EPISODE 3 - UNEXPECTEDLY GENTLE TOUCH
961 Words
I woke up the next morning when I was healed by injuries to some extension only to be greeted by silence.
Not normal silence.
Rich-people silence.
The kind where the walls are thick, the carpets probably cost more than organs, and somewhere in the distance there’s definitely a man committing tax fraud in a suit.
For one beautiful second, I forgot where I was.
Again.
Then I saw the ceiling.
Again.
Right.
The Accident Mansion.
Owned by Mr. Emotionally Unavailable Vehicular Manslaughter.
Fantastic.
---
I sat up carefully this time.
Keyword: carefully.
Minimal pain.
Personal growth.
The room was massive in daylight. Dark wood. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Black curtains dramatic enough to qualify for their own movie role.
And clothes.
Folded neatly at the edge of the bed.
I stared at them suspiciously.
Rich people gifts always come with consequences.
Still… my current outfit smelled like hospital and bad decisions.
So ten minutes later, I walked out wearing clothes that probably cost more than my entire childhood.
The hallway outside was enormous.
Like… unnecessarily enormous.
Who needs this much hallway?
Was Kai secretly hosting horse races indoors?
---
I wandered carefully, one hand against the wall.
The mansion felt less like a home and more like a very expensive villain headquarters.
Everything was quiet. Controlled. Perfect.
Which immediately made me nervous.
Because normal houses have things.
Mess. Noise. A random chair full of clothes.
This place looked like nobody was allowed to have human emotions inside it.
Then—
“Interesting.”
I nearly screamed.
A man stood near the staircase, watching me with sharp gray eyes.
Tall. Clean suit. Calm posture.
The human version of a chess move.
“You walk quietly,” I accused.
“And you’re loud internally,” he replied smoothly.
“…That feels invasive.”
“I’m Dimitri.”
“Ah.” I nodded wisely. “You look like a Dimitri.”
He blinked once.
I considered that a victory.
---
His gaze swept over me carefully. Assessing.
Not creepy exactly. More like security-camera energy.
“You shouldn’t be walking yet,” he said.
“You sound exactly like someone who has never ignored medical advice out of boredom.”
“I haven’t.”
“Tragic.”
Another blink.
Wow. These people really ration facial expressions in this house.
---
Before Dimitri could respond, movement appeared behind him.
Silent.
Fast.
A second man emerged from the shadows so suddenly I almost ascended spiritually.
Scars crossed his hands like pale lightning. His expression remained completely unreadable.
He looked like violence wearing a black shirt.
“…Okay,” I said carefully. “You are definitely the stabby one.”
Silence.
Dimitri sighed softly. “That’s Zar.”
“I KNEW IT.”
Zar stared at me.
I stared back.
This felt medically unsafe.
“You’re afraid,” he observed quietly.
“I’m actually terrified,” I corrected. “But I’m trying to keep morale high.”
Something flickered in Dimitri’s expression.
Not quite amusement.
But close enough to scare me.
---
Then the temperature in the room changed.
Not literally.
Just… atmospherically.
Heavy.
Sharp.
The kind of shift your instincts notice before your brain does.
Kai.
He descended the staircase slowly, one hand adjusting the cuff of his black shirt like he had never once experienced stress in his entire beautiful, terrifying life.
And wow.
Morning Kai was somehow worse.
Because now I could see him properly.
Dark hair slightly messy. Sharp jaw. Cold eyes. Expensive watch.
The face of a man who absolutely has enemies buried somewhere remote.
My brain made a noise I refuse to examine.
---
Kai’s gaze landed on me immediately.
Not surprised.
Just focused.
“You’re out of bed,” he said.
“Yes,” I replied. “It’s generally considered a normal activity.”
“You were instructed to rest.”
“And yet here I am. Defying authority. Healing. Growing.”
A long pause.
Then Kai looked at Dimitri.
“She talks more than the reports suggested.”
I frowned.
“…There are reports about me?”
Dimitri answered calmly. “Basic background check.”
My soul briefly left my body.
“You background checked me?!”
Kai looked unimpressed. “You woke up in my house.”
“Yes, but socially we usually wait before becoming terrifying.”
---
Kai stepped closer.
Dangerously close.
Close enough that I caught the scent of cedarwood and something darker beneath it.
Close enough that my heartbeat started acting disrespectful.
His eyes moved slowly across my face, studying me like I was a problem he still hadn’t solved.
“You’re comfortable here already,” he noted.
“I cope with humor.”
“I noticed.”
“It’s either jokes or screaming.”
“And which are you doing now?”
I smiled weakly. “Both internally.”
---
Something changed in his expression then.
Tiny. Almost invisible.
But there.
Interest.
Which honestly felt more threatening than anger.
Kai reached out suddenly.
I froze.
His fingers brushed lightly against the bruise near my forehead.
Gentle.
Unexpectedly gentle.
“You’re healing,” he murmured.
My brain completely stopped contributing.
Because this man looked like he solved problems with organized crime and yet touched me like I might break.
Which was confusing.
And frankly rude of him.
---
Then his hand dropped.
The softness vanished instantly.
“Dimitri,” Kai said coldly, eyes still on me, “cancel my afternoon meetings.”
Dimitri raised an eyebrow slightly. “All of them?”
“Yes.”
That seemed important.
Dangerously important.
I pointed between us nervously. “This feels like the beginning of something psychologically concerning.”
“No,” Kai said calmly.
A pause.
Then his gaze darkened slightly.
“It’s the continuation.”
Oh.
Oh, no.
- Writer
