Time was already passing as Leonid's car glided quietly through the streets, without any rush.
Above him, the gray sky had begun to blush with a soft pink hue, slowly warming with the approach of dawn, until it revealed a gentle blue that hinted at a new day.
Leonid pulled a pack of light cigarettes from his coat pocket and only realized it was empty after glancing at it. He didn't know when he had finished them. He didn't even feel like he had smoked that much.
"Truly an addict."
He thought wryly before sighing.
"Maybe I should reflect on myself later."
He leaned against the car door, and his eyes gleamed when he suddenly realized morning had arrived.
How long had he been lost in thought?
What was occupying his mind?!
He sighed in frustration and decided to head back to the apartment building. On the way, he opened the windows to let the cold air scatter the lingering scent of tobacco from the car and his clothes.
But deep scents don't fade so easily.
Just like the traces of insomnia, or the things we dread remembering.
He checked his phone while driving. No new messages. Charlotte hadn't seen his texts yet.
He smoothly slid the phone back into his coat pocket after turning it off.
Leonid didn't care much, but he wondered if Charlotte was still asleep. Or maybe she was awake but hadn't checked her phone yet.
In any case, he would go see her later.
That was certain.
But first, as soon as he arrived, he needed to shower; after all, and above all else, he didn't want her to recoil from the scent of cigarettes clinging to him.
On the other side of the bed, a coldness wrapped around Charlotte. She had never felt such chill before, like frost, seeping into her bones and paralyzing her.
She curled beneath the blanket that barely offered her any warmth. A strange sensation crept over her until she felt something brush against her toes for a fleeting moment, then retreat. Charlotte's eyes snapped open. She looked ahead.
At first, her vision was blurry, despite the faint strands of sunlight filtering through the curtains.
She shut her eyes again, counted to five, then opened them once more.
And saw what she never expected.
Her gaze fell upon Kaiser's face, sleeping beside her.
And in an instant, her memory was flooded with flashes: yelling, complaining, drinking, the red wine bottle she had recklessly thrown... and then, that kiss.
After that… nothing.
Just a pitch-black void.
Her eyes widened in panic. Charlotte shoved the blanket off herself nervously and sat up quickly, her heart pounding violently in her chest, her breath uneven.
Only now did she understand the source of the cold, and the strange scent that had been suffocating her.
She pushed her hair back and moved carefully, trying to get off the bed without making a sound that might wake Kaiser.
She wasn't ready to face him yet… not after everything that happened between them in their drunken state.
But suddenly, she felt his hand grip her shoulder tightly and pull her back.
She crashed onto the mattress with force. Her hair scattered across the pillow and sheets.
It all happened so fast, like slipping off the edge of a cliff.
Her heartbeat thudded in her temples, and her eyelids refused to stop widening.
"K—"
She nearly called his name, but swallowed the letters before they escaped.
"Like a little mouse."
Kaiser muttered, propping himself up on one elbow and leaning over her.
"Trying to sneak away, huh?"
His voice was low, tinged with confusion… and something else displeasure.
He raised his head slowly, moving it carefully like someone shaking off a neck cramp, and rubbed the crook of his neck with his free hand.
Strands of his hair were tousled over his forehead, and his body, hovering above her, blocked out the ceiling, the morning light… and even the cold.
"Ah… unbelievable."
He sighed deeply, then lowered his head to meet her eyes.
A tremor ran through Charlotte's limbs, as if a surge of cold water mixed with electricity jolted through her nerves.
Her lips quivered, and she struggled to breathe as she stared at Kaiser.
"Where were you going? Answer me."
His husky voice still carried traces of sleep, but his tone was serious… and just a little bit frightening.
"I— I was going home."
Charlotte replied with a trembling voice, stumbling over the words slightly, but the answer came out clear… though shaking, like she was.
"Home? After the night we just had? That's unbelievable."
His words hit her like a slap, freezing her expression.
What did he mean? What night was he talking about?
Her mind began to spin thoughts racing, crashing against panic, tension, and a thread of pure dread.
