It was the final day.
The sun rose slowly, as if it, too, feared what was coming.
Aiden hadn't slept.
The paper with the red mark — Day Seven — sat crumpled in his hand.
He stood at her front door again, for the last time.
She opened it, smiling softly. "You look tired," she said.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
His voice was low. Heavy.
They sat in the same garden where they once shared laughter.
But today, the silence was sharp.
"I need to tell you something," Aiden began.
"And after this… you'll probably never want to see me again."
Elena looked at him, confused but calm.
"I came here… to kill you."
Her eyes widened.
The soft warmth in her face vanished, replaced by disbelief… then something colder.
She took a step back.
"I thought you were different," she said quietly.
"But you're worse. You got close to me… smiled at me… and all this time, it was fake?"
"No—" he tried to speak, stepping forward.
"Why don't you just do it, Aiden?" she snapped, eyes brimming with tears.
"Go ahead! Finish the mission. What are you waiting for?"
He shook his head, shaking. "I can't. I couldn't from the beginning.
Because… I love you."
"You love me?" she laughed bitterly.
"You lied to me for seven days! You pretended to care—do you even know what love is!?"
"Elena, please… I know I hurt you. But listen to me—if I don't do this, someone else will.
He's worse than me. Faster. Colder. He's on his way now."
"Lies," she whispered. "More lies."
She grabbed her phone.
"Hello? Police. I need help. A man just confessed to planning to harm me."
"Elena, don't!" Aiden shouted. "You don't understand—he's coming tonight! You need to leave—right now!"
But it was too late.
The sirens were already echoing down the street.
Red and blue lights flashed outside her house.
Aiden backed away.
"I just… I wanted to save you," he whispered.
"Even if you never forgive me."
A Few Minutes Later
The front door burst open.
Officers rushed in, yelling for him to get down.
Aiden didn't fight.
He didn't run.
"Protect her," he said to one of them. "She's not safe yet."
Elena stood frozen, tears running silently down her cheeks. She didn't look at him again.
As Aiden was dragged away, cuffed and broken, he turned one last time.
"I'm sorry I ruined your life," he said quietly.
"But you saved mine."
And then he was gone.
---
End of Chapter 8
To be continued…