{Chapter: 198 - Late Night Echoes}
Minutes passed. Then a half hour. He lay on the floor, drenched in sweat, muscles twitching, eyes closed in a trance-like stillness. Bit by bit, he gained ground. The auditory assault began to soften. The air conditioner was still there, but now it whispered instead of screamed. The clock still ticked, but it no longer jabbed at his nerves.
By the end of the hour, he was sitting upright again, breathing steadily.
He could hear everything—but now on his terms.
He raised his hand, imagined turning the dial up—and the world bloomed into crystalline clarity. Another twist, and it all dulled into near silence, like a sensory fog.
A grin crept across his face, tired but victorious. The curse hadn't broken him.
He had bent it to his will.
"Okay," he whispered, satisfied. "Now I can actually choose when I want to be eavesdropping."
Aiden stretched, his joints popping slightly. His body felt lighter—less sluggish. His body was clearly recovering. The enhanced regeneration he had picked up from Claire and the other Extremis's help, Positioning ability, and other powers slowly syncing with him again. He flexed his hand and felt the familiar hum of energy beneath his skin.
Then something curious began to happen.
His body began to shimmer at the edges—almost like heat waves distorting the air around him. He raised an eyebrow and watched in awe as his skin faded into transparency. A few seconds later, his entire form vanished.
"Invisibility," he said, grinning like a kid who had just found a hidden cheat code in a video game. "Now that's something I can work with."
His voice echoed faintly in the empty room.
With practiced silence, he crept toward the door and opened it just a crack. The hallway was dim, silent—except to him. He could still hear everything: the gentle hiss of the pipes in the wall, the flutter of curtains as the air conditioning kicked in… and of course, Sarah's breathing.
It was deep and even. She was asleep.
"Just a little recon," Aiden whispered, half to justify himself, half to tease the thrill that always followed when he pushed boundaries. "Can't waste a perfectly good stealth mission."
He moved like a shadow into her room, his invisible form gliding effortlessly across the wooden floor.
Sarah was sprawled across the sofa, one arm tucked under the pillow and the other thrown lazily to the side. The blanket had been kicked off in her sleep and now rested only around her lower back. Her silky black nighty top had ridden up just slightly, exposing the smooth skin of her lower back. Her legs were long and bare, one knee drawn up lazily, the other stretched toward the foot of the bed. The soft moonlight outlined the curves of her body.
Aiden blinked and looked away for a moment, feeling his smirk widen despite himself.
"Well, hello espionage ethics," he muttered. "We meet again."
Still, curiosity got the better of him. Carefully, he approached her and, just for fun, lightly traced his finger along the bottom of her foot. She twitched, frowning in her sleep but didn't wake. Emboldened, he tried again, a little higher this time.
Sarah's brow furrowed. She stirred, turning slightly and opening one eye. Aiden froze mid-step.
She muttered something under her breath, eyes scanning the dark room—but her gaze didn't settle on him. She reached lazily for the blanket and tugged it over herself with a frustrated sigh, clearly attributing the sensation to a stray draft or dream. Moments later, she was asleep again.
"Even asleep, you've got the instincts of a bodyguard," Aiden whispered, impressed.
Aiden chuckled, Sarah was now on her stomach and her firm big ass was clearly visible. The black transparent pajamas simply can't cover underneath and could be seen.
Aiden looked down but didn't see any underwear and her bare shrine was fully exposed.
It seems she had taken it off while sleeping.
Aiden was just about to lean in for a closer look when a voice—low and unmistakably clear—cut through the silence.
"Have you seen enough?"
He froze.
His heart skipped a beat as he stared at her lying still beneath the sheets. Her eyes had fluttered open, but her gaze wasn't aimed directly at him. Still, her words were too precise to ignore.
'Wait... she knows I'm here?' he thought, a ripple of unease passing through him. 'But I'm invisible… how could she possibly—'
"I know you're watching me," Sarah continued, her voice tinged with warning. "Stop now, or I'll get angry."
