Ares sat alone in his dimly lit home office, sleeves rolled to his elbows, the soft amber glow of his desk lamp casting long shadows across the walls. His elbows rested on the edge of the worktable, his fingers laced tightly under his chin.
He hadn't touched the reports in front of him.
His mind was somewhere else.
With her.
Mira's laughter still echoed faintly in his head. The way her eyes shimmered under the moonlight, how she hadn't hugged him back but hadn't pulled away either. She had just stood there, quietly letting herself be held.
It wasn't rejection.
It was surrender.
And that scared him.
His phone buzzed suddenly, jolting him out of his thoughts. He reached for it, expecting a reminder or a work call. Instead, he saw a message from an unknown number.
You deserve to know what she's really up to.
Three photo attachments blinked below the message.
He opened them.
The first image: Mira, stepping out of a car in front of her apartment. A familiar hoodie draped over her shoulders.
His hoodie.
His stomach tensed.
The second: Mira standing with him Ares beneath the streetlight at the park last night. Her eyes puffy from crying. Her face buried in his chest. The camera had caught the exact moment of vulnerability.
The third: A zoomed in shot of Ares brushing Mira's hair back during their silent hug.
He stared at the images.
These weren't candid shots.
They were surveillance.
He was being watched.
She was being watched.
And someone was trying to stir doubt.
His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched. The air grew heavier.
He picked up his phone again and made a call.
Mira answered softly on the second ring. "Yes?"
"I need the Kang proposal file. The final version. Send it to me within the hour."
There was a pause on the other end. "I thought the deadline was next week?"
"I changed it," he said sharply. "That's all."
He ended the call before she could ask further questions.
The moment he hung up, he made another call.
This time, to Jae Min.
Thirty minutes later, the two cousins stood in the underground parking lot of Han Group.
The silence between them was thick.
Jae Min leaned casually against a pillar, arms crossed, while Ares walked toward him with quiet intensity.
"You were the one following us last night," Ares said, voice low.
Jae Min didn't deny it. "Not just you. I follow whatever the chairman tells me to."
Ares's eyes darkened. "So now you're playing spy?"
"I'm protecting the company," Jae Min replied calmly. "From threats. From distractions."
His gaze didn't shift. "From you, if I have to."
The air shifted.
Something unspoken passed between them.
"Stay away from her," Ares said flatly.
Jae Min let out a quiet, almost bitter laugh. "Why? Because you decided you suddenly care?"
Ares stepped closer, jaw tight. "Because this isn't a game. Not for me."
"And what if it's not a game for me either?" Jae Min shot back, stepping forward too.
Both stood face to face now, tension brimming like a blade on edge.
But neither said more.
Because they both knew this wasn't just about Mira anymore.
It was personal.
Back in the office, Mira sat at her desk, the glow of the computer screen washing over her tired features.
Ares's sudden demand for the proposal had thrown her off. His tone had been cold. Controlled.
But not distant.
It was the kind of voice someone used when they were trying too hard not to feel something.
She stared at her phone, wondering if she had done something wrong.
Or if the closeness of last night had been a mistake.
Had she crossed a line?
Or was she finally getting too close to the truth and to him?
As she hit "send" on the proposal file, her heart pounded.
Something had shifted.
And she knew nothing would ever be the same again.
~the man slowly breaking through the Armor she swore no one would touch!