The car was quiet, too quiet for my thoughts. Rain tapped softly against the window, turning the city lights into long, blurry trails. Asher sat next to me, one hand steady on the steering wheel and the other resting casually near the gearshift. The hum of the engine filled the silence, but it couldn't drown out the memory of him.
Sylus.
The way his voice had lowered when he said, "Some things are too dangerous to call work." The way his eyes had pinned me, cold, dark, and unwavering, as if he could see every thought I hid behind my calm. I pressed my headphones i, to listen to the music. But the melody couldn't compare to the memory that played in my head. His proximity, his warmth, the faint scent of his cologne still clung to my shirt. Or maybe it was just in my head, haunting me.
He had stood so close, his breath brushing my skin. His voice was rough with something that didn't sound like desire. When he finally stepped back and said he should leave, telling me I could call if I needed anything, it felt like the air shifted. Like he took something with him when he walked out.
Now, I was sitting beside Asher, pretending I wasn't unraveling from a ghost of a moment. The song in my ears blurred as I glanced out the window. My reflection stared back with flushed cheeks, parted lips, eyes I didn't recognize. Just thinking about Sylus leaning in, the way his hand brushed the counter beside mine, made my pulse jump.
"Ella?"
Asher's voice pulled me back. I blinked and tugged out one earbud. "Yeah?" His gaze flicked toward me for a second before returning to the road. "You okay? You look… distracted."
I forced a smile. "I am alright." But I could feel his eyes linger longer this time. He noticed the pink on my cheeks, the way I avoided his gaze, maybe even the faint tremor in my hand as I adjusted my sleeve.
"Right," he said softly. He didn't press, but I could sense the quiet curiosity simmering behind his calm exterior. The air inside the car felt heavier and warmer suddenly.
I turned my head back toward the glass, watching the droplets race down the window. But all I could see was him again. Sylus, with his jaw tight, his voice low, his gaze burning into me like a promise I wasn't ready to understand.
Maybe Asher could tell. Because when the traffic light turned red, and the glow washed over his face, his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Like he already knew that somewhere between the rain and silence, I wasn't thinking about him at all.
Asher's POV~
She thought she was hiding it well. But I knew. I understood exactly what haunted her behind that distant gaze. It explained why her fingers fidgeted with her sleeve. It explained why her breath caught every time her phone buzzed, prompting her to quickly lock the screen.
Sylus.
That name had been etched in my mind since morning. I'd seen him leaving her place too early and too comfortably. He had that quiet arrogance that made my blood boil. His shirt collar was unbuttoned, a soft stain of her tined gloss left near his chest, his eyes were downcast, but he looked smug. Like he had taken something that wasn't his.
And then there was her. She stood by the door, hair in a low, messy bun, leaning against the door frame with a soft, undeniable longing. She looked the way someone does after sleepless hours haunted by restless thoughts.
She hadn't noticed me that morning, but I had seen everything. Now, sitting beside me, her silence spoke volumes. She kept staring out the window, her lips pressed together as if holding back a sigh. The faint blush on her cheeks didn't come from the cold. I would bet my life on it.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my jaw twitching. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Her head jerked slightly, guilt flashing across her face before she could hide it. "What?" she whispered, her tone defensive.
I looked straight ahead, speaking softly. "Sylus." The moment his name was spoken, the atmosphere changed. It grew tense and heavy. Her breathing caught as if she was caught.t
"I saw him," I said finally, turning my head just enough to meet her startled gaze. "Leaving your place this morning." Her lips parted, but no words came out. Just silence. My hand flexed on the steering wheel. "I don't need to know what happened. I just recognize that look on your face. It's the same one you had when you watched him leave."
For a brief moment, her eyes softened. Maybe it was guilt. Maybe confusion. Maybe both. And that hurt more than I'd ever admit because she wasn't mine. But she wasn't his either.
The words slipped out before I could stop them. "Did you two kiss?" She blinked, her brows knitting together. "No–" "Or did he sleep with you?" I interrupted, my voice harsher than I intended. But as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I'd gone too far.
Her whole body went still. It felt like I'd just slapped her. The faint hum of the car engine was the only sound between us now. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Her hands, which had been nervously playing with her earphones, dropped to her lap. The tremor in her fingers spoke volumes.
"Asher…" she whispered, her tone shaking before turning cold. "Stop the car."
