MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The First Confession
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The night was quiet when it happened.
Most of the house was asleep. Keiran had been put to bed hours ago, his arms wrapped around a stuffed dinosaur that Percy had won for him at the amusement park. Keigan was in his room, his light on, his door open, watching. Percy was in the living room, sprawled on the sofa, his feet up, his phone in his hand. Aries was in the armchair across from him, a book open in his lap, pretending to read.
Yuri was in his corner, pretending to sleep.
Jay was in the study with Keifer, the map finally taken down from the wall, the photographs finally packed away. Her uncle was gone. The man in Singapore was still out there, but the war was over. The truth could wait.
The house was quiet. The city was quiet. The whole world was quiet.
Mica was in her room, her laptop open, her fingers moving. She was always working. She was always tracking, always finding, always searching. The money from Meridian Group had stopped moving. The accounts were frozen. The war was over.
But she couldn't stop working.
Calix was in the hallway. He had been standing there for ten minutes. His hand was raised to knock. He didn't knock.
He had been doing this for weeks. Standing outside her door. Raising his hand. Not knocking. Walking away.
Tonight, he knocked.
---
Mica looked up. Her fingers stopped moving. The screen was bright. The room was dark.
"Come in," she said.
The door opened. Calix stood in the doorway. His face was pale. His hands were empty.
"It's late," she said.
"I know."
She waited.
He walked into the room. He stood beside her desk. He looked at her screen. At the numbers. At the accounts. At the war that was over.
"You're still working," he said.
"I'm always working."
"You should sleep."
She looked at him. His face was close. His eyes were dark.
"I don't sleep," she said.
"Neither do I."
She looked at his hands. They were shaking.
"You're nervous," she said.
"No."
"You're shaking."
He put his hands in his pockets. His jaw tightened.
"I'm not nervous," he said.
She closed her laptop. The room went dark. The only light was the moon through the window.
"Why are you here, Calix?" she asked.
He looked at her. His face was pale. His eyes were bright.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
She waited.
He moved closer. His hands came out of his pockets. He stood in front of her.
"I've been annoying you," he said. "Since the day we met. I've been loud. I've been in your space. I've been in your chair. I've been—"
"You've been everywhere," she said.
He nodded. "I've been everywhere. I've been everywhere because I wanted you to see me. I wanted you to notice me. I wanted you to—" He stopped.
She waited.
He took a breath. His hands were steady.
"I've been annoying you because I love you," he said.
The room was quiet. The house was quiet. The whole world was quiet.
Mica looked at him. Her face was calm. Her eyes were not.
"You love me," she said.
"I love you."
She stood up. Her chair scraped against the floor. She walked to the window. Her back was to him.
"You've been annoying me for weeks," she said. "You've been in my chair. You've been in my space. You've been in my files. You've been everywhere."
He didn't move. "I know."
She turned. Her face was calm. Her eyes were bright.
"You're the only person who can keep up with me," she said. "You're the only person who doesn't look at my screen and get lost. You're the only person who makes me want to be faster. Sharper. Better."
He stepped closer. "Mica."
She walked to him. She stood in front of him. Her face was close to his.
"You're annoying," she said. "You're loud. You don't respect personal space. You sit in my chair."
He almost smiled. "I know."
She kissed him.
It was quick. Soft. A kiss that said everything she had been afraid to say. A kiss that was a confession and a promise and a beginning.
She pulled back. His face was close. His eyes were bright.
"What was that?" he asked.
She looked at him. Her face was calm. Her eyes were not.
"A warning," she said.
He laughed. He pulled her close. He kissed her again.
"Consider me warned," he said.
---
The hallway was empty when they walked out.
Mica's hand was in Calix's. His face was bright. Her face was calm. But her hand was tight around his.
They didn't see Ci N in the corner. They didn't see his phone, pointed at them, recording everything. They didn't see his grin, wide and bright, the grin of a man who had been waiting for this moment for weeks.
Ci N waited until they were gone. Then he looked at his phone. At the footage. At the confession. At the kiss.
He sent it to the group chat.
FINALLY, he wrote.
---
Percy saw it first. He was in the living room, his phone in his hand, his eyes on the screen. Aries was in the armchair across from him, pretending to read.
Percy's face split into a grin.
"Aries," he said. "Aries. Look."
Aries looked at the screen. At Calix standing in Mica's doorway. At Calix saying I love you. At Mica kissing him.
"They finally did it," Percy said. "They finally—"
Aries looked at the phone. Their face was calm.
"Finally," Aries said.
Percy leaned back. His hands were behind his head. "Now we wait for the others."
Aries picked up their book. "We wait."
---
Yuri saw it from his corner.
He looked at his phone. At the video Ci N had sent. At Calix and Mica. At the confession that had been waiting for weeks.
He put his phone in his pocket. He closed his eyes.
---
The morning came.
The kitchen was full. Ci N was at the table, his phone in his hand, his grin wide. Felix was beside him, eating breakfast, his face calm. Percy was at the counter, making noise, making food. Aries was beside him, helping. Yuri was in his corner, his arms crossed, his face cold.
Calix walked in first. His face was bright. His hands were empty. He was humming.
Percy looked at him. "You're humming."
Calix stopped. "I'm not humming."
"You're humming. You're always humming now."
Calix's face was red. He walked to the coffee maker. He poured a cup. His hands were steady.
Mica walked in behind her. Her face was calm. Her hair was loose. She walked to the table. She sat beside Ci N.
Ci N looked at her. "You're wearing your hair down."
Mica looked at him. "I'm wearing my hair down."
"You never wear your hair down."
She picked up a napkin. She threw it at his face. He caught it. He was still grinning.
Calix walked to the table. He sat beside Mica. His hand found hers under the table. She didn't pull away.
Ci N's phone was out. He was recording.
Percy put a plate in front of Calix. "You're sitting close."
Calix looked at him. "I'm sitting close."
Percy put a plate in front of Mica. "You're letting him sit close."
Mica looked at him. Her face was calm. Her eyes were not.
"He's annoying," she said.
Percy grinned. "He's in love."
Calix's face was red. Mica's face didn't change. But her hand tightened on Calix's.
Jay walked in with Keifer. Her hand was in his. Her face was soft.
She looked at the table. At Calix and Mica, their hands together. At Ci N with his phone, recording everything.
"What happened?" she asked.
Ci N held up his phone. "They confessed."
Jay looked at Calix and Mica. At their hands under the table. At the way Calix was looking at her.
"Finally," Jay said.
Keifer kissed her hair. "Finally."
---
The rest of the day passed like a held breath.
Freya and Erdix stood closer than before. Rakki looked at Ci N when he wasn't watching. Care let Cole sit beside her without telling him to move. Lyra's face softened when Alex walked into the room. Grace and Denzel left the room at the same time. Mayo and Kit sat together, their shoulders touching, their voices low.
No one said anything. No one confessed. But something had shifted. Something was waiting.
Ci N was in the garden, his phone in his hand, his face turned toward the house. Felix was beside him.
"You're watching them," Felix said.
"I'm observing."
Felix almost smiled. "Same thing."
Ci N looked at his phone. At the video of Calix and Mica. At the confession that had changed everything.
"They're all going to do it," Ci N said. "Now. They're all going to confess."
Felix looked at the house. "Maybe."
Ci N put his phone in his pocket. He stretched. He yawned.
"I'm going to make sure," he said. "I'm going to be there for every confession. I'm going to film everything. I'm going to—"
"You're going to be annoying," Felix said.
Ci N grinned. "I'm going to be helpful."
Felix shook his head. They walked back to the house together, their shoulders almost touching.
---
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT