Ella pulled away silently. The space she left behind felt off it was like something that wasn't his had been taken.
"Sylus looked at her like she was delicate, like something to be cherished. His eyes got softer in an instant, and Ella looked with a soft in-love expression on, no matter how hard I tried to get it from her, I never did."
"Why don't you grab some medicine and bandages?"
His voice was deep and grounding. Ella nodded quietly, trusting him as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Gently, the second the door shut, the atmosphere changed. Sylus's hand clenched into my collar, instantly shoved me back hard. His eyes turned cold into that deadly expression. His voice dropped to a low, controlled tone with a hint of anger.
"You asshole. She thinks you're her friend and you-"
I didn't look away. "Me?" I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.
"I've loved her for fifteen years. Fucking.God.Damn.Fifteen Years.. You show up and take her like she was waiting for you?"
A humourless, bitter laugh escaped me. "She's mine," I said, quieter but more intense. "She'salwaysbeenmine.. She will be. You got that?"
For a moment, Sylus just stared at me, then he smiled. It wasn't a kind or amused smile. It was something, "Oh yeah?" he said.
"Then why does she look at me like she's forgotten how to breathe? Hazed, Dazed, her fingers curling into my shirt, Why does she fall apart when I touch her?"
His voice dropped lower. "She says my name when she is moaning mess. She wakes up in my arms. "
Before I could think twice, my fist hit him directly in the jaw. The impact hurt my knuckles. It didn't help. It didn't even come close. He staggered back, then straightened, his eyes flashing with anger. He moved forward, ready to break all hell loose, and I almost welcomed it. "I almost wanted him to hit me back so I'd have a reason to hurt him more."
Suddenly, the door opened we both stopped in our tracks, speechless. Ella stood there with an aid box in her hands, looking confused.
"What's going on?"
Sylus didn't even hesitate. "Nothing," he said smoothly. "He was just showing me how to throw a punch." Sylus was showing me how to throw a punch. He turned to her with that practised ease. The violence and that deadly aura were gone from his face. He even smiled. He looked clean, as if he were back in control.
"I'll be outside," he said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.. "Come when you're done."
Then he looked at me with a glare, a dead calm stare, telling me we were far from over.
It was a promise.
The door shut behind him as he walked away. I sat back on the edge of the bed. I was breathing harder than I let on. My knuckles hurt my skin was split. It stung.. It kept me from thinking about everything else. Ella sighed softly. She moved closer and didn't ask any questions. She settled on the chair beside the bed as she opened the aid box with steady hands. Her hands were careful. They didn't know what they did to me.
"You are bleeding," she said softly.
I didn't answer, her fingers wrapped around my wrist. She turned my hand gently. She started cleaning the cut. The sting got sharper.. I barely felt it.
All I felt was Ella.
She was too calm.
Like I wasn't falling apart in front of her.
My jaw clenched by the mere thought of Ella walking out of this room.. She would go to Sylus, back to him, and I can't even do anything, it would look like a kid throwing a tantrum. She cleaned the cuts with careful movements as I kept watching her. I didn't look away for a second. Not when she leaned in close. Not when she held my hand steady like it was something worth saving.
Before I knew she was done with applying ointments, she held my hands in hers, those cold, slender fingers gently grazing my knuckles
"Be careful…, for my sake, Asher. Hm?"
Her smile was so soft and sweet, she didn't even know. It felt as if I was stabbed in the heart, hurt someone in a way she didn't know.
It almost crushed me
I pulled her close before I thought it through. Before I could feel anything, my arms wrapped around her tightly as if I could keep her there.
Like I could stop her from going to him, all those bad thoughts burned as I swallowed them. It felt bad. Like poison.. I nodded against her shoulder. She moved closer, her hand sliding up my back in gentle strokes. It was like she didn't even realise what it did to me. Her breath was near my ear, soft and steady.
"I've got you."
The words went down. She pulled away before I could make it mean more than it did.
"I have to go ", she said quietly. "If you need anything, just let me know. Okay?"
I looked in those eyes, which now held more love for someone else, and that someone wasn't me...I wanted to tell her, but no words left my mouth, so I nodded.
I forced a smile that didn't feel real. "Yeah... Bye." She didn't seem to notice. Maybe she did and just didn't say anything. Her heels clicked on the floor. Each step was softer than the last until there was silence.
I stayed there, not moving, and for the first time, I really felt it. It wasn't something you could cross. Not something you could fix with time or effort.
"A gap."
It was wide...It was as if it had settled over the period I was gone. I knew one thing for sure. It felt heavy in my chest.
"It wasn't going to be easy to close it."
—————————————————————————
— S Y L U S —
The door closed behind me. The air outside felt different, it was colder and cleaner, easier to breathe if I ignored the feeling in my chest. I reached my car, opened it, then closed it really hard. The sound was loud for a moment.
Then it was quiet again.
My hands were on the steering wheel, clenching it hard until my knuckles turned pale. I just sat there for a moment, leaning forward with my head down, my fingers getting tighter without me even realising it. The leather made a sound under my grip. I let it happen because it was something to think about, something that did not involve the picture in my head that I could not get rid of.
"Asher."
His hands were on her around her waist like he owned her, like she had said it was okay. My tongue poked the inner cheek as if I couldn't believe the audacity of that man. I leaned my head back against the seat. Closed my eyes, but it did not help it never did. If anything, it made things worse. The memory got clearer and more detailed in my mind, like it was trying to make it stick. My chest went up and down slowly as I breathed in. It was not a deep breath.
