Alina stood at the edge of the balcony, her fingers gripping the cold iron rail. Below, the city pulsed with life, but inside her, everything was still—a storm in the eye of silence.
Jesse's words echoed in her mind. *"You have to trust me. Damian isn't who you think he is."*
She *wanted* to believe him. Jesse had never lied to her before. He'd risked everything for her, again and again. But then there was Damian—intense, unreadable, magnetic. Every time he looked at her, she felt like he *saw* her, even the parts she tried to hide.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Damian: *"Meet me. Just once. No lies. You decide after."*
Her heart stuttered. She shouldn't go. Jesse would be furious. But her fingers moved before her thoughts caught up.
*She texted back*: *Where?*
As she turned to grab her coat, guilt pressed into her chest like a weight. But curiosity—and something else, something darker—was stronger.
She wasn't sure who to believe anymore.
But she knew she was going.
---
The warehouse was nearly abandoned, tucked behind rows of rusting fences and forgotten tracks. Alina stepped through the side door, her breath visible in the cold air. The place smelled of old oil and dust, but her heart pounded louder than her footsteps.
Damian stood at the far end, framed by broken windows and soft moonlight. His jacket was thrown over his shoulder, casual as ever, but his eyes—those eyes—were heavy with something she couldn't name.
"You came," he said quietly.
"You said no lies," she replied, voice steadier than she felt.
"I meant it." He stepped closer, slow, deliberate. "You don't know the whole story, Alina. Jesse's not wrong. But he's not right, either."
Her breath caught. "What does that mean?"
"It means I've done things I regret. But protecting you wasn't one of them." He stopped just short of touching her. "I never wanted to pull you into this. But I couldn't stay away."
She looked up at him, torn between every warning Jesse had given and every electric pulse she felt when Damian was near. Her heart screamed *run*, but her body stayed still.
Then, he reached for her hand—gently, like she might vanish—and whispered, "I'll tell you everything. Just… stay."
Alina hesitated.