The rain had stopped by the time Arora reached her room.
But inside her chest, the storm hadn't quieted.
She shut the door behind her, pressing her back against it as if she could block out everything that had just happened — the chaos, the shouting, the way his lips had felt against hers.
Her eyes closed, and the silence screamed louder than anything outside.
What have I done?
She walked to the window, dragging her hand through her hair. The city lights below blinked faintly through the glass — distant, uncaring.
"I made a mistake," she whispered. Her voice trembled — soft, but full of something raw. "No… I made two."
Her reflection in the glass looked back at her — sharp eyes, unshaken posture — but the woman behind that mask was cracking.
"First," she muttered, pacing slowly, "I lost her. The woman I've been searching for… five years of chasing shadows, for nothing. All because of him."
Her tone softened, almost unwillingly. "And second…" she stopped, breath catching. "I kissed him."
The words burned as soon as they left her mouth.
Her heart pounded, memories flashing like flickers of lightning — Jack's dazed smile, his whisper, the way he said baby like it meant something.
"What the hell was I thinking?" she hissed. "And why… why does it feel like I wasn't wrong?"
The thought made her chest ache.
That warmth — that moment — had felt too real, too right.
But how could it? She was the head of the Black Rose Gang. He was nothing but a stranger.
She clenched her fists. "This is ridiculous. I'm not a woman who falls for someone after a day."
But her pulse didn't agree.
Arora sank onto the couch, elbows resting on her knees. The night's events looped endlessly in her mind — the slap, the fear in his eyes, the kiss she couldn't forget.
"I'm losing it," she muttered, pressing a hand to her temple. "Completely losing it."
She tilted her head back, eyes fluttering shut. "Maybe if I sleep… it'll stop."
But even as she drifted into uneasy slumber, her thoughts refused to let go.
In her dreams, the woman she lost and Jack's face blurred into one — guilt and longing twisting into something she couldn't name.
---
Morning
The first light of dawn crept into the room, soft and gold.
Arora woke with a start, the echo of her dream still clinging to her.
Her body felt heavy, her mind heavier. She'd barely slept — every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.
The woman she'd hunted for years.
The boy she'd kissed without meaning to.
"I made the wrong decision," she whispered. "I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing that damn face."
Her fingers curled around the pendant she always wore — a small black rose etched in silver.
Five years of chasing her enemy. Five years of blood, loss, and revenge.
And in one night, she'd thrown it all off balance.
Her chest tightened painfully. "I was so close…"
A knock broke her thoughts.
"Leader!" Miso's voice came from outside.
Arora blinked, shaking herself out of the daze. "Come in," she said softly.
Miso stepped inside, smiling brightly despite the tension in the room. "Leader, I'm back!"
Arora forced a faint smile, hiding the chaos behind her calm mask. "Oh… you're back. I've been waiting for your arrival for quite some time."
Her voice was steady, but her eyes — tired, red around the edges — betrayed the sleepless night she'd endured.
Miso hesitated, studying her carefully. "Leader… are you okay?"
Arora's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"
But inside, her thoughts whispered the truth —
Because I lost the man I swore to find.
Because I let my guard down.
Because one touch, one kiss, from someone I barely know… felt more real than anything in years.
---
To be continued…