Kyle had sensed something was wrong with Veronica the moment he saw her this morning.
She wasn’t herself.
The way she spoke, the way she clung to him, even the look in her eyes felt unfamiliar. It wasn’t an act, nor could he sense the influence of any spell. Whatever had changed her had come from within.
The dream?
Yes, it had shaken her. He could see that much.
But not enough to twist her entire personality into something so unrecognizable.
And now she had shattered every expectation by standing before him in nothing but her bare skin.
Kyle immediately averted his gaze as she walked toward him.
"Veronica..."
"Look at me, Kyle."
She gently took his hand before lifting it to her stomach, pressing his palm against the deep scar that carved its way across her skin.
"Am I not attractive to you?" she whispered. "Do these scars disgust you?"
Kyle slowly raised his head and met her eyes.
"You are beautiful," he said without the slightest hesitation. "There is nothing about you that bothers me."
Had she truly been able to read his eyes, she would have found nothing but unwavering sincerity.
"But I can’t do this. We’re close. Closer than most people ever become, but..."
"But what?" she asked softly. "You can’t betray Amanda?"
Her fingers rose to cup his cheek.
"She never has to know," she murmured. "This can stay between us. Today, tomorrow... forever."
Kyle frowned.
"Are you really saying this?"
His voice carried more disbelief than anger.
"I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror if I did that. Not to Amanda, and not to you."
He tightened his grip around her hand.
"You’re not someone who deserves to be hidden in the shadows."
His gaze searched hers, filled with confusion and concern.
"Why would you even suggest something like this, Veronica?" he asked quietly. "This isn’t you."
A brief silence followed before he spoke again, his voice gentler than before.
"So why are you forcing yourself to become someone else?"
Veronica’s eyes quivered as she turned away.
"Because I know..." she whispered. "Soon, you and Amanda will get engaged. You’ll start living together. And when that happens... there won’t be a place for me in your life anymore."
Kyle’s brows drew together.
"Who told you that?"
As far as he knew, news of the engagement and cohabitation had been kept strictly among the people closest to them.
"It doesn’t matter anymore." She sniffled, bending down to pick up her shirt. "What matters is that I know I’ll never be anything to you in this life. You and Amanda are meant to be together."
Kyle let out a slow breath and walked over.
He waited until she had finished putting on her clothes before gently turning her to face him.
"Sit down. Just... hear me out."
Guiding her to the couch, he waited until she was seated before taking the chair across from her.
"Tell me honestly, Veronica. Was all of this because you felt insecure?"
Even now, he struggled to believe that news she had always known was coming could drive such a drastic change.
"You’ve never been like this."
His voice softened.
"So what changed?"
Veronica looked at him in silence, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
For a brief moment, she seemed ready to answer.
Then the strength drained from her shoulders.
The light in her eyes faded, leaving behind an empty, distant gaze.
"Veronica?" he called, unease creeping into his voice.
She slowly turned toward him.
A faint, helpless smile rested on her lips.
The moment she spoke, Kyle knew.
It wasn’t Veronica.
"I had hoped the child would overcome it on her own." The voice was calm, almost sorrowful. "But..."
Without warning, Veronica grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward.
Before Kyle could react, her lips met his.
"Mmph!"
His eyes flew open in shock.
The instinct to push her away vanished the instant their lips touched.
A torrent of memories crashed into his mind with overwhelming force.
Fragments of a past he had buried beneath years of trauma.
The suffocating darkness.
His father.
His family.
The endless pain.
But this time, there was someone else.
A child he had never remembered.
A quiet cleaner with short silver hair, always lingering at the edge of his memories.
No.
Not a boy.
A girl.
.....
"Was it?" Mathew asked with a slight frown. "I haven’t contacted him since the third of this month."
"You made the right decision, my lord." The butler inclined his head respectfully. "Young Lord Blake has become extremely cautious of the staff recently. And..."
He hesitated for a moment before finishing.
"...rather ruthless."
Mathew merely shrugged. He remembered the "present" Blake sent over a few days back. But it doesn’t matter.
"He is an Astortia. Conviction and resolve are in his blood. He is ought to be cruel."
His gaze drifted toward the window, lingering on the world beyond.
Keeping track of Blake had become more difficult with each passing day.
Fortunately, as long as the brat remained confined to the academy and occupied with its strict discipline, there was little reason to continue watching him so closely.
"You may leave."
The butler bowed once more before quietly taking his leave.
Mathew picked up his pen and lowered its nib toward the document.
Then he stopped.
His brows slowly knit together.
He raised his head.
The study door was already shut.
His confidant had undoubtedly left...
Yet he had never heard the door close.
A faint chill crept across his spine.
His grip tightened around the pen as he deliberately dragged its tip across the paper.
Not even that produced a sound.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Mathew slowly rose from his seat, a knife already in his hand as he called out. "Who?"
"Nice meeting you, Patriarch Astortia." A voice called out from behind.
Mathew turned and the blade fell from his hand.
"What...are you?"
Ethan shrugged, "Just someone very eager to know where your beloved son is." Drawing closer, he added, "Oh, and not the younger one. I want to know where I can find Astortia Blake."