Ray’s breath hitched. That day, as they laughed and chatted, Es had noticed soone—or sothing—watching them. But she hadn’t said a word. Why?
His hands trembled as he sat back, staring at the laptop screen. The thought gnawed at him. Es had always been secretive, but this was different. This wasn’t just her being guarded—this was calculated. She had chosen to keep it hidden.
A mory surfaced.
The day he’d proposed their contract marriage. Es’s golden-green eyes had glimred with the sa strange light as he’d threatened her. It was a mont he hadn’t been able to shake. Now, looking at this picture, that sa glow stared back at him.
Could it an sothing? His pulse quickened as an idea ford in his mind.
On a whim, he typed in the date of that fateful day. The day he’d cornered Es into signing their contract. It was absurd—why would she use that as a password? But as his fingers tapped the keys, a cold certainty gripped him.
The screen processed.
And then, the folder opened.
Ray leaned forward, his breath caught in his throat. The directory was nearly empty, except for one folder.
"The Truth."
His fingers hovered over it. His mind raced with questions, but he couldn’t stop himself. He clicked.
Inside were a handful of files: videos, docunts, and images, all cryptically labeled. His eyes locked onto a video titled "Watch First."
Swallowing hard, Ray clicked it.
The screen darkened, and then Es appeared. Her face was calm, but her eyes carried the weight of the world.
Ray’s trembling fingers hovered over the screen, hesitating for a fraction of a second before finally pressing play. The video began with a faint crackle, and there she was—Es.
She sat on an old wooden chair, dressed in her usual tailored suit, her posture relaxed yet composed. Her hair was tied back neatly, her hands clasped in her lap. And then she smiled.
It wasn’t just any smile.
It was that smile.
The one she always gave him when he returned ho after a long day, exhausted but eager to see her. The sa tender smile she wore while rubbing his legs during those torturous months of his beastly pregnancy—a smile so full of warmth it pierced through every layer of his heart.
Ray froze. His breath hitched.
The smile tugged at the frayed edges of his emotions, unraveling them.
"I knew it," Es’s voice ca through, calm and unwavering, like she was speaking directly to him. "I knew you’d open it."
Ray’s throat tightened as tears welled in his eyes.
"How are you?" she asked softly, her tone carrying a weight of concern. "Are you fine?"
Fine? No, he wasn’t fine. He wanted to scream, to tell her how much he missed her—how every single day without her felt like an eternity. The lump in his throat grew heavier as hot tears escaped, streaking down his face.
But this was a recording. She couldn’t hear him.
She was gone.
His vision blurred, his chest heaving with suppressed sobs. He wiped his face roughly, forcing himself to stay composed. Es tilted her head slightly, as if she could see his anguish, but her smile remained steady.
"Well," she continued, her voice taking on a teasing edge. "Before we start, how about calling those idiotic guys together?"
Ray blinked, startled.
Her words hit like a jolt of lightning. He froze, her knowing gaze seeming to pierce through the screen.
How could she know?
His heart raced. She had anticipated this mont, down to the smallest detail. And yet... in his grief, he’d forgotten.
"Yes," Ray muttered under his breath, fumbling to pause the video. "The others."
His fingers worked quickly, dialing each of his brothers. As the calls connected, his gaze remained glued to the laptop, as though Es might vanish if he looked away.
"Pick up," he whispered, his voice trembling.
Within monts, the brothers responded, their voices laced with curiosity and urgency. They knew sothing was up—Ray rarely called unless it was important.
"Co now," Ray said simply, his tone low but firm. "It’s Es."
A chilling silence hung in the air after Ray uttered Es’s na. It wasn’t the kind of silence born from confusion or hesitation; it was heavier, laced with an unspoken pain that had been buried deep within each of them.
None of them had dared to say her na aloud in years. Not between themselves, not even in passing conversations. Es’s na had beco a phantom, a presence felt but never spoken of—a wound they refused to reopen.
Yet now, Ray had broken that unspoken rule.
If Ray, the one who bore silence like armor, was the one to bring her na into the open, it could only an one thing. Sothing important. Sothing they couldn’t ignore.
After the brief pause, all three answered at once, their voices overlapping in a rare, unified agreent: "We’ll be there in an hour."
It wasn’t just a promise—it was a vow.
The logistics of it didn’t matter. Jay was in his laboratory, isolated a few kiloters away, knee-deep in research that he rarely left unattended. Aaron was neck-deep in a case that demanded his ticulous focus. Rayan, always the one to handle ergencies, was out of the city altogether.
Still, they didn’t hesitate.
One hour.
It was the fastest they could manage, given the circumstances. And for the first ti in what felt like an eternity, the weight of Es’s na pulled them all toward the sa place, toward the sa purpose.
As Ray disconnected the call, he remained seated, his eyes glued to the laptop screen. Es’s paused image stared back at him, her smile almost comforting, almost haunting.
The room around him felt too quiet, too vast, and too empty.
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached out to trace the edge of the screen, stopping just short of touching her face.
"Just one hour," he whispered to himself, as though convincing his restless heart to wait.
He leaned back, his hands balling into fists as he tried to calm the storm brewing inside him. But the truth was undeniable—after all this ti, Es still had a hold on them. On all of them.
And in exactly one hour, the brothers would face her presence again, together.
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