"Ell-wait, I didn't mean-" "Stop. The. Car." Her voice cracked, filled with anger and something worse hurt. I looked at her then. Really looked. Her eyes were glassy, shining with tears she wouldn't let fall. Her jaw was tight, a small tremble in her chin betraying her.
"Ell-" "Do you even hear yourself?" she snapped, her voice raw and barely holding together. "You don't get to accuse me of that. You don't get to decide what happened just because you saw something."
Each word hit harder than the last. And damn, she was right. My throat tightened, guilt flooding in where anger had been moments before. "I'm sorry," I said, the words broken and empty. "Ella, I-"
"Stop the car, Asher!" she yelled this time. Her voice was cracked and desperate, and it made my hand slam the brakes almost instinctively. The tires screeched against the road, and the car jerked to a stop. Silence fell. Her chest rose and fell unevenly. My hands trembled against the steering wheel. "I didn't—" I tried again.
But she was already unbuckling, wiping at her tears as if she couldn't bear for me to see them. Then she said it, quietly but sharply enough to hurt. "You crossed a line you can't take back."
"Ella!" I shouted, my voice barely rising above the rain pounding on the street. She didn't stop. Her hair was already soaked, and her clothes clung to her shivering frame as she kept walking. Her head was down, and her steps were unsteady, as if the storm was pulling her deeper.
"Ella, please, wait!" I ran after her, splashing through puddles until I caught up, stopping right in front of her. The downpour blurred everything, as did the streetlights, the buildings. Watwas er trailing down her face, but the pain in her eyes cut through it all.
"You didn't even know anything," she choked out, her voice shaking, wet strands of hair sticking to her cheeks as tears mixed with rain. "Nothing. Still, you assumed the worst of me."
"Ella, I didn't-" "Do you even know what happened last night?" she snapped, her voice breaking. "Do you even know that Coco died? That he left me?"
My chest tightened. I knew how much that dog meant to her. "Ella." "He was all I had," she whispered, her voice cracking as her knees hit the wet road. "I remember him so clearly. The way he'd curl up by my feet, how he'd wait by the door. We adopted him together, Asher. He was my family even when everyone left me. Even when you left, he was there .... he was."
She buried her face in her hands, sobbing so hard it felt like my heart was being torn apart because she was right. "And Sylus.." her breath hitched, "Sylus was there for me. When I couldn't even breathe, when I couldn't stand. And you- " she looked up, her eyes red, "you just assumed…"
"Ella, please-" "Do I look like a girl who would sleep with anyone just because they were there?" she spat, her voice sharp and shaking, the pain behind it unbearable.
Rain poured harder, drowning the world around us. She was crying, trembling, broken, and I'd done that. I crouched down in front of her, rain dripping from my hair, the guilt heavy in my chest. "No… You don't," I said quietly, my voice barely holding. "You don't, Ella. I'm sorry… I just-"
"Just what?" she snapped, her voice hoarse. "You didn't trust me. Not even for a second."
Her words hit like loud, raw, and irreversible thunder. She looked away, harshly wiping her tears & I realized I wasn't losing an argument. I was losing her. Suddenly her phone rang rain raindrops falling on the screen,
it was Sylus.
----
Ella's pov~
"Hello?" I picked it up, my voice heavy, trying my best to sound composed but inside. Inside, it was eating me alive how Asher felt so different, his dark gaze piercing was long replaced by what seemed like the guilt he was drowning in. The switch was making me speechless. Who was he anymore? I didn't know...
-----
Sylus's Pov~
The moment her voice came through the line, something inside me froze. It was barely a whisper. Fragile. Shaking. "...Hello?" That wasn't the Ella I had left this morning. The one who smiled faintly at me over coffee and said she'd be fine. No, this voice sounded broken. "Ella?" My tone sharpened, instinct kicking in. "What's wrong?"
I heard her take a sharp breath. Then the sound of rain was heavy, unrelenting, dropping around her. I could hear it crashing against the phone and could feel it. "Nothing," she said, her voice cracking halfway. "I'm… fine."
She wasn't. Not even close. My grip tightened around the phone. "Where are you?" The silence stretched. Then I heard her sniffle, soft and defeated. "I don't know, Sylus… just outside." "Outside, where?" I snapped, already grabbing my keys and ignoring the burning in my chest. "Ella."
Her words were barely coherent, like she was trying to hold herself together while falling.
