"Miss, shall we leave?"The driver asked, but no response came from Rosaline, he called out once again, "Ms... Ms. Rosaline...." "Huh?"The driver looked worried, "are you okay, Miss? I've been calling you but you didn't answer.""Umm, I'm so sorry," Rosaline said with a faint tone, "actually, I've been thinking about something, that's why I didn't pay attention to your words, by the way, what were you saying?" The driver can notice strange anxiety in Rosaline, but he said nothing about it, "I asked you about whether we are leaving or you've any other work here, do you want to stay or shall we leave?" Rosaline looked back at the event venue once before turning towards the driver, "Let's go!" With that she got seated into the car, and the entire car ride back was silent.The driver didn’t turn on the music, she didn’t open her phone either.The city lights passed outside the window in long streaks of gold and white, reflections blurring against the glass, but she didn’t really see

"For Chris!" Adrian hesitated, and finally said, Mrs. Nevermore's laughter stopped instantly and was replaced by warm amusement. "Oh...." That single syllable held everything, understanding, curiosity, and something dangerously close to fondness."You want to make him dumpling soup by yourself," she said, not asking."Yes." "Today?" "Yes." Another pause.Then, warmly Mrs. Nevermore has said, "don't worry, I know how to make it, I’ll send you the recipe, step by step, so that you can make it easily, and by the way Rian?" "Yes, Mom?" "Don’t rush it, my dear," she said gently. "Dumplings taste better when made patiently, so you have to be very patient while making this recipe, only then it tastes more delicious." Adrian closed his eyes briefly. "I understand!" After the call ended, Adrian stared at his phone for a second longer than necessary.Then he rolled up his sleeve

"My Lord, you're in a rush to leave," Lysandre commented with a teasing smile, "is it because you're missing your son already?" Adrian hummed quietly, "yeah, I miss my son, any problem with that?" Lysandre chuckled while shaking his head in mock defeat, as he can't argue with Adrian.Dawn had not yet broken when Adrian stepped back into the upper levels of the city.The base doors sealed behind him with a hydraulic hiss, burying the screams, the fear, the unfinished cruelty far beneath layers of reinforced concrete and silence.Both Ivan and Teressa are terrified, as they couldn't understand how they're going to suffer in the hands of Adrian and his men, their pleas and requests unheard as no one held pity towards them because of what they've done to Christian.Outside, the world looked deceptively normal.Traffic lights blinked lazily. A street vendor was setting up a cart. Somewhere, a radio played soft morning news as if nothing irreversible had shifted overnight.Adrian adjuste

"Why is it too quiet?" Christian thought to himself, looking at the company floor which was quieter than usual in the afternoon.Not empty, but no sound came out, not even whispers among the employees as all of them are too busy with their works.Christian stood by the glass wall of his office, after the promotion, he got a new office assigned for himself, from an intern, he rose into high position and now has an office of his own.He just quietly started reviewing the latest logistics forecast on his tablet when the knock came.Not hurried, not even hesitant, very quiet and gentle."Come in," he said without even turning to look at the person who knocked on the door, after his response, the door was opened smoothly.Aurora stepped inside with a calm face, she wasn’t dressed up like usual, no dramatic colors, no jewelry meant to draw attention. Just a tailored blazer, messy hair bun, and that unmistakable confidence was as always appearing before her, because of the silence despite

"Perfect evenings," Christian sighed to himself while walking into the apartment, "doesn't exist after a tiresome day...." Only he knew how exhausting his new role is, not even during his education time he felt something like this, but everything feels strange and boring despite he is seeing the achievements.At that moment he realised, how boring and adult life can be even with many new things surrounding from time to time.The apartment lights were already on when he returned home finally, they were not too bright, not dim either, just enough to soften the edges of the space and chase away the city’s lingering dusk. The door closed behind him with a gentle click, the familiar sound settling into something that felt… steady.Adrian’s voice was carried from the living room. "Woah, you’re back earlier than I expected, I've been thinking about you and you're already here." Christian slipped off his shoes, placing them neatly by the rack. "Meetings wrapped up faster today, so I though