But her pupils didn't track toward his actual position. She was bluffing. Testing the air like a predator who senses something is off.
'Is she trying to bait me out?' he wondered, holding his breath.
He remained perfectly still. No sound. No shift. A test of wills in the quiet dark.
Sarah waited a moment longer, lips parted slightly as she listened to nothingness.
Then, with a sigh, she muttered, "Hmph. Guess I was wrong," and her eyes closed once again. Slowly, her body eased back into a vulnerable rhythm of sleep.
Aiden lingered.
Not out of mischief, but mesmerized by the change in her.
In sleep, Sarah seemed younger, softer. The guarded edge she always wore like armor had melted from her face. Gone was the sharp-tongued woman always prepared with a biting remark or a cool glare. Here, in this quiet moment, she was just a girl—breathing slow, lashes brushing her cheeks, tension dissolved from her brow.
And strangely, the sight stirred something in him.
Not guilt… but curiosity.
'What kind of life do you live to be half-alert even while you sleep?' he mused silently. 'Who trained you to be like that? Who hurt you so badly that peace feels unnatural?'
He had always toyed with her reactions, poked at her pride, prodded at her temper—not out of cruelty, but because it was easy. She never let anyone in. Never showed weakness. But now…
Now he wondered if anyone had ever looked at her like this. Not expecting anything. Not demanding strength. Just seeing her.
And maybe that was the first time someone ever truly had.
With a quiet breath, he stepped away, soundless as a shadow, slipping back into his room. His invisibility shimmered and dissipated as he crossed the threshold.
Gone was the smirk he usually wore.
In its place: silence. Thought. And a question that would linger longer than he expected.
Maybe it's time I stopped teasing her just for the fun of it.
---
Morning – 9:00 AM
The knock on his door came promptly, three short taps. Aiden sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was still groggy, but more from thinking too much last night than from any lingering fatigue.
He opened the door and found Sarah standing there, freshly showered and already dressed in a clean outfit. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun, her face refreshed but her eyes as sharp as ever.
She tilted her head slightly. "You slept in."
He yawned and stretched dramatically. "I was recovering from emotional trauma."
Sarah folded her arms. "Oh?"
"Yeah," he said, smirking. "Trauma from being denied the full visual effect of a thirty-thousand-dollar designer nighty set."
She rolled her eyes but didn't suppress the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Still on about that?"
"Some things are hard to forget. Like betrayal. And stockings." He leaned against the doorframe. "You didn't even let me mourn properly."
"You're impossible."
"And you're devastating," he replied smoothly. "I mean, you walk into a room and reality has to catch its breath."
She raised an eyebrow. "That line would've worked better if you weren't wearing your shirt backwards."
Aiden glanced down, cursed under his breath, and tugged at the twisted collar.
Sarah finally laughed—a short, honest laugh. Not the sarcastic chuckles he usually earned from her, but something real. "You're ridiculous."
"Ridiculously charming," he corrected. "But I'll allow the abbreviation."
She looked at him for a moment, something unreadable flashing across her features. Then she nodded and said softly, "I slept okay… thanks for asking."
"I figured," he said, giving her a quick wink. "Your heartbeat sounded like a lullaby."
Her eyes widened slightly. "You were using your power?"
He shrugged innocently. "Couldn't turn it off at first. Don't worry—I wasn't spying."
She narrowed her gaze. "Did you see anything?"
"Only that you kick blankets like a ninja in your sleep," he said casually, dodging the real answer with a playful grin. "Honestly, I feared for my life."
Sarah smirked and stepped aside. "Breakfast is on the table. I made extra coffee."
He looked at her, this time not teasing. "Thanks."
She nodded and turned to walk away, her back straight, her steps confident—but her ears slightly pink.
Aiden grinned and watched her go.
"This recovery period," he murmured under his breath, "is gonna be very, very interesting."