Ethan went about the rest of the afternoon in a daze, the sound of her words still ringing in his ears.
"You shouldn't be able to see me."
It wasn't just the warning that shook him. It was the way she said it. Not in shock. Not even in anger. Almost with recognition.
That night, he sat at his desk long after the city had become quiet, replaying the moment again and again. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her auburn locks, her sharp gaze and the brief flicker in her expression that felt like a doorway into something neither of them should have been part of.
The Veil remained silent. For once, no directives. No cryptic commands. Just silence, as though it were watching and waiting to see what he would do next.
By the time morning came, Ethan had convinced himself he wouldn't see her again. Maybe she was a ghost in his mind, stitched together by exhaustion and fear. But fate had its own sense of humor.
She was there.
Aria, though he didn't know her name yet, was standing at the front desk of his company's lobby when Ethan arrived. She wore a tailored jacket and carried a slim folder under her arm.
Her presence was sharp, commanding, and yet subtle enough to blend in with the polished corporate space.
Ethan froze mid-step, catching his breath in his throat.
She glanced at him briefly, just long enough to hold his gaze before returning to the receptionist. The exchange was a normal routine. She signed a visitor's log, thanked the staff, and waited for her badge to be printed. But the air between them was anything but normal.
Their eyes met again, and this time Ethan felt something stir deep inside him. A current he couldn't explain.
When she finally approached the elevators, she stopped beside him.
"Ethan Hayes?" she asked softly, as though she already knew the answer.
His stomach knotted. "Yes. How?"
Her lips formed the slightest smile. "I'll be shadowing your department for the audit. Guess we'll be seeing plenty of each other."
The elevator pinged open. She stepped in. Ethan did likewise, heart racing as the doors shut.
The mirrored walls briefly reflected them side by side. He attempted not to look, but the silence drew him in until he eventually questioned, "Yesterday at the café. That was you, wasn't it?"
Her face didn't change, but her eyes flashed with something indecipherable. "You don't want to ask questions you're not prepared to have answered."
Ethan swallowed hard. "Then why me? Why can I see you?"
Aria turned slightly, studying him. The weight of her attention felt like gravity pressing down on his chest. Finally, she said, "Because the Veil has already touched you. And once it does, nothing stays hidden."
The words cut deeper than they should have. She was connected. To the system. To him.
Before he could respond, the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. She stepped out first, her stride unbroken.
"Let's keep this professional," she said over her shoulder. "At least for now."
Ethan stood frozen, torn between fear and something else. Something dangerous that had nothing to do with the Veil.
Attraction.
It was subtle, fragile, and entirely inappropriate. But it was there, seeded deep in the cracks of his life, already growing.
And Ethan knew, without question, that it would change everything.