The smell of paint and dust in Leo's old art studio was quickly replaced by gas and smoke. I could feel the heat coming from outside. Enzo was really doing it. He was burning us down.
"Mia, don't listen to him! I'm the one who saved you!" Leo shouted, gripping my arm tightly.
I never expected to see what was inside the studio's hidden room.
The walls were covered in paintings—and every single one was of my face. From when we were kids until now. I thought his "warnings" were out of care, but I was wrong. It was an obsession. A dark obsession just as sick as Enzo's.
"Saved?" I laughed bitterly, even though it was hard to breathe through the smoke.
"Leo, you brought me here just to use me for your revenge against Enzo. I'm just a trophy for both of you!"
BANG!
The door shook. That was Enzo. I knew he wouldn't stop until he had me or until we all turned to ash.
"MIA! GET OUT!" Enzo's voice boomed from the other side of the fire. "I can forgive you, baby! Just leave that loser and come to me! We can still have our dream proposal!"
I looked at a pile of paint thinner and oily rags next to Leo. Then, I saw a metal pipe near my feet.
Think, Mia... Think. Enzo claimed he had been playing with me for twelve years.
Leo hesitated, but his thirst for revenge won. He grabbed a sharp palette knife.
"Stay there, Mia. I'm going to finish that animal."
I grabbed the metal pipe and ran to the barred window. I used all my strength to break the old, rusty hinges.
"MIA! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Enzo screamed when he saw I wasn't following Leo.
"The 'Double Tape' is officially broken, Enzo!" I screamed back.
They realized my plan too late. Before they could reach me, I poured the remaining thinner between us, making the fire grow even stronger to block them.
I looked at them one last time—the two men who ruined my life. In the middle of the fire and blood, I wasn't the victim anymore.
I jumped out the window and into the dark woods of Tagaytay. I didn't look back. The fire was bright, but my future without them was finally clearer.
RUN MIA RUN
I tasted blood on my lips as I tumbled onto the sharp grass. The heat of the fire felt like it was chasing me, like Enzo's hands trying to pull me back to hell.
Run, Mia. Don't you dare look back.
But before I could get far, a massive explosion shook the ground.
BOOM!
The force of the blast threw me forward. The abandoned studio was now a giant torch in the dark. I closed my eyes. A part of me hoped it was finally over—that those two demons were gone.
"Did you think... it was that easy, baby?"
My skin crawled. That was the voice I had loved for twelve years. The voice that killed my father.
I turned around. Out of the thick smoke, Enzo appeared. His face was bloody, half of his shirt was burned, and his eyes—the Architect I knew was gone.
Only the Serial Killer remained. In his hand, he dragged Leo's unconscious, perhaps lifeless, body.
"Leo wanted a masterpiece," Enzo whispered, walking slowly toward me. He walked through the flames as if they couldn't hurt him. "But he forgot one thing. I own the canvas. I own you, Mia."
I backed away until I felt the edge of a cliff. One more step and I would fall.
"Double Tape, remember?" Enzo held up his left hand. A piece of fabric from my clothes was tied to his wrist. "We are stuck together until the end. If I'm going to hell, you're coming with me."
I realized then that running wasn't enough.
I saw the pocketknife Leo had dropped earlier. It was stained with paint and blood. I reached for it, my fingers shaking, but my eyes fixed on Enzo's heart.
"You're right, Enzo," I said, my voice as cold as the Tagaytay wind. "We are stuck together. But tape... can be cut."
He ran toward me. This was it. The end of the Architect.
The end of the Muse.
It was time to kill the story.
I was about to attack when he suddenly stopped. He laughed—a sound that made my knees weak. It wasn't the man I loved; it was the sound of a complete madman.
He gave me a terrifying look. "Mia, look around you. Do you really think I'd let you have the upper hand?"
He pulled something from his pocket. A remote trigger.
I froze.
"What is that, Enzo?"
"Architecture is about foundations, Mia," he said, sounding professional, like he was back in his office. "I didn't just burn the studio. I rigged the entire area. If I press this, the bridge—the only way out of here—explodes too."
