The evening wind brushed softly against the curtains of Daisy’s apartnt, carrying the scent of jasmine and rain.
She had just poured herself a glass of wine when the doorbell echoed through the silence.
Her heartbeat hitched.. no one ever visited her at this hour.
She walked to the door, barefoot, her silk robe brushing the floor.
When she opened it, her breath caught.
"It was Roo".....
He stood there, rain-damp and rugged, eyes darker than she rembered.
The storm outside seed to follow him in.
"What are you doing here?" Daisy’s voice trembled, half from shock, half from the mory of what they once shared. "Are you here to snitch on again? To run back to your wife and feed her with my na?"
Roo’s jaw clenched. For a long, fragile second, silence hung between them, only the sound of rain filling the cracks of the mont.
"No," he said finally, his tone softer than she expected. "I’m here for you, Daisy."
A bitter laugh escaped her. "For ? Don’t insult again with that line."
"You always lie to ," Daisy snapped suddenly, stepping closer. "You deceived , Roo. You played with my mind until I didn’t know what to believe. I.... "
"No daisy... ".. Roo said, I’m always by your side, I’m not a heartless soul to trade you for seraphina"....
She cut him off, her voice cracking. "Don’t twist this, Roo. You are the liar here.. You hid behind Seraphina’s na and let drown in guilt."
He exhaled sharply, eyes flashing with a strange mix of anger and vulnerability. "I wasn’t married to Seraphina," he said quietly.
Daisy froze. "What?"
"It was a setup," he confessed. "A picture, a fra job. We needed to lure an enemy , the kind of man who only trusted what he saw. So we made it real enough, I didn’t know it would hurt people like you, and , in the future."
Her lips parted, disbelief flooding her chest. "So... you used as part of your plan?"
"No," he said, taking another step. "I left you out because I wanted to protect you. I went back to Seraphina because I needed to make sure none of my personal items. The evidence, the files were in her hands. But when I left, I realized the only thing I truly lost... was you."
His words landed like a blow. Daisy turned away, blinking hard, her voice a whisper. "You don’t get to co here and twist my heart after all these months. You don’t get to resurrect old ghosts, Roo."
He reached for her hand. "You are not a ghost, Daisy. You are the reason I’m still breathing."
She yanked her hand away. "Stop."
"I’m serious this ti," he murmured, his tone deepening, sincere, trembling at the edges. "I’m not that man anymore. I have walked through hell, Daisy through blood, betrayal, and lies and all I could think of was how I let you go without a fight."
Her eyes softened against her will. "Then why now?"
"Because everything’s falling apart," he confessed. "Seraphina is moving again. She’s working with Bianca and the Atlan including a maid from the luca morano ho, right now. Whatever they are planning involves Luca and Alessia."
Daisy’s expression shifted instantly, the warmth vanished, replaced by fear. "What did you just say?"
He nodded grimly. "They are after Alessia. Seraphina has sothing... sothing ancient she wants from her. And Bianca’s just the distraction."
Daisy felt her knees weaken. "Oh God..."
Roo stepped closer, gently holding her arms. "I didn’t co here just for forgiveness, Daisy. I ca here because I need your help. You are always Alessia’s closest friend.
You know her better than anyone. I need to know what she’s hiding."
Her voice trembled. "Alessia isn’t hiding anything. She’s... she’s just trying to survive Luca’s world."
He frowned. "No. She’s connected to that book."
Daisy’s eyes snapped to his. "You know about the book too, huh?"
Roo’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Donato’s father, Morano Alessandro, he wasn’t just a mafia boss. He was part of the Order that guarded that black book. It’s part of what Seraphina’s been hunting it for years. She thinks Alessia’s bloodline can help her get it easily."
The room went still. Daisy’s pulse hamred in her ears. "That can’t be true..."
"It is," Roo said. "And Alessia doesn’t even know what she’s carrying inside her."
Rain lashed against the windows, thunder rolling like the growl of sothing unseen.
Daisy turned away, pressing a hand to her chest as though holding her heart in place. "If what you are saying is true... Roo, then Luca’s in danger too."
He nodded. "They all are."
For a long mont, neither spoke.
The silence between them was electric tangled with regret, desire, and sothing darker neither dared to na. Then, slowly, Roo reached out again.
"Let in, Daisy," he whispered.
She hesitated, she knew she can’t completely trust him again but she knew she would be smarter even if he as a bad intentions again.
