest.
She walked into the bathroom, turning on the faucet. Hot water rushed down, filling the space with steam.
She stepped under the scalding stream, letting it burn against her skin, trying to wash away the lingering weight of the night.
But as she stood there, her mind whispered the one thought she had been trying to suppress.
Eiji.
Her fingers clenched at the thought.
The way he spoke. The way he smiled. The way he seemed to know the darkness inside her better than she did herself.
And then… the watch.
Her breath hitched as the question forced itself past her lips, echoing into the empty space around her.
"…Did he kidnap Haruto?"
The thought settled like a stone in her chest.
And no matter how hard she tried to push it away—
—she couldn't shake the feeling that she already knew the answer.
Dametri's eyes blazed with unbridled lust as he watched Yuzuha's lithe body move beneath the shower spray. His imagination ran wild, envisioning himself stepping into the stall, pressing her against the cool tiles, and claiming her mouth in a searing kiss.
He'd slide his hands over her slick skin, gripping her thighs and hoisting her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. His hard cock would nestle against her core, the heat of her arousal burning through the fabric of his pants. He'd grind against her, teasing her entrance with the head of his dick until she was begging for him to fill her.
"I'm going to fuck her so hard, she'll forget her own name," he muttered, his hand working furiously over his erection. "I'll stretch her tight little pussy around my thick cock, pounding into her until she's screaming for mercy. And then, when she's weak and trembling, I'll flip her over and take her from behind, watching her perfect ass bounce with each thrust."
His breath came in ragged gasps, his hips jerking as he pictured burying himself ballsdeep inside her, marking her as his own.
Dametri placed his hand against the screen, his gaze dark and unwavering. His voice was a whisper of danger, a promise laced with violence.
"I will kill anyone—no hesitation, no mercy—if they dare to lay a finger on you."