They say obsession is just focus without boundaries. If that's true, then Lorelei Nochnaya had become the center of my entire operating system. And I didn't even realize when it happened.
It was past midnight, but I was still in the university's underground lab. The one no one used unless they were desperate or dangerous. I was both.
The monitor glowed with code — her code. I'd gone through her syntax like a sinner reading scripture. Elegant, brutal, perfect. Lorelei didn't just write algorithms. She choreographed them. Like every line dared you to keep up.
And I was failing.
Again.
A subtle snort of frustration escaped me as the firewall I'd built against her intrusion toolkit buckled — again. She wasn't even trying anymore, not really. And that annoyed me more than I wanted to admit.
Lux had never been bested. Until Nyx.
Lorelei had never acknowledged me outside of what was required. Until recently.
Now she sat beside me in project meetings, her legs crossed like a loaded weapon, her voice low and calm as she picked apart my ideas with terrifying precision.
And yet, I couldn't stop looking at her mouth when she talked.
Dangerous. Every part of her. Not just the skills. The silence. The eyes that missed nothing.
I run a hand through my hair, staring at the last encrypted packet she left behind on our shared server. No direct message this time.
Just a digital fingerprint. A pattern was hidden in the way she formatted her brackets.
Only I would notice. Only I'd know what it meant.
She was toying with me. She knew I was watching. And she was sending breadcrumbs.
God help me, I followed every single one.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When I stepped into the university café the next day, I didn't expect to find her there. Alone. No laptop. Just a coffee and a rare expression that could almost pass for boredom.
She looked up the moment I approached, and I swear my pulse skipped.
"Lucenti," she greeted dryly, like my name tasted expensive and slightly poisonous.
"Nochnaya," I replied, sliding into the seat across from her uninvited.
"I didn't realize you were allowed to be seen in public without your usual fan club."
I smiled, slow and easy. "I was hoping to slum it today. Thought I'd see what life was like among the mortals."
Her eyes sparkled — mockery, maybe something else. "Careful. You might develop empathy."
"Doubtful," I said, then leaned in a little. "I heard gods don't need emotions."
She took a sip of coffee without breaking eye contact. "You'd know, right? With your God complex and all."
Touché.
A beat passed. Tension flickered between us like a low current. Neither of us moved.
"Tell me something," I said finally. "Are you always this charming, or do I bring out the special version?"
"You bring out the version that doesn't care enough to lie."
And yet, she hadn't told me to leave.
Her phone buzzed. She didn't check it. But I noticed the flicker of something—discomfort? Recognition? Her grip tightened around the cup.
"What is it?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"Nothing that concerns you."
So naturally, I had to find out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that night, I broke into her network.
It wasn't easy. It shouldn't have been possible. But I did it.
Only to find… nothing. Not the usual walls of academic files or code libraries. Just one message sitting in an encrypted shell, like it had been left for me.
FROM: UNKNOWN"The bride and the groom. Extraordinary heirs. Game theory becomes blood legacy."
My blood ran cold.
What the hell?
Before I could trace the signal, it vanished. Auto-deleted. Smart. Sophisticated.
Not her work. Not mine either.
Someone else.
Someone is playing with us.
Someone who knew exactly who we were.
But the question is, why are we connected in someone's eyes?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I confronted her the next day.
She was working alone in the lab again, surrounded by three screens and a halo of coffee cups. Her hair was up, messy, like she'd forgotten the world existed outside the monitor. Gorgeous in a way she didn't mean to be. Infuriating in the way she didn't notice.
I walked in without knocking.
"You ever get the feeling we're being watched?" I asked casually.
She didn't turn. "Always."
I stepped closer. "This time it's not paranoia."
"I know."
That stopped me.
"You know?"
She finally looked at me, expression unreadable. "I got the same message."
My heart thumped once, loudly.
"You didn't send it?"
Her brows lifted slightly. "I thought you did."
Silence expanded. Neither of us blinked.
So we were being watched. Manipulated. Someone knew. About Lux (aka me, Theo) and Lorelei. About us. About something more.
And then she said the thing that twisted the knife.
"My brothers called me," she said. "Told me to come home as soon as possible."
"I didn't know you had any relatives besides your aunt," I said matter-of-factly. It's an open secret. She was known as a genius student on a full-ride scholarship, coming from a humble background. She paved her way, and I salute her for that. I wish I came from a similar place. No money, no rules, no heritage, no... mafia. This style of life is draining me. Too many expectations to live up to. It's fucking exhausting.
"I don't," she said coldly. "Relatives, I mean. My relationship with my brothers is, politely said, strained. They have a... certain lifestyle I'm not comfortable with. That's why it's strange they're insisting that I come back home."
Just as I was about to answer, she said: "Whatever home means to them."
My jaw tightened. "You think it has to do with this third player?"
"I don't know, Theo. And also, I don't know why I'm talking to you at all, let alone sharing some personal stuff."
"You wounded my little black heart, luce dei miei occhi."
She laughed under her breath before whispering: "I'm not light of your eyes, Theo. I'm the brightest darkness of your world."
As I froze in awe and a new realisation of her speaking Italian, she added: "This is the last time you'll insult my intelligence. I speak 8 languages fluently and about another 5 on different levels."
She turns around and marches outside. All while I'm grinning like an idiot because I just found my future wife. She doesn't know that yet, but I'll make sure of it.
After all, it's true. All is fair in love and hate.
And she loves hating me.