Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Eight
A flicker of hesitation passed through him, barely perceptible. But she felt it.
The hallway remained dead dark, but the air between them was sparking.
Aht released her wrist, but only to cage her in by the shoulders. She was cornered against the wall, but her glare remained unshaken.
"For every man of mine you killed tonight," he said, quiet but fierce, "you’re going to pay."
A pause.
"And no, Asli. It won’t be so twisted ga of seduction. There is nothing romantic about this anymore. You crossed a line." There was no doubt in his voice, no hesitation in his tone.
His fingers dug into the stone near her shoulders.
"I could kill you right here." She knew he could yet she knew he couldn’t. He would’ve done that long ago. However, they were mafias and they enjoyed watching their prey suffer for a long ti before ending their lives.
Her lips parted slightly. Whether in surprise or fury, even she was not sure.
His words were not an attempt to scare her.
They were real.
The old Aht; the one who teased, the one whose eyes softened around her in rare monts was gone. This was sothing else. Raw. Broken. Dangerous.
But Asli did not shrink back.
Instead, she lifted her chin, voice steel. "Then what are you waiting for?"
A scream suddenly cracked through the air, muffled and distant, like a voice swallowed underwater. Then again, it ca again but closer this ti.
"Aht."
The world spun. The corridor folded in on itself. Shadows clawed their way up the walls, writhing with every flicker of dying light. His heart pounded, heavy in his throat, drowning out the thunder of footsteps behind him.
He turned, slowly. Asli was standing there, her eyes afla, and her weapon raised.
Was she not just standing here, caught in his arms? He looked at his hands and found them empty. When did she get there?
She looked unrecognizable. Beautiful. Terrifying. Unforgiving.
"Aht..."
The voice again; fainter now, but echoing from nowhere and everywhere all at once.
Sothing tugged at him, like invisible hands pulling his soul away from the mont.
"Aht!"
The world shattered.
He woke up choking on air, drenched in sweat. The silk sheets clung to him, twisted around his limbs like restraints. His pulse thundered in his ears, heart sprinting against his ribs.
"Shit," he muttered, dragging both hands down his face.
"Dude," Markus’s voice cut in from the couch near the window, thick with sleep and irritation. "What the hell was that?"
Aht did not answer. His breath was still ragged. His mind was still in the corridor with her. Still staring down the barrel of her gun.
"Don’t tell the nightmares are back," Markus said, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. "You told those things stopped the mont you fell in love."
Aht snapped his head around, bloodshot eyes sharp. "She is haunting my sleep, Markus."
Markus teased. "Asli?"
"No. Bloody Snowwhite."
Markus chuckled. "Wow. Must have been a hell of a dream if it’s got you sarcastic and sweaty."
Aht did not return the humor. He threw the sheets aside and swung his legs off the bed, already searching for his phone.
"What did she do this ti?" Markus asked. "Did she drop by your doorstep with a baby?"
Aht’s fingers trembled over the screen. "She stord the Villa in my sleep."
"Exactly what I asked. Was she with a baby?"
"Markus, she ca here. Slaughtered the guards and almost all our n. Tried to shoot . And she smiled doing it."
"Sounds like a... damn, it sounds so much like her. I also fear she will do exactly that. But, she won’t throw what she has away with you, would she? Call her."
\n(o)v.e\l
He ignored the jab, heart still hamring as he dialed her number. It rang. Once. Twice. Four tis.
Nothing.
"Co on," he whispered.
On the sixth ring, she picked up.
Silence.
"et ," he said, his voice low. Pleading. "Please, Asli. et now."
"No." Her voice was cold and flat, like a verdict.
"Asli... please." He gripped the edge of the desk for support. "I have never begged anyone in my life. But I’m begging now."
"Too late."
His chest caved inward. "What do you an ’too late’?"
"We are already coming, Aht." A beat of silence. Then she hung up.
His blood froze.
He turned toward Markus, eyes wide. "She said they are already coming."
Markus was already standing. "You sure she ant—?"
"Yes. I know her like I know my own goddamn skin."
The weight of the dream hit him again, not as a warning, but as a premonition. A ssage from his subconscious. She wasn’t bluffing. It wasn’t paranoia.
It was simply... knowledge.
"Let us move imdiately," he barked.
Markus was already reaching for his firearm and shirt. "I will alert security."
They tore through the hallway, two ghosts of war reborn in silk and sweat. The silence of the sleeping mansion cracked open as the main security panel beeped awake.
Aht slamd his palm on the button.
Below the grounds, hidden chanisms whirred to life. Deep grinding filled the air as tal fortifications began to rise from the earth—thick walls and shielding shutters sealing off every entry point like the jaws of a steel beast closing.
The outer gates were quickly reinforced.
The side doors were locked.
The windows blacked out.
The Villa was now a fortress.
Aht stood there, staring at the caras as his own n snapped into place, rushing into their posts. Markus stood by his side, cocking a rifle, his smirk long gone.
"Aht," he said, eyes glued to the monitor.
The screens showed movent.
Lots of it.
"Looks like your dream girl brought the whole damn parade."
Aht’s jaw clenched.
He could already hear the whisper of gun barrels rising in the night.
"Is she here to ask for your hand in marriage?"
"Markus!"
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