At that moment, Sera sat on her balcony, bathed in the city's twinkling lights, as threads of dawn slowly wove over the silent buildings. Her eyes were lost in the horizon, but her mind was elsewhere.
Suddenly, she saw him.
There, across the street, Aaren stood motionless, silently gazing at the Arcadia Vault building. He seemed to be talking to something only he could see.
Faint whispers from the past crept into her memory; she recalled what he'd said the day of the accident.
Without thinking, she slipped on her shoes and left the house with great stealth. She carefully closed the door behind her, then crossed the street with hesitant steps, her eyes fixed on his back. He was about to leave when she quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.
He turned to her in surprise.
Aaren:
"Sera?... What are you doing here?"
Sera, breathless from anxiety and running:
"That day... the day of the accident... you said something..."
Aaren, trying to hide his confusion:
"I said what?"
Sera, looking directly into his eyes:
"You said: Aiden... my brother... Did you mean that Aiden is your brother? Is Aiden really your brother?"
A look of shock that he couldn't hide appeared on Aaren's face. His gaze was distant, and his eyes avoided hers. For a moment, she thought he would tell the truth.
But he took a deep breath and then said in a low voice:
Aaren:
"I... I don't remember anything about that. Maybe you're imagining things, Sera."
Sera, her voice trembling with anger and certainty:
"Imagining? Impossible. Everything points to it... the places you were in, your glances, your confusion whenever Aiden's name was mentioned... Tell me the truth, Aaren."
The silence between them was like the sound of a bullet in the still night. The cold seeped into her fingertips, but she didn't move her hand from his arm. She was waiting for a confession... or even a tear that would reveal what he had been trying to bury for years.
Despite their standing on the sidewalk, a sharp light split the darkness of the road.
A motorcycle's headlight sped towards Sera with insane velocity, as if the driver couldn't see anything in front of him... or as if he intended to run her over.
For a single moment, a scream was stifled in her chest, and her eyes widened in terror. She didn't move.
But Aaren was faster than the danger.
He grabbed her forcefully and pulled her towards him, shielding her with his body. She collided with his chest, her breath held as he wrapped his arm around her in a primal, protective embrace.
Aaren, his eyes ablaze with anger:
"Has this fool lost his mind?!"
Then he gently stepped back from her, holding her shoulders as if trying to restore the sense of security that fear had stolen from her face.
Aaren, in a low, reassuring voice:
"Don't worry, everything's fine... I'm here, Sera. I'll take you home; this place is dangerous, and you shouldn't be out at this time."
Her breathing was erratic; her hands still trembled.
He leaned in closer and whispered near her ear, in a voice only she could hear:
"Aiden... Yes, he's my brother."
Then he continued to whisper, but in an icy tone:
"But you must not get involved."
He pulled away from her as if nothing had happened, a calm smile covering his face... but it didn't reach his eyes.
Aaren:
"Come on, let's go."
But before they could take a single step...
The motorcycle suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Its engine sound grew louder, then died out.
A suspicious-looking man, wearing a completely black helmet, descended from it, wrapped in mystery and madness.
He shouted in a thick voice full of hatred, piercing the stillness:
"I hate it when anyone but me touches her! Sera... is mine alone!
And if
it comes to it..."
He paused for a moment, then in a darker voice:
"I'll kill her."
Aaren stood silently on the sidewalk, watching Sera until she disappeared behind her apartment door.
He raised his hand to his heart, gently pressed, and mumbled in a hoarse voice:
"I won't fall in love with my brother's girlfriend... impossible."
But a familiar voice cut through the silence from behind him. The voice was calm... but laced with suspicion.
Aiden:
"And what, exactly, is this 'impossible'? Strange... I see you everywhere I am."
Aaren froze in place, then turned to him with a composure that wasn't devoid of tension, trying to hide his distress with a faint smile:
Aaren:
"That's because I love to be where things happen... By the way, is it true that you quit your job as a police officer?"
Aiden raised his eyebrow, folding his arms with a hint of light sarcasm in his voice:
Aiden:
"Are you with intelligence or something? Where do you get all this information? I didn't resign; I just... took a long vacation."
Then he took a step closer and looked at him with a gaze that held a mix of caution and challenge:
"But you, Aaren, are hiding a lot. And me? I won't let any thread fall from my hand."
Silence hung between them for moments, carrying something greater than words—a silent struggle, not spoken aloud, but understood between the two brothers.
At that moment...
Sera stood in front of Aiden's door, staring at it with tense silence as if reading something in the air.
Sera, talking to herself in a low voice:
"Strange... He hasn't called since what happened. Is he okay? Back then, he seemed... broken. Sad in a way I'd never seen before."
But before she could finish her thoughts, the sound of the elevator cut her distraction short.
Ding.
She turned quickly, her heart beating faster than time itself.
She saw him.
Aiden... standing in front of her, with a stillness that resembled ice and a look that was impossible to understand. His eyes... were devoid of any warmth, as if what was between them had never existed.
Aiden, in a voice as calm as the silence before a storm:
"What are you doing here, at this hour?"
Sera stared at him, searching for the shadow of him she knew. But all she found was a mysterious coldness.
Sera, stammering:
"I was worried... You haven't called since what happened... I just... wanted to check on you... I..."
But her words vanished as he approached with steady steps, like someone who knows what he wants. He came close enough to pin her against the wall, placing his hand beside her, trapping her without touching her.
He lowered his head until their breaths mingled. His gaze was not tender but saturated with bitter suspicion.
Aiden, in a low but sharp voice:
"What I simply want to know is... why were you with Aaren at this time? What was the important topic that made you go after him and stop him?"