Laurel P.O.V
Three days.
Not three ordinary days.
Three days went without a single word.
Three days without seeing the man who had turned my life upside down.
Time moved differently inside Acadia's mansion.
Every morning, I woke expecting someone to tell me Richardo had returned.
Every night, I went to bed disappointed.
The fear that had once chased me through endless hallways had been replaced by an almost unbearable silence.
The silence inside Acadia's mansion became louder than gunfire.
It crept into every hallway.
Every staircase.
Every empty room.
I wandered through the stone paths without knowing where I was going.
The fountains continued flowing.
The roses continued blooming.
The birds continued singing.
The world carried on...
As though nothing had happened.
As though the man who had risked everything to pull me out of Alpha's penthouse had simply disappeared.
I hated myself for thinking about him so much.
I tried to convince myself it was only because i owe him.
Nothing more.
But every memory betrayed me.
The way he calmly reached for my hand in the middle of chaos.
The quiet confidence in his voice.
The look in his eyes that somehow made me believe we would survive.
When had he become the first person I thought about every morning?
"When did this happen?" I whispered to my reflection in the fountain.
"When did you become the reason I keep looking toward the gate?"
The answer came before I could deny it.
Somewhere between fear,trust had quietly taken root and somewhere after trust,my heart had followed.
I loved him,not because he was fearless,not because he always seemed to know what to do.But because, in the middle of the darkest chapter of my life, he had given me something I thought I'd lost forever.
The belief that tomorrow might still exist.
A lump formed in my throat as the realization terrified me.
I cared about someone whose life was surrounded by violence.
Morning sunlight spilled across rows of white roses, lavender bushes, and towering cypress trees. Marble pathways curved around crystal fountains whose water shimmered beneath the clear sky.
Everything was beautiful.
Everything was peaceful.
Yet,i had never felt so restless.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I continued walking.
Should I be grateful for this peace? Or should I hate it?
Because every quiet moment gave my mind another chance to replay everything that had happened.
The chains.
The screams.
The fear.
Then him.
Richardo.
I remembered the way he had reached for my hand inside the collapsing penthouse.
The calmness in his voice while everyone else panicked.
The certainty in his eyes when he told me to trust him.Without realizing it, I had begun measuring my days by his presence.
Now that he was gone,the mansion felt too large.
The gardens felt empty,even the wind sounded lonely.
"You're an idiot" I whispered to myself. "How could you fall for someone whose life is surrounded by danger?"
Before I could answer myself,hushed voices drifted through the garden,several maids stood beneath a vine-covered archway, speaking so softly they thought no one could hear.
"...I heard he was arrested"
"They said he was hit by a sniper before the police surrounded him"
"What if this time he doesn't survive?"
Another maid shook her head immediately.
"No"
"He's survived worse"
"You don't understand who Richardo is"
"But everyone has limits"
"What if this is finally his?"
The words made my pulse race.
Then another maid gasped as she looked at her phone.
"The whole country is talking about him"
"I heard he's all over the news"
The words hit me like ice water.
I didn't wait to hear another word.
I ran.
My footsteps echoed through the mansion,servants called after me, but I didn't stop.
The grand doors of the mansion flew open as I rushed inside,i barely noticed the startled servants.My only destination was the enormous television mounted above the fireplace in the living room.
I reached the living room, grabbed the remote with trembling hands, and switched on the enormous television.
The screen flashed.
"...breaking developments this afternoon..."
The image changed.
My breathing stopped when Richardo appeared,his wrists were locked in handcuffs.
Reporters crowded around him, shouting questions over one another.
Flashes from cameras lit up his bruised face.
His lip was split.
A cut marked his eyebrow.
His suit was torn and stained
One side of his face was streaked with dried blood.
He looked exhausted.
But he was alive.
A breath I hadn't realized I was holding escaped my lungs.
The relief was almost painful until the reporter's voice continued...
"...Authorities have identified the suspect as the alleged mastermind behind multiple violent incidents connected to the destruction of the penthouse compound..."
The screen shifted to footage of collapsed buildings, emergency crews, and grieving families.
One accusation followed another.
The anchor described the destruction linked to the raid, the investigation into James Bron, and the growing public outrage.
I watched in silence, unable to look away.Part of me wanted justice for everyone who had suffered,another part couldn't stop worrying about the man on the screen.
The conflict twisted inside me.
Then came photographs of grieving families.Faces filled with tears,flowers placed beneath framed pictures.
The news anchor continued, "Investigators also claim new evidence links the suspect to crimes previously attributed to the man known publicly as James Bron. Officials say earlier arrests may have involved false identification while the investigation continued"
My chest tightened.
I stared at the screen in silence.
The television showed accusation after accusation.
Most of it might be true.
Most of it might not.
I didn't know anymore.
I only knew one thing.
The man who had taught me in a hard way that nightmares can be overcomed was now sitting behind bars and somehow,that made me worried more than I wanted to admit.
A soft click broke the silence and the television went black.
I turned sharply.
One of Richardo's men stood beside it, lowering the remote.
"You shouldn't watch that" His voice was calm. "Underboss gave us one order"
"Keep you safe and comfortable"
I stared at the blank screen.
"Safe?"
My voice cracked.
I let out a humorless laugh.
"Comfortable?"
I looked around the luxurious room. "Do you expect me to stay in this mansion for years while he sits in prison? Your fucking boss is disappearing"
The man met my gaze without hesitation. "He won't disappear"
"How sure are you?"
"I am"
"How? You sound as if this has happened before"
A faint smile crossed his face before he responded. "It wouldn't be the first time"
Those words settled heavily in the room.
I lowered my eyes before anyone could notice the tears threatening to fall.
I told myself I wasn't worried.
I told myself I only wanted answers.
But deep inside,i already knew the truth,i wasn't waiting for news.
I was waiting for Richardo to come back.Even though if Richardo really come back,nothing about my life would ever be peaceful again.