She hadn't done anything with him… she was sure of that.
Or at least she thought she was.
But… that kiss. His arms. The warmth of his shoulder when she closed her eyes.
"Please… Don't talk nonsense… Kaiser."
"Nonsense?"
He raised an eyebrow, calm anger simmering in his eyes.
He reached out and caressed her cheek gently… but it carried all the weight of her fear.
"Are you saying I made it all up?"
No… that wasn't what she meant.
She shook her head slowly, her eyes filling with tears.
"You're not serious… please."
Was she really this pathetic? This weak?
She began to curse herself, silently, painfully.
"If my words aren't enough, then look at your body."
Kaiser smirked arrogantly when he saw the look on Charlotte's face.
Denial.
Fear.
He leaned closer, his warm breath burning her skin as he whispered in a low voice:
"Did you forget how we held each other...? How our bodies tangled beneath the blanket? Did you forget everything?"
"No…"
She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You're lying!"
She shouted, pushing at his chest with all her scattered strength.
"I'm not."
He whispered stiffly, the smile fading without budging an inch.
He was in control here, the only one who "knew" the truth.
Even if he was lying, who would ever know?
"You remember that kiss, don't you? You can't deny where we are now… together, in this bed."
"Stop!!"
She screamed, her voice cracking, strangled. Then suddenly, she shoved him with desperate force.
Kaiser pulled back slowly, letting her push him away, then sat at the edge of the bed, watching in silence as she scrambled to get off.
She rushed out of the room, her unsteady footsteps echoing behind her, her tears still falling.
Kaiser shook his hair back… then bolted after her.
Charlotte was running toward the door, her head pounding as if something were boiling inside her skull. The nausea, the disgust, the bitter taste of wine still lingered in her throat.
She threw on her shoes quickly and reached for the doorknob, but before she could open it, Kaiser grabbed her wrist.
She froze.
He looked her in the eyes, steady and calm provocatively calm as he spoke:
"We're not just friends anymore, right?"
"No!"
Charlotte screamed, lunging for the knob and twisting it frantically.
"You're overreacting. We both felt that… rush."
"Stop! Don't talk to me!"
She lifted her free hand to cover her ear and shoved his hand away forcefully.
She couldn't believe this.
How had it come to this?
Sleeping in his bed… beside him?
Impossible.
And yet, the memory wouldn't vanish.
The kiss… his arms around her…
She bit her lower lip, trying to rip the image from her mind.
She would be nothing more than a friend to him. That was her decision. Her identity.
She stopped in the hallway and turned to face him, staring him down.
He stood calmly, yawning, leaning against the doorframe…
As if it meant nothing to him.
That look… as if he were asking, "So what?" or "Are you done now?"
No regret. Not an ounce of concern.
How had she not seen it before?
Her best friend… acting like a stranger.
Her hands curled into fists… rage blooming in her chest.
She had longed to see even a flicker of sadness, shame, worry… But there was nothing.
Kaiser was completely satisfied.
And her? The fool who trusted him.
"Charlotte Smith…"
Suddenly, that familiar voice cut through the air.
Her entire body jolted when she was pulled gently yet forcefully to the other side, unwillingly, to find herself face-to-face with him.
Leonid.
Charlotte stood frozen, unable to open her lips, biting them as if to prevent the words from escaping.
Trapped between his hands, which held her arms gently, but cautiously… as if she might break.
She couldn't even lift her eyes to look at him.
And in that moment, she admitted it she had been exposed.
She was caught by Leonid the same way a guilty person is caught, red-handed, with no chance to defend herself.
She stood in deadly silence, as if awaiting an inevitable judgment, her breath shallow and her chest tight.
She wanted to explain, to say something, anything… just to keep from breaking his heart.
Leonid didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be stabbed in the back this way.
First Hunter… and now her body.
What was left for her to give him?
"I—"
She murmured, opening her bitten lips, barely able to catch a breath.
The pressure was choking her.
And guilt? Guilt tore through her all at once.
It hadn't been days since her promises to him… and here she was, waking up in another man's bed.