The Rogue

Dinner date

As it turned out, Evan had made reservations at one of the most upmarket restaurants in the city. The place was elegant but not intimidating—dim lighting, soft jazz playing under the quiet murmur of conversations, and the subtle warmth of candlelight flickering off the polished glasses. Soon I found that I wasn’t thinking about assassins, the danger I was in or my father’s shadow looming over me.

Over dinner, we avoided the heavy topics, his work or my father. Instead, we spoke of school, of places we’d traveled, of childhood memories, of who we were before the elixir, before everything fractured. With every shared laugh, I felt a strange kind of ease settle over me.

“I missed you, you know,” Evan said, his voice soft but steady, his eyes catching the candlelight in a way that made my chest tighten.

“I missed you too,” I admitted, though the truth of it felt complicated, layered with things I couldn’t untangle.

“You sure?” He tilted his head slightly, teasing, but with an edge of real curiosity. “You never tried to contact me. I assumed you’d replaced me.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t have many friends there. Not really. After my parents split… I changed. So did Mum.”

“That’s fair.” He leaned back slightly, his gaze warm, understanding. “That kind of thing messes with your head—and your heart.”

I reached for the red wine he’d ordered, savoring the dry bite as I tried not to dwell on the way his words hit closer than I’d like.

“It was a happy surprise when I heard you were coming back,” he said after a moment, his smile gentle. “But I’ll admit—I’m curious as to why. You’ve never really said.”

In all the months of crossing paths, he’d never asked. Maybe because we’d never been like this—alone, no walls between us, and sober.

“It’s… complicated,” I murmured, picking at the edge of my napkin.

“I’m sure I can keep up.” His smile widened, and the warmth of his words stirred something inside me, something I wasn’t sure I wanted to name. Then his phone buzzed, cutting through the moment like a blade. He sighed, checked the screen, and declined the call. But it immediately rang again.

He mouthed an apology, then answered. “Now?” he muttered, and then after a pause, “Really?” His gaze flicked to me, something guilty in his expression. “I’m on a date… with your daughter.”

My stomach knotted, my blood going cold. “What’s going on?” I asked as he ended the call, tucking the phone back into his pocket and signaling the waiter for our coats.

“Security breach,” he said in a low voice, pulling out my chair. “Someone tried to get into the lab.”

My heart stopped. Adam?

“We should go,” I said immediately.

“You sure?” He looked at me, as though he half-expected me to use this as an excuse to bolt. It was no secret I’d been finding reasons to avoid my father’s lab since coming back.

“Yes. Maybe it won’t take long, and we can… continue this after.” I forced a bright, fake smile as I slipped on my coat.

He squeezed my hand, his own smile softening. “Thank you. I know things with your dad are… messy, but this means a lot to me.”

The lab wasn’t far from the restaurant. Police cars lined the curb, their lights painting the night blue and red. Evan parked on the street, and we walked toward the lobby where both of our fathers stood talking with the police. My father’s sharp eyes found us instantly, his smile practiced but unreadable.

As Evan stepped aside to join his father, mine approached, hands clasped behind his back like a man surveying his own empire.

“I knew you two had rekindled your friendship,” he mused. “I didn’t know it was… more.”

“I’m not asking for your permission to date, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” I snapped before I could stop myself.

“Not at all,” he said smoothly. “In fact, there are few men I would approve of you dating besides him. However…” His gaze sharpened like a scalpel. “You’ve made it clear you intend to leave once you hold your degree. Won’t entangling yourself with one of my leading junior chemists… complicate things?”

“I’m not looking that far ahead,” I said flatly. “It was just dinner.”

“Does he know that?”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to answer.

My father smiled at me, enjoying my frustration.

Evan was excused by his father and returned.

"I'm confident, that nothing was tampered with." he said to my father as he rejoined us. "There would be no way, given how far they managed to get into the building before triggering the alarms."

