Continued from ep 17
Maya's footsteps echoed faintly as she moved through the house. Room after room revealed nothing but silence. The walls that once felt like a prison now pressed against her chest with an unbearable emptiness.
Her hands shook as she opened the front door and stepped outside. The night air brushed against her skin, cold and sharp. Panic churned in her stomach. She hurried to the small garden, her eyes scanning every corner, desperate for even the faintest trace of him.
But Caleb was nowhere.
Her breaths grew shallow, quick, uneven. Where is he? Did he leave me?
Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled toward the quiet road beyond the garden. Shadows stretched long in the dim light, and for the first time, she felt utterly alone. She looked down, her eyes catching her own trembling shadow on the ground. Empty-handed, empty-hearted—her mind raced with the cruel truth.
What's left for me now? What was ever there for me… except him?
Her chest tightened painfully. And just as that thought tore through her, another shadow slowly fell beside her own.
Maya froze.
Her eyes lifted, brimming with tears, as a voice she knew better than any other spoke from behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
Her breath caught. Hope surged through her, fragile but fierce. She turned, her vision still blurred by tears, and saw him standing there—Caleb.
Her body trembled, and before she could think, before doubt or anger could speak, she ran forward. Tears spilled over as she threw herself into his arms, clinging to him as if he were the only thing keeping her alive.
Caleb's body stiffened the instant her arms locked around him. Shock rippled through him. No one had ever come this close to him so suddenly, so desperately. For the first time in years, he felt something unfamiliar crack through his iron composure—an unsettling, unending pull deep in his chest.
Maya pressed herself tighter against him, as though she might disappear if she let go. Her hands trembled violently, her tears soaking into his shirt.
"Where did you go?" Her voice broke apart as sobs tore free, raw and aching. She clung to him harder, her grip desperate, her body shaking against his.
"Why did you leave me alone?" she cried out, the words spilling with all the fear and loneliness she had tried to bury. Her trembling voice rose louder, as if the night itself needed to hear her pain.
Her fists balled into his coat, refusing to release him. Each word, each tear, tore at something Caleb had long thought buried—an ache he didn't know how to answer.
Caleb's chest tightened at the sound of her broken sobs. He had faced enemies with steady hands, spilled blood without hesitation, but this—Maya shaking in his arms, her voice cracking as she cried—it unsettled him in a way he couldn't control.
He lowered his head slightly, his voice softer than he intended, edged with worry.
"I was just… out for some air," he muttered, the words awkward on his tongue. "And I had to take a call."
Her cries didn't stop. Her grip only tightened.
Caleb swallowed hard, his composure slipping. "There were… some issues in the house. I—" He faltered, the words tangling. For once, he didn't know how to explain himself.
His voice dropped, almost a whisper. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"
The apology felt strange in his mouth, unfamiliar, but Maya's trembling made him feel as though he had done something terribly wrong.
Maya buried her face against his chest, her words spilling between sobs.
"I thought you left me…" Her grip on him tightened, trembling. "I got so scared."
Her voice cracked on the last word, breaking him in ways he didn't expect.
Caleb let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. For a moment, he simply stood there, caught between guilt and a strange ache inside him. Then, slowly—awkwardly—he lifted a hand and rested it against her back. His touch was stiff at first, uncertain, but the longer he felt her shaking, the more his hand began to move in a careful rhythm.
"Easy," he murmured, his voice rough, strained. "I'm here."
The words felt foreign, but he forced them out, lowering his tone as if speaking too loud might break her further. "You don't have to be scared."
He wasn't used to comforting anyone. He wasn't sure he was doing it right. But seeing her like this—clinging to him as though he was the only thing keeping her together—made him want, for the first time, to try.
Maya's sobs shook through her chest as she clung to him tighter, her voice breaking between cries. "I thought you'd leave me… I got so scared…"
His hand lingered on her back, moving slowly, his jaw tense as he searched for the right words. "Maya… I'm right here," he murmured, his voice rough, uneven. "I'm not going anywhere. Even if I step out, I'll always come back to you."
Her tears burned against his shirt, and for a moment he hated himself for letting her feel abandoned. His thumb brushed along her damp cheek, softer than he'd ever allowed himself to be. "I didn't mean to scare you. I should've told you before I left… that's on me."
Maya lifted her face, her lashes heavy with tears, her eyes shimmering as if they carried the weight of every fear she had kept inside. Her lips trembled, but only one word came out, fragile and pleading.
"Promise…"
Caleb froze, caught in the rawness of her gaze. He had faced bullets, betrayal, and death without flinching—but this, her tearful eyes asking for a vow, left him unsteady.
His chest tightened, and after a long pause, he lowered his head slightly, his voice husky with something he couldn't name.
"I promise."
"Now… stop crying," he murmured, low and firm, though not unkind. His gaze lingered on her trembling face. "Let's go inside. It's cold out here." Maya nodded.
They stepped inside, closing the door behind them. The house was quiet, the air warmer than the night, yet the silence between them pressed down heavier than the cold ever could.
Maya stood just a few steps in, her eyes still red and swollen, her face pale with the traces of tears. She didn't speak, only kept her gaze low, her breathing uneven.
Caleb's eyes lingered on her, unreadable, his hands slipping into his pockets as if to steady himself. For a moment, he said nothing—just watched her in that fragile stillness.
Then, his voice came low, almost uncertain, carrying a weight he wasn't used to showing.
"Maya… You look a mess… did I scare you that much? "You don't have to cry like that again."
"I'm… going to my room," she murmured, her voice faint.
She walked slowly down the hall, the silence heavy between them. Just before stepping inside her room, she stopped. Her hand rested on the door, and with a trembling breath, she turned to glance back at him.
"You'll… not go again without telling me?"
Her words hung in the air, fragile yet piercing, leaving Caleb frozen in place.
After a pause, his voice comes low, rough, but steady:"…I won't."
Maya's lashes lowered, a faint breath of relief escaping her before she slipped quietly into her room.
Caleb remained where he was, his gaze fixed on the closed door, the weight of his own words pressing heavier on him than he expected.
End Of Episode.