She didn't remember leaving his arms.
Only the silence that followed.
And the way her lips still burned from his.
⸻
Ayla sat alone in the backseat of the black car, staring out at nothing.
Her reflection in the glass looked different.
Not broken.
But changed.
She didn't regret kissing him.
She regretted wanting to do it again.
⸻
She touched her lips and whispered, "What am I doing?"
Because she knew exactly who Leon was.
What he was.
And still… her body had leaned into his like it belonged there.
⸻
The next morning, she returned to work like everything was normal.
Except it wasn't.
Her manager wouldn't meet her eyes.
The guards were tighter.
The air was heavier.
And on her locker, taped in perfect silence, was a note:
We don't get to have soft things, Ayla. But I'll give you every hard thing this world offers—if you'll let me.
—L
⸻
She crushed it in her hand.
Because it made her heart ache.
And worse—it made her hope.