The air outside felt heavy, soaked with the threat of rain. Aria quickened her pace down the deserted street, clutching her bag like a shield. Every sound — a car in the distance, the wind through the trees — made her flinch.
Then she saw him.
Kael stepped out from the shadows near the lamppost, his expression unreadable.
"Aria," he said quietly, "you have to stop running from me."
Her heart thudded painfully. "Stop following me, Kael. You're not protecting me — you're suffocating me!"
He moved closer, eyes glinting with something between desperation and devotion. "You don't understand. I'm protecting you from something worse. If you walk away now, you'll regret it."
Aria's voice shook. "Then tell me the truth. What is this? Why do you know things about me that no one else does?"
Kael hesitated, then whispered, "Because you asked me to find you. You begged me never to let go."
The words struck her like a blow. "That's impossible," she said, backing away. "I've never—"
He stepped forward again, voice soft but burning. "You did. Before you forgot who you were. Before they made you forget."
Aria's breath hitched. "Who are they?"
But before he could answer, her phone buzzed in her trembling hand.
An unknown number.
She opened the message.
> He's lying. He's not who you think.
She looked up sharply — but Kael was gone.
Only the rain remained, falling harder now, washing away his footprints.