Chapter Cinque
992 Words
12:45 PM — UNIVERSITY'S PARKING LOT
I slammed the door of my black RS7, the sound echoing like a gunshot against the concrete walls of the parking structure.
I didn't get in. I just leaned against the hood, my chest heaving, trying to pull in the freezing Russian air to cool the literal fire screaming in my veins.
"Boss, kalma," Killian said, leaning against the car next to mine, his eyes scanning the perimeter. "You’re vibrating. If you don’t calm down, you’re going to snap before we even reach the estate."
"He touched her," I hissed, my voice sounding like grinding stones. I looked at my gloved hand, the one that had gripped Ken’s wrist earlier. It's disgusting, hinawakan ko talaga 'yung putanginang 'yon?
I could still feel the phantom resistance of his bone under my strength.
"He thinks he can just announce an engagement? Like she’s a piece of property? Like she’s a trophy he won while I was looking away?"
"He's baiting you, Five," Ace said, his fingers flying across his tablet as he bypassed the university’s local network.
"I scoff, may tama ka nga — tama sa utak." I said, and the three of them? They just laugh on their BMWs.
But Ace continued.
"He wants you to go 'Monster mode' in public. It makes him look like the savior and you look like the psycho heir Stepan is ashamed of. Classic Setagaya move." Tangina talaga non, walang magawang matino sa buhay.
"I don't care how it looks," I growled. I looked up at the cafeteria windows far above us. I knew she was still up there.
I could almost feel her — the faint, lingering scent of lilies that always seemed to follow her. "She’s up there with those six. Yuki and the rest of them; they won't let me near her."
"They’re doing their job, Boss," Vel added, uncharacteristically quiet as he tossed a coin and caught it. "They’re the shield. But tonight? Tonight we’re the sword." Damn right, we are.
I turned to the three of them—my brothers, the only family I actually chose.
"I want everything. Ace, I want Ken’s private communications from the last forty-eight hours. If he breathed a word about this 'announcement' to anyone, I want to know who. Killian, get the heavy gear from the sub-basement. We aren't going to that dinner to eat; we’re going to negotiate with the safety off."
MEANWHILE — THE CAFETERIA
The silence at the table was heavy enough to suffocate. Himari sat perfectly still, her hands resting on her lap, staring at the spot where Cassian had been standing just moments ago.
"Himari-sama, please finish your tea," Yuki said softly, though his eyes remained sharp, darting toward the exit.
"We need to leave soon. Ken-san will be waiting at the estate to oversee the preparations."
Himari didn't move. "He kept it, Yuki."
"The scrunchie?" Yuki sighed, his expression softening with a hint of pity. "It's a sentiment, Himari-sama. A piece of cloth doesn't change the fact that he is a Kuznetsov. His father is the reason you were sent away. His blood is the reason you are never safe."
"His blood is the only reason I felt alive today," Himari whispered, finally looking up.
Mio, the girl guard, leaned in, her voice hushed. "Hima, be careful. We saw his eyes. He’s not the boy from the alcove anymore. There’s something... dark in him. Something that even your 'Sunlight' might not be able to burn away."
"You don't understand," Himari said, a small, defiant smile touching her lips—the first real smile her guards had seen in years.
"The darkness doesn't scare me. It’s the only place where I can finally hide from everyone else's expectations."
She stood up, smoothing out her skirt.
The six guards stood in unison, a wall of suits and hidden holsters.
"Let’s go," she said, her voice regaining that regal, quiet strength.
"If there’s going to be a 'reunion' tonight, I want to make sure I’m dressed for a funeral."
2:00 PM — THE KUZNETSOV SAFE HOUSE ( CASSIAN'S WING)
The room smelled of gun oil and expensive cologne. I was standing in front of the window, watching the snow start to fall.
"Boss, your father just called," Killian stepped into the room. "He’s heard about the scene at the university. He’s... not happy. He said if you cause a scene tonight, he’ll strip your inheritance and hand the keys to the district to Ken."
I didn't even turn around. "Let him. I never wanted his blood-stained chair. I only wanted the girl they took to pay for it."
I walked over to the bed where my suit for tonight was laid out. It was charcoal black, custom-tailored with hidden pockets for knives and a slim-profile holster.
But next to it, on the nightstand, sat the lavender scrunchie.
I picked it up, the silk soft against my leather glove.
Ten years.
3,650 days of wondering if she remembered the way the wind felt in our alcove.
3,650 nights of imagining her face as she grew up without me.
"Killian," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous, low register.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Tell Vel to double the explosives at the perimeter. If the dinner goes south, I don't want a single brick of that estate left standing. If I can't have my Sunlight in the light, then we’ll both disappear into the smoke."
"Understood." Killian replied, fast.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were cold, the "Five" that everyone feared.
But as I tucked the scrunchie into my inner breast pocket, right over my heart, I saw a flash of the boy who used to plant flowers just to see her smile.
"I'm coming for you, Himari," I whispered to the empty room.
"And this time, not even God is going to be able to pull us apart." Hindi na nila ako mapipigilan, o makokontrol..
- Writer
