The reception desk was almost empty… except for Liora's bag, placed neatly on the side of the counter—a small, delicate fragment of a gentler world that did not belong in this grim, suffocating bank.
I walked toward it with steady steps, though something inside me was boiling.Ever since that look...Liora's look at Adam something had awakened in me.A snowball… no. Not snow.A stone. Heavy. Rolling toward me with purpose.
I knew myself well. I don't let threats grow. I crush them before they even think of rising.
But why?Why does my mind twist itself into knots every time I see her?Am I afraid she might take Adam from me?Do I really see her as a rival?Ridiculous.Pathetic, even, to consider her anything close to that.
Then why…why does my heart behave as though it remembers an old wound whenever our eyes meet?
I stood before her desk, staring at her bag. I hesitated—just for a moment.Then I leaned down and opened it without shame. I felt no guilt.No fear.Thieves feel fear. But I… I am Lilith.
And there it was. A small pink diary, decorated with delicate butterflies and soft peach blossoms.Even its scent… fresh, pure irritatingly pure.
I opened the first page .And froze. Something in the first lines struck a nerve buried deep in my chest ...a tremor I hadn't felt in a very long time.
I snapped the diary shut as if it were alive, as if it were staring back at me.I shoved it into the bag again, my hands betraying a fear I refused to acknowledge aloud.
I turned away quickly, heading toward my office… but my feet stopped on their own.
The madness whispered again: Take it.
I didn't think.I went back, opened the bag, and pulled the diary out slowly.Not to borrow. To steal.A word whose weight I understood perfectly and chose anyway.
I walked toward my office, each step heavy, but my chin held high.I refused to fall to that nagging voice inside me, reciting its usual sermon:values… ethics… proper behavior…
Nonsense.
There has always been a dark part of me. And another part—supposedly bright.But I have never seen that light except as scattered sparks… black sparks.Shadows pretending to shine.
And today…I chose to let the shadows speak.