CHAPTER 1
405 Words
The Rules Were Simple
The clink of glasses echoed through the rooftop bar, the city skyline glittering like a broken promise behind her. Alina Santiago stood near the edge, untouched glass of champagne in hand, staring into the dark distance like it held answers she wasn’t brave enough to ask.
“Fancy seeing you here,” came a voice smooth, easy, laced with trouble.
She didn’t turn around. “You always say that. Even when you know exactly where I’ll be.”
Elias Navarro stepped up beside her, the corner of his mouth lifting in that quiet, unreadable smile she’d grown too familiar with. He was dressed in black, as always subtle, understated, dangerous in ways that crept in slowly.
“I like pretending we’re still strangers,” he said.
Alina finally looked at him. “We are, technically. That was the point, remember?”
“No strings,” he echoed, raising his glass in mock salute. “No expectations.”
They watched the night for a moment, two silhouettes wrapped in silence, both pretending not to feel the heat between them. It was always like this brief glances, lingering hands, the slow dance of pretending nothing meant anything.
She liked the way Elias didn’t push. He never asked where she went when she disappeared for weeks, never questioned why she never answered his late-night texts until morning. He was safe. Predictable. A place to breathe.
But tonight, there was something different in his eyes. A hesitation. A question, maybe. One she didn’t want to hear.
“I’m leaving for Paris next week,” she said suddenly, sipping her drink.
Elias blinked, just once. “How long?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know. Depends.”
“On what?”
She didn’t answer.
He chuckled softly, but there was something hollow in it. “You always run when it gets quiet.”
“It’s not quiet,” she said, turning to him. “It’s just over. Before it turns into something it shouldn’t.”
They stood in the wind, the city humming around them, pretending to be invincible. And for a moment, Alina almost wished he would reach outbreak the rule, ask her to stay.
But Elias simply nodded.
“Then let’s not say goodbye.”
No attachment. No promises. No pain.
But as she walked away, heels clicking against cold concrete, her chest ached in a way she couldn’t name.
Ps. Happy reading my Love!😘
- Writer
