Mom, for real—what time is Dad actually coming?"
Aliah stood outside on the pavement, cross-armed and visibly irritated. Clad in black fitted trousers, a sharp white top, and clean white sneakers, her dark hair pulled back into a high, effortless bun, she had a presence that made her look older than seventeen. Two oversized, bright-red suitcases sat on the ground beside her.
"Well, young lady, I just got a call—" Helen came running down the front steps, her face tight with mild panic. Without missing a beat, she grabbed one of the heavy red suitcases and started dragging it toward the main road.
Aliah immediately snatched up the second box, marching right alongside her mother.
"Let me guess."
"Your dad can't make it," Helen said breathlessly. "You'll have to take the intercity bus instead. If we get to the agency in twenty minutes, you'll still catch a seat. Help me hail a cab!"
They flagged down a taxi, loaded the bulky luggage into the boot, and slid into the backseat just as the cab pulled into traffic.
"He's *never* available," Aliah muttered, staring down at her phone as a sting of disappointment settled in her chest.
"Well, you know the drill," Helen said, attempting to soften the blow. "He'll call you later, deliver a grand apology speech, and transfer some extra cash to your account to make up for it. That's not a terrible deal, right?"
Aliah kept her eyes on her screen, a tiny, reluctant smile touching her lips. "Yeah... I guess it's not that bad, Mom."
"Who are you texting? Is that Derick?"
"No, Mom," Aliah sighed. "It's Fiona. She's already on her way to Larnaca. If I'd known Dad was going to flake, I could've just ridden with her."
"And miss traveling with me?"
"Mom, you're dropping me off at the bus station," Aliah reminded her with a dry look.
"It's not like you're actually coming with me."
"It's only a few hours away—that's the good news! So..." Helen trailed off, giving her daughter a sly sideways glance.
Aliah turned her head. "So... what?"
"How *is* Derick? Where is he going to college? Are you guys dating yet?"
Aliah rolled her eyes so hard it practically hurt. "He's fine, no we are not dating, and I have no idea where he's going to school. End of interrogation, Mom."
Helen let out a dramatic sigh. "That's a shame. I actually really like him. Though, to be fair, he probably deserves better than you anyway."
Aliah blinked, turning to stare at her mother.
"He's too soft for you," Helen continued blithely, completely unbothered. "He needs someone who matches his sweetness.
*You* need someone who will come along and smash that wall of arrogance and pride you carry around."
"Whatever," Aliah muttered, looking back down at her phone.
Fiona wasn't the only brutally honest person in her life. Helen never pulled her punches, regardless of whose feelings got bruised in the process, but every harsh word usually carried a kernel of truth. *Derick really does deserve better,* Aliah thought quietly to herself. *And me? I probably need someone just as tough and unyielding as I am.*
### The Agency
They arrived at the intercity station just as the Larnaca bus was idling on the platform, its engine humming.
"My baby is growing up so fast..." Helen's voice cracked. Tears welled up in her champagne-brown eyes as she suddenly pulled Aliah into a tight, desperate embrace.
"You're off to college. How am I supposed to live in that empty house without you?"
Aliah wasn't someone who displayed her emotions easily. She rarely let anger or affection show, preferring to remain guarded and neutral to the world around her. But she loved her mother more than anyone else.
She wrapped her arms around Helen, squeezing back tightly.
"Try to be a little softer with the people you meet, alright?" Helen whispered, smoothing Aliah's hair. "And if things ever get too hard... you run right back home to your mom. I'm always here."
"I know, Mom," Aliah said softly, offering a rare, genuine smile as she pulled back. "The second there's a real problem, you'll walk into your bedroom and find me sleeping on your bed. It's only a couple of hours away."
After one last tight hug, Aliah gathered her luggage, stepped onto the bus, and didn't look back.
### Larnaca
Three hours later, the bus ground to a halt at the central terminal in Larnaca.
When Aliah stepped down onto the tarmac, a wave of hot, salty sea air brushed against her face. In the near distance, the deep blue line of the Mediterranean stretched out under the midday sun.
She dragged her two heavy red suitcases off the luggage rack. Turning around blindly with the heavy bags in tow, she lost her footing on the uneven pavement—and tumbled straight into a wall of solid chest.
Instantly, a heavy, warm hand clamped firmly around her waist to break her fall.
Aliah's breath caught in her throat. She froze.
She found herself pinned mere inches from a stranger. The sudden close proximity sent an unexpected, electric jolt through her chest. She could feel the intense heat radiating off his body, and his deep, even breath brushed against the sensitive skin of her cheek, making her skin tingle. For a fraction of a second, her heart hammered against her ribs as his grip tightened on her waist, pulling her steady.
Slowly, he eased her off his chest. Aliah felt suddenly, inexplicably hot. She quickly cast her eyes down, grabbing her suitcase handles to compose herself.
"Your eyes are certainly big enough to see where you're going," a sharp, deep voice drawled above her. "You should try using them."
Aliah snapped her head up, her gaze locking onto the man standing before her.
He looked like he belonged on a runway. His dark, groomed hair caught the sunlight in soft waves, framing a strong, aquiline nose and sharp, pronounced cheekbones. His broad, athletic shoulders and defined jawline radiated raw power, while a pair of piercing, wayfarer-blue eyes looked down at her with cool annoyance. Saying he was handsome was a severe understatement.
"Are you done analyzing me?" the voice cut in again, cold and unimpressed.
Aliah snapped out of her momentary trance. Instantly, her walls went back up. Her expression flattened into her signature cold, indifferent stare.
"Well," she said, her voice dripping with smooth sarcasm as she hauled up her boxes and prepared to step past him, "thank goodness there are people like you with such *big* eyes to rescue those of us who aren't quite as blessed whenever we trip."
Without waiting for his reply, she brushed past his shoulder and walked toward the main curb.
A moment later, her phone buzzed in her hand. She picked up without checking the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Where are you?" the same deep, annoyed voice from a moment ago demanded through the speaker.
Indifferent to his tone, Aliah answered plainly, "Standing by the roadside in a white top with two giant red suitcases."
The line went dead.
Two seconds later, a voice sounded directly behind her shoulder. "Ms. Ling Aliah?"
Aliah turned around slowly. The realization hit her instantly—the arrogant stranger she had just collided with was the person sent to pick her up.
"Yes," she said smoothly, raising an eyebrow. "And you must be Judex. Kumfa Judex."
"I am."
A heavy, charged silence stretched between them as Judex let his eyes drift over her, taking in her composure.
"Right," Judex said, his tone shifting into something a bit more deliberate. "Sorry about the minor issue back there."
"No problem," Aliah replied, her green eyes fixing on his with a faint, daring smirk.
"Though I'm not apologizing for anything. So, where are we heading?"
Judex let out a quiet, dangerous little laugh.
*Definitely not the soft type,* he thought.
"Your brother's apartment," he said, leaning back slightly. "I hope you brought taxi fare, Ms. Ling."
Aliah's smirk widened just a fraction, matching his edge step for step. *Definitely not the soft type either.*
"Of course I do..."