/Leo/
"Oh, the sleeping beauty finally decides to open his eyes."
A sharp ray of sunlight slipped through the balcony window, striking right at my face and forcing me awake. At the same time, Raven's sarcastic tone pierced my ears, and I groaned. Sitting up, I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, squinting at the blinding morning sun.
"When exactly are you planning to go back home?" he asked again, his voice firm and scolding, though I couldn't bring myself to care.
I didn't reply. The next sound I heard was his footsteps fading as he left the room.
The sunlight poured in from the massive window, flooding every corner of the apartment. Raven must have pulled the curtains wide open. The rays were warm against my skin, almost too warm, but I didn't move. Living on the twentieth floor of a high-rise had its perks—views like this being one of them.
I've been staying with Raven ever since that night. I left my condo. No—I ran from it. From him. I can't bring myself to go back, not after what I did.
The memory still plays in my head on repeat. Jake at the party. Someone sitting beside him—too close, touching him in ways that weren't just friendly. Something inside me snapped. Anger, jealousy, or maybe something far deeper—I still can't name it. All I know is that my body moved before my mind could stop it.
And then… his face. The shock in his eyes. The tear sliding down his cheek while I hovered over him—that image tore through the haze clouding my thoughts, ripping me back into reality. But by then, it was already too late. I'd crossed a line I can't undo. So I ran.
"Are you planning to come out of that den and actually have some breakfast?" Raven's voice carried through the hallway, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I finally pushed myself up and dragged my feet to the dining table, still wrapped tight in the blanket. Raven was already seated, arms crossed, a judgmental look waiting for me.
"You're washing that blanket later," he remarked with a smirk.
I just nodded.
Dropping into the chair opposite him, I stayed buried in the cocoon of white fabric. It clung to me like a shield, trapping warmth against my body. In this biting cold, taking it off felt impossible. Almost sinful.
"Thank you for the breakfast." My voice was low, almost drowned by the clatter of cutlery as I dug into the food on my plate.
"So, how long is this beauty planning to freeload at my place?" Raven asked with a mocking smirk.
I lifted my eyes to his, caught his teasing expression, then quickly dropped them back to my plate. I didn't answer—mostly because I didn't have one.
Raven sighed, the sharpness fading from his tone. "Look, Leo… I don't know what happened that made you show up at my door last Friday, or what's keeping you from work. But if you don't tell me, how am I supposed to help?"
The fork slipped from my hand and clattered against the plate. My gaze locked on the vegetables I'd been pushing around, but my mind was elsewhere—on Jake. On that night.
"I made a mistake," I admitted, my voice breaking on the word.
Raven leaned forward, eyes softening. "What kind of mistake?"
I swallowed, forcing the words out. "I did something I shouldn't have… something I regret."
So I told him everything. The jealousy that consumed me at the party. The way I lost control. Jake's terrified eyes. His tears. And the crushing shame that sent me running to Raven's doorstep.
Raven listened quietly, without interruption. His eyes were steady—firm, yet open. Approachable. That calm gaze pulled the confession out of me without hesitation, without fear of being judged.
When I finally stopped, silence filled the space between us. Raven sat back, unreadable, his face a mask that gave me no clue whether he pitied me, hated me, or understood. Then he asked one simple question.
"Did you call him?"
"Call him?" My voice cracked with surprise.
"Did you clear things up with him?" His words carried weight—too much sense for me to ignore.
My chest tightened. "No…" I muttered, eyes dropping back to the plate. The thought of calling Jake had haunted me all week, but I didn't have the courage to face even his shadow.
"As expected from you," Raven said flatly, though there was no malice in it—just truth. He leaned back, taking a sip of water before continuing. "I already called your secretary. Told him you'll be returning to the office tomorrow."
I snapped my head up, stunned. "Why would you do that?!" My heart pounded. I wasn't ready. Not yet. Not like this.
Raven met my gaze head-on, his tone sharp now, almost cutting. "Because you can't keep running. And because…" He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "How long do you plan on living here for free?"
His stare cut through me, sending a chill crawling down my spine.
"I need time…" I whispered, my eyes lowering to the folds of the white gown draped around me. "Time to gather myself."
Raven leaned back, his gaze never leaving me. "You can gather yourself all you want—within today."
His words hit me harder than I expected. I raised my eyes, searching his face, but what I found there was… unsettling. His stare carried an unreadable weight, as if he were quietly building something dangerous in his mind. Something that could shake the fragile balance I was clinging to.
"What are you planning, Raven?" I asked, my voice cautious, bracing for the inevitable blast.
He tilted his head, the corners of his mouth curving into a slow, deliberate smirk. "Me? I'm not planning anything." His laugh followed—low, sharp, unsettling. It wasn't just a laugh. It was the sound of someone who already knew the outcome of a game I hadn't even agreed to play.
For a moment, the room seemed to shift. The blanket around me, so warm a moment ago, suddenly felt paper-thin, useless against the cold that now seeped from Raven's presence. He wasn't just teasing anymore. He was dangerous in ways that had nothing to do with violence—and everything to do with knowing how to push me.
"I hate veggies," I muttered, setting down my cutlery with finality. Gathering the blanket closer, I rose from the table and left him there with his smirk and his secrets.
Back in the small room I had been haunting for a week, I closed the door behind me. But even with the door shut, I could still feel Raven's smirk lingering in the air, as if he was already three steps ahead of me.