Chapter 1 — Shini
Rain always made the city look honest.
The neon lights blurred across wet roads as Shini stood under the broken streetlamp, her heartbeat louder than the thunder above. Midnight wasn't a safe time to wait for someone — especially him.
She checked her phone again.
No messages.
Typical.
A bike engine growled somewhere behind her. Slow. Controlled. Dangerous.
She didn't need to turn around to know.
"Late again," a deep voice said.
Shini exhaled sharply. "You said ten."
"And you still came," he replied.
Rex.
Black jacket, rain sliding down his hair, eyes unreadable — the kind of person who looked like trouble even when standing still. People avoided him without knowing why.
Shini hated that her pulse always changed when he was near.
"You called me here for what?" she asked, folding her arms. "I don't like games."
Rex stepped closer. Too close.
The air shifted.
"I told you," he said quietly, "you're not safe anymore."
She laughed nervously. "From who?"
Before he could answer, a loud scream echoed from the alley nearby.
A girl's voice.
Then another.
Shini froze.
"Did you hear that—?"
Rex's expression darkened instantly. Not surprised. Not confused.
Prepared.
Another scream tore through the rain.
Shini grabbed his sleeve. "Someone needs help!"
But Rex didn't move.
Instead, he looked straight at her — intense, conflicted — like he was deciding something important.
"Rex!" she shouted.
Finally, he turned toward the alley and started walking. Slow. Controlled.
Shini followed, her shoes splashing through puddles as fear crawled up her spine.
The alley was almost completely dark.
Two girls were cornered near the wall, terrified, shaking — their cries echoing between the buildings.
But the moment they saw Rex…
their screams stopped.
Not from relief.
From fear.
Shini frowned. "Why are they looking at you like that?"
Rex's jaw tightened.
One of the girls whispered, voice trembling, "H-him… it's him…"
Shini looked between them, confused.
"Rex… what's going on?"
Silence.
Rain fell harder.
Then Rex spoke, barely above a whisper.
"They weren't screaming because of danger."
He turned toward Shini, eyes colder than she had ever seen.
"They were screaming because they recognized me."
Lightning flashed across the sky —
—and for the first time, Shini realized she might not actually know the man she trusted.
To be continued…