I reached up and undid the few buttons of my shirt one by one. The shirt was loose. I still felt that tight feeling inside me. My hand went through my hair, pushing it back, making it messy like I had been fighting something.
It was too much to handle. It was not the anger. I know what anger feels like, this was something. This was quieter, heavier. It felt like Jealousy. I felt cold as the realisation settled because now I knew what I had to do.
"How do I eliminate Asher?"
I opened my eyes, staring ahead, not really looking at anything, already thinking about it. The question lingered in my mind like a stubborn thought refusing to leave. I opened my eyes, though I wasn't sure when I had closed them, staring straight ahead into nothing, into everything. The world outside felt distant and muted, as if I were submerged under something heavy. Then I heard it, the sharp, rhythmic click of heels on pavement, slicing through the fog in my head. Ella. Of course, it was her. She stood just outside, her silhouette outlined by the dull grey evening, raising her hand to knock lightly on the window.
I rolled it down without a word. Our eyes met, and for a brief moment, something flickered across her face, maybe surprise, but it quickly melted into that familiar calm she wore so effortlessly. Her perfume drifted in, subtle yet captivating, wrapping around me like a memory I couldn't quite recall. It blurred the edges of my thoughts and softened the sharpness of that question echoing inside me. She had that effect, like stepping into still water after chaos, like silence after a storm. Yet beneath it all, the question didn't go away. It sank deeper.
———————————————————————
— E L L A —
I didn't mean to stare, but I did when my eyes found Sylus. Something in my chest wavered, as if I had forgotten how to breathe.
He looked… undone. Not just casual, with a few open buttons or sleeves pushed past his elbows, but in a way that felt deeper, quieter...like something inside him had finally let his guard down. His hair was messy, shadows clung to his features, and he carried himself with a tension I couldn't name.
'It caught me off guard, honestly...'
For a moment, I just stood there, taking him in, before I realised I had been staring for too long. Heat crept up my neck, and I turned away, biting my lip without thinking.
This Guy...
It wasn't just his impression, it was how he changed the atmosphere around him. Heavy. Charged. There was something unspoken between us, something I didn't fully understand but couldn't ignore.
"Well, uh, shall we go?" My voice came out steadier than I felt, which surprised me, given how my brain completely shut down the moment I saw him properly. He didn't answer right away. He just reached over and opened the door from inside. That effortless, quiet gesture made everything worse.
Or better.
Definitely worse.
I slipped into the seat, trying to act normal. However, I felt hyper-aware of everything at once the faint scent of him mixing with the leather...his woody musk, strong cologne, how his sleeve had ridden up just enough to show his perfectly veined forearms, and the subtle tension in his jaw as if he was holding something back. I folded my hands in my lap because I no longer trusted them to behave on their own.
'Seriously, what was wrong with me? '
I kept my gaze forward, but my thoughts had already run wild. There was this silly, intrusive curiosity pulling at me...wondering what it would be like to just reach out, to gloss down that messy hair, or trace the line where his collar fell open down to his chest. Just a quick touch. Completely innocent.
Right.
I pressed my lips together, holding back a hint of a smile at my own foolishness. Because "innocent" was definitely not the word my brain had in mind. Every Intrusive thought in me wanted to give him a messy, passionate kiss in that very moment...He was my boyfriend, but still...crushing on your own man, geez....Ella, you are a goner for sure.
'Get it together.' I said to myself, trying to distract myself from every fibre that was telling me to make an impulsive move.
I shifted slightly in my seat, sneaking a glance at him before looking away just as quickly. "You look…" I started, then stopped. Dangerous sentence. Very dangerous. I cleared my throat and went for something safer, something that didn't reveal how my thoughts had completely derailed.
"…like you've had a long day." He nodded quietly, as if the word carried more weight than it should. "Yeah…" The city passed by in streaks of dim lights and half-empty roads. It was the kind of night that felt full of secrets. At first, I didn't notice well, I was too focused on him, on the silence between us, but slowly, something felt off. The turns weren't familiar. The streets didn't belong to me. I frowned and looked out the window, then back at him.
"Wait… where are we going?" He didn't hesitate. He didn't look unsure at all. "My place."
That alone should have made my brain short-circuit a little, but apparently Sylus wasn't finished. I impulsively asked, "Why?" There was a pause, just long enough.
"Cause I want to have my feast."
"Oh..."
'Oh.' My eyes widened before I could stop them. I snapped my head toward him for a split second and quickly looked away again, focusing on the window as if it suddenly held all my attention.
Feast?
Feast.
My mind, being what it is, didn't take the logical route first.
'Feast. His feast....what kind of feast?' Heat rushed to my face fast enough to feel embarrassing. I swallowed hard, trying to piece together a rational thought.
Food. Obviously.
He meant food. People say that all the time.
'Normal phrase. Completely normal. Nothing strange about it. '
'Yeah. Food. Definitely food.'
I nodded slightly to myself, talking to myself in my head, as if I had solved a complex problem, although my thoughts were still doing backflips. "Right… yeah… food," I mumbled, hoping he didn't hear me.
I risked a glance at him. He looked far too calm, far too composed. It was as if he knew something I didn't....and worse, like he might know exactly where my mind had just gone.
I quickly turned back to the window, pressing my lips together and trying to act like I wasn't spiralling over a single word.
"God, get a grip. "
But my fingers curled slightly against my thigh anyway, and I shifted in my seat, suddenly very aware of the direction we were heading and how I had no idea what I had just agreed to.