He stepped closer, his shadow looming over me. "I prepared for this anniversary, baby. If you won't be my wife, you'll be my partner forever... underground."
"You're insane!" I screamed, tears mixing with the dirt on my face.
"I'm in love," he corrected. "And love requires sacrifice. Just like your father."
I went still. The anger I was holding back finally exploded. "Don't talk about my father! You killed him!"
"I killed him because he was going to take you away from me!" he shouted back, the veins in his neck popping. "He was going to send you to Canada! I just cleared the obstacle, Mia. Just like I cleared Leo. Just like I'll clear anyone who breaks the 'Double Tape'."
He moved closer, his finger on the trigger. "Now, drop the knife. Come here. Let's finish our 'anniversary' my way."
I looked at the knife, the trigger, and the burning studio. One mistake and we all die.
But then, I saw it.
Behind Enzo, Leo's fingers moved. He wasn't dead.
A plan formed in my head. A dangerous gamble. I needed to distract Enzo. I needed to make him feel like he was winning.
"Fine," I whispered. I dropped the knife. It hit the rocks with a metallic clink. "You win, Enzo. Just... please don't press it."
His face lit up. "That's my girl."
He opened his arms for a hug. As I walked toward him, I saw Leo slowly opening his eyes, reaching for a piece of concrete.
It was a three-way death trap.
Every step I took felt like a thorn in my heart. He looked so happy—a scary kind of happy. He really thought he had me back.
"Good choice, baby," he cooed. "Stay here with me. In the middle of the fire."
Five steps...
Four steps...
Behind him, Leo was getting up. He was bloody and gasping for air, but his eyes were locked on the back of Enzo's head.
"Now, Mia... do it now," Enzo urged.
"Enzo," I said in the sweetest voice I could manage. "I forgot to tell you something."
"What is it, my love?" he asked, leaning in, finally letting his guard down.
"You're not the only one who knows how to destroy things."
In that split second, I didn't hug him. I kicked Enzo's knee with all my strength and screamed, "LEO, NOW!"
"ARRGH!" Enzo fell to his knees.
At the same time, Leo swung the concrete and hit Enzo's back. CRACK. The sound broke the silence of the night.
"YOU MOTHER—!!!!" Enzo roared, but before he could press the trigger, I grabbed his hand.
We fought over the device while Leo tried to choke Enzo from behind. It was a mess of blood and screams. I could hear the fire crackling all around us.
"Let go, Mia!" Enzo yelled, his face red with rage. "We're going to blow up!"
"Then let's blow up!" I bit his hand—hard. I tasted the copper of his blood.
"Let her go, Enzo!" Leo screamed, though he was clearly weakening. "You ruined everything! My art! Her!"
Suddenly, a familiar beep sounded.
We all stopped.
The remote had fallen to the ground. The light wasn't red anymore. It was green.
"The timer..." Enzo whispered, fear finally showing on his face. "The timer is activated."
60... 59... 58...
The digital clock was counting down fast. We had one minute before this whole cliff turned to dust.
"Mia, run!" Leo shouted, holding Enzo down.
"Leave us! This is between him and me!"
"No! Leo!"
"RUN!" Leo's voice cracked. For the first time, I saw real love in him—the kind that lets go.
"Go, Mia! For your father!"
I looked at Enzo. He was crawling toward the trigger, his face twisted in madness. "You're not leaving, Mia! WE ARE DOUBLE TAPE!"
I had 45 seconds.
I looked at the dark path down the mountain. I looked at the two men who had been the center of my life—one who killed my dreams, and one who was a victim of his own obsession.
I made my choice.
I turned and ran. I was gasping, tripping, but I didn't stop. I heard Enzo screaming my name, but my heartbeat was louder.
10... 9... 8...
I jumped into a ditch far from the perimeter.
3... 2... 1...
BOOM.
The night turned white. The heat kissed my skin before the darkness finally took me.