DAMIR
The room was a mess of silence and stunned breathing. Philip's body lay lifeless on the floor, his neck twisted at a sickening angle. I didn't look up. I couldn't. My heart was still pounding, not from fear or regret, but something far deeper, far more painful. Rage and shame still surged inside me like stormy waves crashing violently within.
But my eyes found Eli.
He was curled up on the floor, trembling like a child left in the cold. His wide, horror-struck eyes were on me, unblinking. His face was pale. His lips, still stained slightly with the remains of whatever Philip had forced him to take, quivered with fear and betrayal. His eyes didn't leave Philip's lifeless . He didn't look at the other men.
He didn't look at me.
And I felt like I was dying.
I moved to him, ignoring the soft shuffling of Philip's men, who were still frozen in place, clearly unsure what the hell to do next. My shoes echoed on the cold concrete floor. My arms went beneath Eli's fragile body without hesitation he flinched, but didn't resist. He was so light, too light. He barely felt like he was breathing in my arms.
I gave a sharp nod to my men.
"End it," I muttered.
My voice was flat. No anger. No fury. Just the rawness of exhaustion and the hollow aftermath of too much headache . My men didn't hesitate. I didn't watch. I only heard the first crack of a silenced bullet as I turned with Eli in my arms.
Lian was still on the ground, his face blotched red from the slap earlier, panting with rage and tears. I moved toward him too, nodding again.
"Get up," I said, softer.
He looked up at me with so much hate, I almost staggered.
"Slutty bastard…." he spat. But still, he rose.
He followed us out. The night air bit against my skin like knives, but I didn't shiver. I didn't breathe until we were all inside the car. Eli was on my lap, he didn't want to sit next to me and he didn't have the strength to sit alone. Lian sat opposite, arms crossed, jaw clenched. The driver didn't say a word as we started heading home.
The silence was unbearable.
I looked down at Eli. His head was turned away from me, his body shaking just enough for me to notice. He wouldn't speak. He wouldn't look at me. My hand hovered over his arm, but I couldn't bring myself to touch him again. not after what he'd just been through. Not after what he saw me do.
I had snapped Philip's neck.
I had done it because of Eli.
Because I couldn't take it anymore.
I thought I'd buried that part of me years ago. The part that once loved Philip. That once thought he was the answer to my loneliness. That once trusted him. But when I found out he cheated, I didn't confront him. I just left. That was my style, quiet exits, clean breaks. I never thought he'd come back. I never thought he'd return like a ghost dressed in arrogance, violence, and madness.
And I never thought Eli would have to suffer for it.
I'd meant to hurt Philip, yes. But not like that. I'd wanted to punish him, humiliate him maybe, make him regret. But what he did to Eli, what he made him feel, what he made him believe… that pushed me over the edge.
And now the boy I love… looked at me like I was a monster.
The car kept moving. Each turn of the wheels felt like it scraped something deep in my chest. I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to speak, to explain, to reach for Eli again.
And then I heard it.
A small, trembling sound. A sob.
Eli was crying.
But not like before. These weren't sobs of fear. These were sobs of heartbreak, of betrayal. And when he finally spoke, his voice broke me open.
"Is that why…"
His words were slurred. His tongue, still healing, made everything come out slow and painful.
"Is that why… you asked him… if he really fed me… acid?"
I swallowed. My throat felt like it was packed with glass.
"Because…" He sobbed again. "You knew him… too well, yo..u..kne…w he wou..ldn't. You didn't… even forget… a thing."
My hand trembled.
"Eli…"
He flinched again.
I reached for his shoulder, desperate to explain…to tell him that yes, I had known Philip well. Too well. That's why I knew he was lying. That's why I asked the question to confirm what I already suspected. Philip had never intended to feed him acid. It was a bluff. A twisted game. Because he was always like that manipulative, dramatic, obsessed.
But before I could open my mouth, Eli jerked away again. He didn't even look me in the eye. He turned, pressing his face to the cold glass of the window.
"Don't," he whispered.
That one word. That single plea.
I froze.
And then Lian, who had been silent the entire ride, snapped again.
"Leave him alone ," he growled, voice sharp like a blade. "He's in enough pain already."
I turned to him, eyes narrowed.
"You think I wanted this?" I snapped. "You think I wanted any of this to happen?"
"You let it happen," Lian hissed back. "You let that psycho touch him. You stood there and let your past crawl back into your life and rip everything apart. And now he's the one bleeding for it."
My fists clenched.
I had no defense.
Lian was right.
The rest of the ride was silent. Just Eli's soft, shaking breaths, the hum of the engine, and the distant echo of everything I had just destroyed.
By the time we reached the estate, the sky was beginning to lighten…pale gray and orange on the horizon. The city hadn't woken yet. And in that still, haunting quiet, I stepped out of the car with Eli still in my arms