Her heart still scread no, but her body moved before she could think.
When the door shut behind him, it wasn’t just rain that stayed outside, it was the last bit of distance she would managed to build between them.
Roo took a deep breath, his eyes tracing her face like he was morising every inch again. "You haven’t changed," he said softly.
"And you still talk like danger," she murmured.
"Maybe because I am," he admitted. "But I’ll never hurt you again."
He stepped closer... close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him.
Daisy’s breath hitched. "You shouldn’t be here."
"Then tell to leave," he challenged.
She opened her mouth but no words ca.
The air between them thickened, trembling like it might shatter.
Roo’s hand lifted slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "You used to believe in ," he whispered.
"I used to believe in many things," she replied bitterly. "Before they all burned."
His lips tilted into a sad smile. "Then let rebuild it."
"Roo..."
He didn’t let her finish. His lips found hers, gentle at first, searching, then deep, desperate.
Daisy’s resistance lted in an instant, her hands gripping his shirt as if anchoring herself to sothing real.
For the first ti in months, the ache inside her chest eased.
When they finally pulled apart, her tears glistened against his skin.
"This doesn’t change anything," she breathed.
"It changes everything," he said firmly. "Because this ti, Daisy, I’m choosing you."
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed.
He froze.... The na flashing on the screen made his blood run cold.
Seraphina.
Daisy’s face drained of color. "Answer it."
Roo hesitated, then pressed accept. "What do you want?"
Her voice slithered through the speaker like poison.
"You think I don’t know where you are? You think I can’t sll guilt from miles away?"
Roo’s hand clenched into a fist. "Stay out of my life, Seraphina."
She laughed soft, mocking, chilling. "Oh, Roo. You should know by now, I don’t leave without taking sothing back."
The line went dead.
Daisy’s voice was barely a whisper. "What does she an?"
Roo stared at the phone, his expression changed, frowning. "It ans she’s already done sothing."
Before he could call back, another ssage popped up , "An image".
Daisy gasped when she saw it.
It was Bianca , smiling.
Roo’s voice dropped, hoarse. "It’s begun."
Daisy’s breath ca in shallow bursts. "What are we going to do?"
"She’s passing a ssage with a smiling photo, to ," he said, his tone low and deadly. "And this ti, Daisy... no one gets away clean."
But even as he spoke, a faint light flickered through Daisy’s window, a strange, shifting glow that painted the walls in shadows.
Roo turned.
The air grew cold, the kind of cold that didn’t belong to weather.
"Do you see that?" Daisy whispered.
The light pulsed once, twice, then ford a symbol on the glass.
A perfect circle carved in smoke and fla.
Roo’s face paled. "That’s the mark of the Keeper," he muttered. "Maybe the book has awakened."
The mont the words left his mouth, the symbol vanished and a loud crack sounded from the hallway.
Soone was at the door again.
Both froze.
Roo pulled Daisy behind him, every muscle tensed. Slowly, he turned the handle.
The door creaked open.
No one stood there. Only a faint envelope lay on the floor , sealed in red wax, stamped with the sa burning circle.
Roo bent to pick it up, his pulse hamring. When he broke the seal, a single line was written inside, in blood-red ink:
"Bring Alessia to the river before the moon bleeds... or the city will burn."
Daisy’s lips parted in horror. "The river..., let’s ignore it I felt sothing fishy is at work?"
Roo’s gaze hardened. "Yes."
He looked out into the storm, voice tight with dread.
Thunder exploded outside, rattling the windows. Daisy clutched his arm. "Roo, tell this isn’t real."
He t her eyes, his voice breaking. "It’s more real than we can survive."
And then ... in the next flash of lightning , the reflection on the window shifted again.
Not just the symbol this ti.
It was Seraphina, her face appearing in the glass.. smiling, eyes glowing silver.
Her voice echoed in Daisy’s mind.
"Tick-tock, lovers. Midnight will choose who goes away first."
The glass shattered , the wind roared through the apartnt and the letter in Roo’s hand burst into flas.
He grabbed Daisy, shielding her from the shards, but even through the chaos, one thought burned in his mind...
Seraphina knew everything about Alessia.
And if the river truly was calling again then the prophecy was awakening.
Roo turned to Daisy, breath ragged. "you need to see Alessia, go to her. Tonight."
Daisy nodded, trembling, fear and love clashing in her chest.
"We shall put a permanent end to seraphina this ti around"..... Daisy whispered.
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