Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Two
The screen dimd to grayscale as the first three armored vehicles rolled away. The reflection of Asli’s silhouette lingered longer than she did, paused at the Villa’s periter before she finally slid into the back seat of the last vehicle and disappeared behind bulletproof glass.
Inside the surveillance room, the silence was its own noise.
Markus did not say a word. Not because he had nothing to say... he always had sothing to say— but because there was not a joke that could lift the heaviness sitting in the room. Even the hum of the monitors sounded like mourning.
Aht stood with his arms crossed, his eyes still glued to the screen long after the feed went black. There was a sharpness in his jaw, his teeth clenched tight enough to crack bone.
He was not watching for movent anymore. He was staring into the empty fra like it owed him answers. Like he had missed sothing vital in the static and silence.
Markus finally moved, not to speak, but to sit on the edge of the table, running a hand down his tired face. His eyes burned from the long night, but what burned worse was the weight pressing on Aht’s shoulders.
Cole was gone.
And Asli was too.
But it wasn’t their absence that weighed them down, it was the realization of how he was going to lose her.
Aht’s fingers twitched by his side, itching for sothing. A drink. A distraction. A ti machine.
"She waited," he muttered suddenly.
Markus looked up.
"She could have gotten in the car and left, but she waited. Like she knew I was watching. Like she was... giving a chance to rush out and speak to her... to explain all this."
Markus did not respond. He did not have to.
Aht scoffed softly, shaking his head. "And what did I do? I stood here like a damned statue. I let her leave."
"You did not let her," Markus said. "She chose to. Just like she chose to call you before coming. Besides, what could you do? Here people were with her, watching. If you were to rush out or go to see her, they’ll grow suspicious."
Aht turned his gaze sharply. "You are right but at least I should have... I don’t know man. If I should call her right now, she wouldn’t pick up, I know that at least. And if I force her to et , the first thing she will do is fight ."
"I’m still thinking about how she warned you when you called her. She could’ve co in here and killed as many as she wanted. She was angry, and killing would have made her feel better," Markus finished for him. "But instead of her own feelings, she told you. She avoided the war that could happen."
A low, bitter chuckle rumbled from Aht’s chest, but it had no humor. "She has a heart, Markus. Regardless of what everyone thinks... even what we think of her, she has a heart. She is better than we thought. Better than I know her, sotis."
Sothing was crumbling behind his eyes now. Sothing slow and painful.
And for once, Markus didn’t interrupt.
He let Aht stare into nothing, because he knew the war was happening behind that silence.
"I took her for granted," Aht said, voice low, gritty. "I thought I could handle her... treat her like any other opponent, or ally, or mafia. She is none of that. She is... she is not just anything. And I— damn it, I made her feel like a pawn in our war."
And now, that was sothing they would never forget. Fck them! That was going to be sothing Asli would never forget. She was a boss and treated as such and the only people she got her guard down for, treated her like a pawn and lowly prey. And not to forget the betrayal she could be feeling.
Markus exhaled through his nose, arms folded, and his eyes now half-closed.
"You think she would ever forgive you?"
Aht’s brow creased.
"You think she would ever forgive ? I’m not thinking about it. There is no way she would. We kill our own n for betrayals. I won’t be any special to her. The least she could do is avoid to save . She is not stupid, she would find out why we did that, for her own sanity."
Aht’s face twisted, and for a mont, sothing flickered behind his eyes... guilt. Not the cold, passive kind, but the aching, raw kind that tears into you in silence.
"She probably thinks I only got close to her for leverage. That I wanted sothing from her father," he whispered.
"Did you?"
Aht’s eyes burned as they flicked to Markus. "No. The only thing I want from that man is his head on a fucking spike. You were already in the house, that was all we needed for our plans to work."
"Exactly my point. Then why did you need her?" Markus pushed. This was not his usual act of play.
"I thought I wanted to ta her. To humiliate her. To prove she was not as good as everyone thought." Aht confessed and it killed him that he once wanted that.
"Well, you got what you want then."
Aht quickly spoke, "Oh no. After the first day we talked on the phone, I forgot about my plan. I know I told you I was only ssing with her, but I think I lied. She began to an more to . I just... I just... damn it!"
"That’s a good thing then. Now, what you feel will haunt you as well as what you have done to her." Markus was sounding like they didn’t sit down and plan on taking over her Villa.
He sounded like he wanted to punish him. But he was going to deal with that later. Right now, he had a lot to think about.
"Then why didn’t you tell her that?" Markus pushed.
Aht did not answer. What was he supposed to tell her?
Markus did not press. Not yet.
The tension stretched between them, brittle and silent. Until finally, Aht let himself sink into the nearest chair, hands rubbing through his face like he was trying to erase it.
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