Beneath his veil

The weight of secrets

The rain hadn't stopped since dusk. It was beating steadily against the windows like a soft but relentless warning. Alara stood at the edge of the balcony, her eyes tracing the blue of the city lights through the mist. The air was thick with unanswered questions and a lingering chill that had nothing to do with weather. Something had changed since that first encounter with Cassian Vale. She hadn't been able to sleep once again. Not because of fear, but because of something far more dangerous..

He was terrifying, yes, intense, unpredictable. But there was something beneath his cruel confidence, a shadow flickering behind his eyes that mirrored her own inner turbulence. He was a storm and a part of her wanted to step into it, just to feel something real.

Her phone buzzed.. a text from her aunt .

"DINNER NOW" Alara sighed, slipping her phone into her back pocket and retreating inside. The dining room smelled of roasted lamb and coercion. Her aunt sat like a queen at the head of the table, her eyes scanning Alara... Not with affection but scrutiny. Her lipstick was perfect. Her knife sharper.

"You've been relentless lately" her aunt said, slicing her meat with a surgical precision..

If you want to tell me something. Just say it.. Alara sat. Her voice was calm, but her spine was steel.

The woman smiled.. but it was cold, brittle. "You're a terrible liar, Alara. I thought you better".. the air between them crackled. Alara's thoughts drifted to the file she'd found earlier in the week..

One with her name on it.. hidden deep in her aunt's study. Financial statements.. behavior reports, a contract she didn't understand... Her life , documented like a business deal. The pieces didn't fit..

Not yet. But something was terribly wrong.

Accessing her , Magdalene said "you're playing a dangerous game child.. be careful not to lose before knowing the rules"

Alara knew whatever was up with Cassian Vale.. her aunt had something to do with it. Maybe even the architect. The lights flickered.. the house groaned like it, Alara felt somewhat ready..

Alara retreated to her room replying the words her aunt said..

She shut her door softly, twisting the lock. She needed space. Clarity or maybe someone who wouldn't treat her like a pawn in the game she never agreed to play..

She tapped a number on her phone..

Lucien..

It rang once... Twice...

Then, came his voice , low and smooth as silk "figured you'd break first, how's the queen of storms?"

A sentence soaked in sacarsm

"Still surviving her kingdom, can you come?"

Alara whispered.

There was no hesitation..

"Ten minutes"

Lucien arrived soaked to the bone, a hoodie pulled over his dark curls, his lips tugged into the lopsided grin she hadn't realized she missed.

He never waited for an invite.. Lucien existed like gravity, pulling you in whether you wanted him to or not ....

"You look like hell" he said casually tossing his wet jacket over her chair.

"Dinner with aunt malice" Alara said rolling her eyes...

Lucien let out a short laugh.. "That's what you're calling her now?... Fits.."

"Tell me" he said more like an order to spill all that's been going on than an offer....

Alara hesitatated.. the cracked open..

Everything... Cassian's arrival, burning curiosity.. her suspicious aunt.. it all just didn't make sense..

Lucien listened , watching her with a depth most people didn't bother offering.... Then, when she was done, he rose and walked to her desk drawer, the one with the false bottom he'd helped install years ago....

He pulled out a flash drive ....

"Remember this?" He asked...

She stared. "I thought you lost it".

I kept it in case things ever got like this... Lucien said

Plugged it into her laptop. A hidden folder blinked to life. Inside, scans of old hospital records, emails between her aunt... Names she didn't recognize.. photos of him....

Everywhere she went.. Cassian seemed to have been part of her life from the very beginning...

In the picture, he was very young with deep wounds all over his body.

Lucien looked at her, serious.. "your aunt didn't just raise you. She raised something in him too..

Uhmm... I doubt it was love .

She's more dangerous than you think... Lucien then continued..

I sincerely hope you're not falling for the monster but instead trying to understand the girl he made you become.....

SILENCE....

Alara wasn't sure.. till now that question was also hidden in her heart she wanted more than answers.. she craved for a connection..

She looked at her laptop once again... Bruised, pale and looked like a kid with no soul... She sighed..m

Lucien folded his arms... "I've been watching Magdalene longer than you think.... I don't trust her.. not Cassian either...

He seemed part of the scheme.m Quiet.. controlled.. broken..

Whatever this thing is with the monster... It started long before you knew it existed..

Uhmm.. but he.. he saved me from the man at the event.. he didn't have to.. why do that if he's just a pawn in my aunt's scheme.. Alara's voice broke... Her heart, desperately trying to defend him.

Well, monsters don't always know they're monsters.. they might mistake themselves for rescuers. Lucien said plainly.

Alara stared back at her laptop scrolling through different files.. a particular email caught her attention

THE BOY HAS LEARNT OBEDIENCE WITH UNMATCHED LOYALTY, HE'S READY TO BE BROUGHT BACK.

Brought back? Alara said out... Lucien crossed her.. I think he left her years ago.. escaped whatever hell she raised in him but now has returned for you....

Or her.. Lucien added..

It's like I can't trust anything or anyone Alara said...

Trust your instincts or, and me.. Lucien said.. just then a sharp knock interrupted them.. no one ever came this late. Lucien backed away quickly, silent and slipped into her wardrobe.

Alara hesitating at the doorknob with her hand opened it a crack.

Cassian stood in the hallway.. his eyes met hers.. "I had to see you.. something happened"..

Now? Alara asked seeming puzzled.. "Yes and it can't wait" .. she opened the door wider. Cassian stepped in...

From the wardrobe.. Lucien's ear was as attentive as the antenna of a roach.

Cassian looked around.. the air seemed weird .. but he brushed it off...

"Your aunt.. she's planning something".. "I think I know what happened to your parents"...

Alara froze..

Cassian's hand slipped into his pocket .. didn't mean to find it but did.. and now she knows I know.. Cassian leaned in..

" Whatever she told you about their deaths .. it's a lie. " Alara's world tilted"....

Tomorrow night.. come alone.. Lucien said scanning the room once again.. then left...

Silence louder than any noise filled the room..

Lucien enlarged seconds later.. what did he say?..

Something about my parents death being false.. Alara's lips trembled as she spoke..

Lucien frowned.. don't tell me you believe him!!

The only certainty she had now was this, she said staring at her laptop again..

Then the door..

Cassian seemed to be the key to freeing her she said out loud.. or the lock keeping you trapped.. Lucien added....