The hall was quiet.
Too quiet.
Leila had gotten used to the sounds of the estate,heavy footsteps, distant murmurs, the faint hum of music echoing from the west wing Caleb liked to haunt. But this morning, something felt…off.
She wasn't being followed.
No guards trailing her every step. No Dominic watching her from the shadows. No Caleb with his cheeky commentary.
Just silence.
Which was why she paused when she heard the voice,low, sharp, and unmistakably Dominic's,filtering through the barely cracked door of the study.
She shouldn't stop.
She shouldn't listen.
But of course, she did.
"No," he snapped. "I told you not to call me again."
Silence.
Then his voice dropped, rougher now. Colder.
"I don't care what they said. You had your chance. You chose your side."
A long pause.
Leila held her breath, eyes narrowing as she leaned closer.
"They don't control me anymore. And if you try to drag me back into that chaos, I'll burn it all down myself."
Another voice responded,too soft for her to make out.
Then came the words that made her blood run cold:
"If you go near her, I swear to God I'll kill you."
Her.
Her?
Her as in… Leila?
Her chest tightened.
"You don't get to threaten what's mine," Dominic growled. "Not after what you did to our family."
Leila's heart pounded.
Our family?
Before she could retreat, the floor creaked beneath her foot.
The sound was barely audible.
But inside, Dominic stopped speaking.
Silence.
Then-
"Leila," he called through the door. Calm. Measured. But laced with unmistakable warning.
Her blood turned to ice.
She pushed the door open a fraction more. Dominic stood behind his desk, phone down now, eyes on her like he'd known she'd been there the whole time.
"You're not supposed to be here," he said.
"I was just…" She swallowed. "Walking past."
"Were you?" His voice was dangerously soft. "Because I think you were listening."
She opened her mouth,then closed it again.
He stepped around the desk, slow and deliberate. "What exactly did you hear?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly.
A flicker of amusement passed through his gaze. "You're a terrible liar."
"Then stop asking questions you already know the answers to."
He stopped in front of her.
Close.
Too close.
"That was a private call."
"Clearly," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. Lingered.
"Curiosity," he murmured, "will either destroy you… or turn you into something I don't think you're ready for."
"I'll take my chances," she whispered.
A pause.
A flicker of something dark and unreadable passed through his eyes. Then he reached up,gently,and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Next time, knock."
And with that, he walked past her, leaving only the silence… and the sound of her racing heartbeat.
~~~~~~~~~~
Leila found Caleb in the stables, feeding one of the horses while humming something off-key. He didn't look surprised to see her.
"You've got that stormy 'I just heard something I wasn't supposed to' face again," he said, tossing a carrot toward a chestnut mare. "Let me guess. You wandered somewhere off-limits, again."
She folded her arms. "You knew I would."
He smirked. "That's what makes you interesting."
"I heard him," she said quietly. "Dominic. On the phone."
That got his attention.
Caleb turned to her slowly. "And?"
"He told someone not to call again. Said if they came near me, he'd kill them." Her voice dropped. "He mentioned family. Said they don't control me anymore. What does that mean?"
Caleb went still.
The easy playfulness on his face faltered for a moment, replaced by something more thoughtful… maybe even haunted.
"You ever wonder," he said slowly, "why someone like Dominic lives so far from the world, in a fortress with steel walls and blood secrets?"
She stayed silent.
"There's a reason he's feared, Leila," Caleb murmured. "And it's not just because of what he is. It's because of where he came from. What he escaped."
She stepped closer. "What kind of family did he escape?"
Caleb's jaw clenched.
"I'm not supposed to…."
"Then don't," said a deep voice from behind.
Leila turned sharply.
Dominic stood in the stable doorway, backlit by the sun, his presence sucking all the warmth from the air. His coat hung open, shirt sleeves rolled, but there was nothing casual in his stance.
"Go inside, Leila."
She didn't move. "You were talking about me. I deserve to know..."
"You deserve to be safe." His voice was calm. Absolute. "And that starts with not asking questions you can't handle the answers to."
Caleb stepped in. "She's not some delicate little thing, Damian….."
"I know exactly what she is." Dominic's eyes cut to her. "And I also know what she isn't ready for."
A tense silence crackled between the brothers.
Leila's voice came soft but firm. "Then tell me what I'm supposed to be ready for."
Dominic's eyes darkened,something primal flashing behind them.
But instead of answering, he crossed to her in two long strides, his hand gently curling around her jaw.
"You keep pushing, little thief," he whispered, voice a velvet blade. "And you'll learn that even I have limits."
Her breath hitched.
Caleb looked away.
Dominic turned without another word, disappearing into the house.
Leila stood there, pulse pounding.
And for the first time… she wondered if she'd just stepped over a line that couldn't be uncrossed
~~~~~~
The house was hushed, cloaked in moonlight and unanswered questions. Leila sat curled in a corner of the sitting room, knees drawn to her chest, the flicker of the fireplace painting gold along her skin. She didn't look up when Caleb entered,but she felt him watching her.
"You want to know the truth?" he asked softly.
Leila turned, her gaze wary. "Are you going to give it to me?"
He walked toward her and sank onto the couch, forearms resting on his knees. His usual smirk was nowhere to be found. For once, Caleb looked like a man weighed down by the past.
"You heard Dominic on the phone," he said. "You heard him say they don't control him anymore."
She nodded.
"He meant the people we ran from. The ones we were born to."
Caleb's voice dropped, and Leila leaned closer without meaning to.
"We weren't raised by the Raines. That name? It came later. Dominic and I….we were born into something dark. Violent. A place where kids were used. Broken down. Taught to obey or disappear."
Leila's breath hitched.
"I was too young to remember most of it. But Dominic remembers everything. He was already protecting me back then. Already trying to shield me from the worst. And when he realized no one was coming to save us…" Caleb paused. "He saved us himself."
Leila swallowed. "You ran away."
He nodded. "Dominic carried me for miles. Days. We had nothing. No money, no names anyone would say out loud. We slept in train stations, stole food. He nearly died keeping us alive."
Her chest ached.
"And then we met them," Caleb continued. "A couple. An older man and woman who saw two half-wild boys and didn't flinch. They gave us a home. A real one. They gave us the Raine name,not for power. For safety. For belonging."
Leila's eyes burned.
"They taught us how to breathe again. How to smile. How to live without fear. But Dominic… he never fully let go of where we came from. He couldn't. Not after what they made him do."
Caleb leaned back, his voice gentler now.
"He doesn't talk about any of this. Probably never will. But I wanted you to know. Because when you look at him, I don't want you to just see the walls or the threats. I want you to understand what it cost him to build those walls."
Leila was silent, heart thundering in her chest.
"I'm telling you this," Caleb said, rising slowly, "because I know what you are to him."
She looked up sharply.
"You're not just some girl who stole his money. Or stirred his temper. You're the first person who's made him feel alive in years. And I think… maybe, just maybe, you're the one who can bring the light back into him."
He smiled,soft and sincere this time.
"And if anyone deserves to carry the Raine name, Leila, one day… it's you."
He left her alone with that.
And this time, she didn't look out the window with fear in her chest.
She looked at the moon with a question burning on her lips:
What if I don't want to run anymore?