As You Wished

Silverwind International was doing its usual late afternoon dance, a symphony of rolling luggage, hurried footsteps, and overlapping conversations in half a dozen languages. As Virelia's primary gateway to the world, the arrivals terminal never truly slept. Overhead announcements cycled between Virelian and English, their practiced cadence as familiar as background music. Kael Arvenhart emerged from immigration with the kind of measured confidence that came from years of international travel. At twenty-nine, he moved through crowds like someone who belonged everywhere and nowhere at once. His charcoal blazer hadn't wrinkled despite the long flight, and he pulled his black roller bag with the efficiency of someone who'd perfected the art of traveling light. Beside him, Rui was clearly struggling. His signature green hair looked like he'd been through a wind tunnel, and there was something slightly manic about the way he kept adjusting his backpack straps. "Kael, for God's sake, slow down," Rui called out, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Some of us are still mortal enough to feel jet lag." Kael glanced back with the ghost of a smirk. "You move like you're underwater, Rui." "Excuse me?" Rui almost collided with a family pushing a cart loaded with duty-free bags. He jogged to catch up, slightly out of breath. "What's gotten into you? You've been acting weird since you decided to come back." Kael didn't answer immediately. There was something different about him today, an energy that wasn't quite restlessness but wasn't calm either. "Aren't you exhausted? You didn't sleep the entire flight from London." Rui studied his friend's profile. "Just sat there staring out the window with this... I don't know, this expression." "I'm fine." "Fine?" Rui snorted. "You looked like you were waiting for something to appear in the clouds. Like, I don't know, divine intervention or flying unicorns." Kael's ears went slightly pink. "Don't be ridiculous." Rui grinned at the reaction. He'd known Kael too long not to recognize when he'd hit a nerve. "So what was it? The sudden decision to come home? Yesterday you were talking about extending your contract at Cambridge." "It's not your concern." "Oh, it's not my concern?" Rui's voice took on a theatrical tone. "Kael, darling, I'm your personal assistant. If it's not my concern, whose is it? Miss Felicia's?" The effect was immediate. Kael's jaw tightened, and his eyes went cold in that particular way that had intimidated business rivals across Europe. "Drop it." But Rui was immune to Kael's intimidation tactics by now. They'd been through too much together. They moved past the duty-free maze and the nearly empty airport cafes, their footsteps echoing in the wide corridors. Then Kael stopped so suddenly that Rui nearly walked into him. "What the hell—" Rui followed Kael's gaze and felt his words die. A massive advertisement dominated the terminal wall, the kind of campaign that cost more than most people's houses. The model was striking in that way that made you forget to breathe for a second. Dark hair that looked effortlessly perfect, skin that seemed to glow under studio lighting, and eyes that managed to be both warm and mysterious. He wore a black suit that probably cost more than Rui's monthly salary, but it was the smile that really got you. The kind of smile that suggested secrets worth knowing. "Elior Veylan" appeared in elegant gold script at the bottom right. Rui watched his boss with growing confusion. Kael stood frozen, staring at the advertisement like it held the answers to questions he'd forgotten he'd asked. "Kael?" Rui's voice was carefully neutral. "You okay?" Kael blinked, as if surfacing from deep water. Then he smiled, not his usual controlled expression, but something softer. More real. This was new. In all their years together, Rui had never seen Kael show the slightest interest in celebrities or entertainment gossip. The man treated Hollywood news like background noise and changed the channel whenever award shows came on. Curious despite himself, Rui looked up at the billboard again. "I mean, he's obviously gorgeous," Rui said, studying the image. "No wonder they call him Asia's most beautiful man." "And every woman's dream," Kael replied, his voice carrying an odd note of... fondness? Rui's head snapped toward his friend. "Okay, wait. How do you know that? Since when do you follow celebrity culture?" "I don't." "Then how—" Rui stepped closer, his investigative instincts kicking in. "And why are you smiling like that?" "Like what?" "Like you're looking at someone you know. Not some random guy on a billboard." Rui's eyes narrowed. "Kael. Do you know him?" For a moment, Kael's carefully constructed composure cracked just enough to let something else show through. Something that looked suspiciously like longing. "Maybe," he said quietly. "Maybe?" Rui's voice pitched higher. "What the hell does that mean? Yes or no?" The smile that spread across Kael's face was nothing like his professional mask. This was genuine, complicated, and tinged with something that might have been old pain. "Come on," Kael said finally, stepping away from the billboard. "Julian's waiting." He walked ahead with lighter steps, leaving Rui to stare between him and the advertisement. There was a story here. A big one. And somehow, that billboard felt less like advertising and more like a welcome home sign, as if Elior Veylan himself was greeting the return of Kael Arvenhart, heir to a fortune, who'd spent the last eleven years in self-imposed exile halfway around the world.