Ayla stepped quietly into Leon's suite, the soft click of the door behind her echoing in the silence.
She didn't say a word.
She simply crossed the room and pressed her lips to his.
Her kiss was gentle, almost hesitant, but full of unspoken desperation. Leon didn't kiss her back—yet he didn't push her away either. He stood there like stone, his body rigid beneath her touch.
Feeling the stiffness in him, Ayla slowly pulled away, her heart racing. "I… I'm sorry…" she stammered, her voice small, her eyes dropping in shame.
Leon said nothing. His silence weighed on her, pressing for more than a simple apology. He wanted an explanation—one she wasn't sure how to give without breaking herself open completely.
"I know what I did was bad," she began, her voice trembling. "Choosing Damien over you… and still keeping you around just to hurt you more. I know you love me. And I love you too. And I appreciate all that you've been…"
Her words faltered, but Leon's voice cut through, low and firm.
"I want your love, Ayla. Not your guilt. I'm sorry, but I can't just accept you back like this. Whatever you're feeling right now—it's guilt, not love. And I'm not someone you can toy with. I want you, Ayla, and I'm willing to wait… until you realize your love for me."
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. "I've always loved you, Leon. Yes, I was foolish enough to choose Damien over you, but I did it out of impulse—because of the hurt I felt towards you when you broke up with Celeste. I know you don't know it was me…"
Leon's jaw clenched. "Yes, Ayla, I never knew she was you. The same way you didn't know either. I broke things off with her because my heart was with you—even when I believed you were dead. But when I found out who you were… and I stood there with my arms wide open, you chose someone else. And then you guilt-tripped me into being the reason why you did that."
His voice wavered, the pain slipping through. "It hurts, Ayla… so much that I thought of ending my life. And then Maureen saved me… now I'm tangled in her web. All because my stone heart softened for you."
Ayla stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "Let me prove my love for you, Leon. Take me back… and I promise to heal all the hurt. I promise I'm never going to leave you again."
Leon's eyes softened, the tension in his shoulders loosening at last.
Without another word, he stepped forward and pulled Ayla into his arms.
Her breath hitched as he held her close, his hand sliding to the back of her head, fingers gently ruffling her hair. He pressed a slow kiss to the crown of her head, his voice low and warm against her skin.
"I've always trusted you," he murmured. "And I believe you. I'm taking you back… I can't stand you being with another man."
A sob escaped her—not from sadness, but from the relief of finally being held by him again. She buried her face in his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart, and for a brief moment, the world outside no longer mattered.
But far across the continent, the world was burning for someone else.
At Viper's heavily guarded estate, chaos exploded in the dead of night. Shadows moved swiftly through the compound—silent, calculated, and deadly. One by one, Viper's men fell in the ambush, their shouts silenced by gunfire and steel.
When the dust settled, Viper lay lifeless among the corpses of his crew.
The killers stepped over the bodies without hesitation, certain their work was done.
They didn't notice the faint rise and fall of Kalen's chest where he lay among the dead—bloodied, battered, but alive. In the chaos, they had mistaken him for another corpse.
Somehow, against all odds, he had survived.