"That is well enough, but I want you here in the morning, triple checking security of your files and systems." my father was stern.

"Yes absolutely." his throat bobbed.

“See my daughter gets home safely,” my father said, his smile unsettling in its cool familiarity. Evan flinched, almost imperceptibly.

“I will, sir,” he replied, his hand slipping around my waist.

Once we were outside, I couldn’t help myself.

“Does my dad make you nervous?”

Evan stopped, opening the car door for me. He gave a short, dry laugh.

“Nervous? Ivy, your dad scares the absolute s**t out of me.”

"why?" I prodded.

"hes a powerful man Ivy, he could destroy my future and career in a simple phone call if he wanted." the engine roared to life, and he he drove us through the city, stopping outside a Gelato bar, adjoining a wine bar.

"lets grab some desert" we got out, but still words seemed to fail us. Evan seemed preoccupied with what had occured at the lab. We ate out gelato in silence.

"Why would someone break into the lab?" I asked, feigning nievity, it was enough to stir Evan from his thoughts.

"it was most likely some activists who disapprove of our research" he mused, but I could tell, he didnt believe that.

"and why would they disapprove?" he looked at me now fully. I could see him searching for the words to say but his eyes widened as we heard a call from behind us.

a group of men in dark coats loitered were exiting the wine bar, laughing too loudly.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” one called, his grin sharp.

“Guys,” Evan sighed. “This is Ivy.” as they gathered around us.

"Good evening" I smiled at them.

“She’s polite,” another said with a smirk. “I like her.”

"As do I" Evan said, trying to hint for them to leave.

"I dont know why she would like you" the one who initally called out laughed. "Still.. come on boys lets leave Evan here for his date" he winked at me, and ruffled Evans hair.

“Join us next time!” they called as they stumbled off down the street.

“Sure,” I offered, forcing a smile.

"And those bastards are my friend's" Evan smiled awkwardly.

"they seem nice"

"they are... a lot more relaxed than me. They mean it, they will want you to join next time."

"Id like to get to know your friend's" I wrapped myself around his arm, and snuggled into him.

"Next time. Let's get you home, I'm going to have a hell of a day tomorrow" he sighed.

"if it's any consolation, my father scares me too" I said not meeting his gaze. He gave me a squeeze, as if to say, I know.

Maybe, I could trust Evan more than what Adam thought. Maybe, despite everything he did care. Maybe, he remembers what happened when we were children?

We drove home quietly, and Evan kissed me, softly, tenderly at the entrance to my dorm. Something had shifted between us this evening and I could quite place what exactly it was.

Thankfully Jess was out when I slipped back into the dorm. The familiar gloom of my dismal little room felt almost comforting.

But when I stepped into my room, I froze.

Adam was sitting on my bed.

“This wasn’t the plan,” I snapped, shutting the door behind me.

“I know.” His voice was quiet, but unshaken. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m okay,” I said, slipping off my coat and hanging it up, though my pulse told a different story.

“There was a break-in at the lab. Was that you?” I asked as I pulled off my heels.

“No.”

We stared at each other, the silence between us heavy. A third party breaking into my father’s lab could only mean one thing—the nameless brothers were moving.

“Back to the plan,” Adam said finally, rising from the bed.

“Actually…” I hesitated, my voice low. “Could you stay?”

His brows furrowed, but he closed the distance and locked the bedroom door. Then he sat against it, watching me with that sharp, unreadable gaze.

I turned my back to him, silently undressing before pulling on an oversized T-shirt and climbing into bed.

“Evan is scared of my dad,” I murmured into the darkness.

Adam gave a short, quiet laugh. “And so he should be.”

We both chuckled softly, the tension breaking just for a moment.

“You don’t need to sleep on the floor, Adam,” I said after a while, my voice drowsy but insistent.

He sighed, deep and tired. “Sleep, Ivy.”

I rolled onto my side, too aware of his eyes on me in the dark.

When I woke, he was gone.

Back to the plan.