"I have some work," she whispered, and I could hear her shaking voice. "I'll call you later." "Don't you dare hang up on me." My voice came out rougher than I intended, low and firm. My heart raced as I put on my jacket. "Where are you, Ella?"
There was silence. Just the sound of rain, endless and empty. "I'm… I'm going to the company," she finally said, her voice thin and strained. I knew it was about to break.
"You're not going there." I grabbed my keys, slamming the door behind me. "I'm on my way."
"Sylus-" But I had already hung up when rain hit the windshield as I sped through the streets, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. Every red light felt like a personal offense. My jaw clenched so tightly it hurt.
All I could hear was her voice, the shaky tremor, the way she said nothing, as if she was trying to convince herself more than me. Something had happened. Something terrible.
And whoever made her cry like that. Whoever made my Ella sound so defeated, I
was going to regret being alive by the time I got there.
By the time I got to the company, the rain poured down, turning everything into grey smudges. But I didn't care about the rain. I was looking for her.
And then, there she was. Sitting on the wet stone bench in the company garden. Her head was bowed. Her hair was soaked and stuck to her pale face. Her hands rested limply against her knees.
She wasn't crying. She wasn't shivering. She was just still. The sight twisted my chest painfully. Ella, who always radiated warmth even when she was hurting, looked like she had run out of pieces to give.
I slowed down, my shoes crunching on the wet gravel. "Ella…" No response. Not even a flicker. The rain ran down her face, but I knew it wasn't just rain. I crouched in front of her, my heart pounding.
"Ella," I said again, softer this time, reaching out to lift her chin. Her eyes met mine, hollow, distant. That emptiness scared me more than her tears ever could.
"Why didn't you call me?" I whispered. She blinked slowly, as if remembering who I was took effort. "You said to call if I needed you." Her voice was flat, barely audible over the rain. A humorless smile flickered on her lips. "I didn't think anyone really means that."
My throat burned. I didn't know if it was the rain or the guilt rising inside me. I took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Her body felt cold....too cold. "Let's get you out of this, okay?"
Then, her voice breaks, small, trembling, fragile enough to crush me from within. I didn't think. I reached forward and pulled her into me, hugging her. Her wet clothes clung to my chest. Her breath was warm against my neck. Her fingers grasped my shirt as if she were afraid I'd disappear too.
"I'm not leaving," I whispered into her hair. "Not you."Her eyes felt like a small spark was there." Let's go," I said, whispering against her hair.
Her voice shook, almost lost in the sound of the rain hitting the roof.
"Your dress and car will get soaked…" I didn't hesitate. I slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her as if she weighed nothing.
"I don't care," I said, my voice low and rougher than I intended. "You're coming with me."
Her body trembled against mine, cold rain seeping into my shirt, but I held firm.
All I could think about was how small she felt in my arms. She once radiated warmth, and now she was reduced to this shivering mass of silence and soaked clothes.
When I set her down in the passenger seat, she grabbed my shirt for a moment, as if afraid I would disappear. The warmth of her touch burned through me.
"Ella," I whispered, brushing wet hair from her face, but she only looked down, her lashes heavy with water. I leaned forward to buckle her seatbelt, my hand grazing the side of her waist.
Her skin was cold, but when I felt her breath hitch softly, something twisted deep inside me.
-----
Ella's POV~
His hands felt too warm against my rain-chilled skin. Every movement, every touch, felt heavier than it should.
He leaned in closer, the faint scent of rain and smoke lingering around him. His breath brushed my cheek as his fingers clicked the seatbelt into place.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. My fingers twitched on my lap, gripping my coat to stop them from reaching for him.
He was too close to real.
My pulse raced, heat rising in my throat even with the cold soaking my body.
What are you doing to me, Sylus…
I turned my head away, hoping he wouldn't notice the heat rising to my cheeks, but I could still feel his eyes on me, steady, unreadable, and piercing through every defense I had left.
The rain kept falling outside, but the only storm I felt was the one between us. I wonder how you would react if I gave in to this tension between us. This pull you have... geez, you make my mind haze... I stared out of the window, and he drove in silence, which was louder than words. My gaze caught a glimpse of his soaked shirt. I instantly looked away, feeling hot even though I was soaked in cold rain.
Inner monologue~ Why are you doing this, Sylus? Just go away like everyone else did. Don't look at me like that. Don't touch me like you mean it. You're making it hard to breathe, harder to hate you, and hardest to stop wanting you.~