Alex froze slightly at the doorway when he saw Desmond standing there. “Oh. Desmond,” he said casually.Desmond didn’t return the tone.He glanced at Vivian briefly before looking back at Alex. “What are you doing here?”Alex shrugged. “I came to see Vivian. She hasn’t been to school in days. I was worried.”Desmond raised a brow slowly. “Worried?”His eyes sharpened. “Who let you come up here?”Alex stepped further into the room without hesitation. “The nice lady downstairs.”“Zoe?” Desmond called out sharply.A few seconds later, footsteps approached. Zoe appeared at the door.“Is everything okay?…” Zoe asked, but her voice trailed off as she sensed the tension radiating from Desmond.Desmond didn’t look away from Alex.“You just let a strange man come into my sister’s room?” Zoe blinked. “Oh, he’s Alex. He’s been here a couple of times. And since you were already in Vivian’s room, I told him he could come up.”Alex flashed a small smile at Desmond.It irritated him instantly.Then

Cherry paced back and forth across her room, her heels clicking softly against the floor. Every few seconds she would stop, sigh dramatically, then start pacing again.Across the room, Sophia sat comfortably on the couch, watching her with mild amusement.Cherry suddenly flopped to the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Gosh,” she groaned, throwing a pillow over her face. “I can’t get that man out of my mind.”Sophia tilted her head. “Come on, Cherry,” she said. “It’s been weeks. You didn’t even get to talk to him.”Cherry pulled the pillow away and sat up, glaring at her.“That was because of his stupid guard,” she snapped. “And also because you told me to relax!”Sophia lifted her hands in defense. “Yes, I did,” she said. “Because I thought you’d get a chance to talk to him afterward. But he left too early.”Cherry groaned loudly and fell back to the bed again. “I mean, look at him!” she said dramatically. “He’s rich, tall, handsome, and young. What else could a girl possibly want?”S

Elias stretched out his fist and punched Desmond square in the face.Desmond’s hand immediately went to his jaw, holding it as the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. The skin had split, but it healed almost instantly. He glared at Elias, fury burning in his eyes.“How dare you?” he growled through clenched teeth.Elias looked at him, a dark smile spreading across his face. “Yes… give me some energy, would you?” he said lazily. “Besides, this is going to be fun. You have a healing ability, so you shouldn’t do so bad.”“I’ll kill you!” Desmond shouted.He lunged forward and threw a punch at Elias, but it was as if the man vanished.Elias moved with terrifying speed. In the next second, he was standing behind Desmond.Before Desmond could react, Elias kicked him hard in the back. The force sent Desmond crashing forward to the ground. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and he coughed violently.Desmond’s eyes widened. What sort of speed was that? he thought. Was that even humanl

“...Johnny Stone,” Asher said softly.Desmond’s eyes widened as he stood up slowly. Why did Asher mention Johnny Stone…How did he even know?Desmond looked at him. “What did you say?”Asher looked at him slowly, rubbing his forehead. “No… I just sensed Johnny Stone’s presence just now. Never mind that.”Desmond frowned. “I fell into some kind of trance,” he said as they walked slowly. “I saw him… he was the one who healed and revived me.”Asher’s voice softened. “Really?” For the first time, Desmond noticed a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He wasn’t just speaking casually, he genuinely seemed affected by Johnny Stone’s presence.“Yes,” Desmond admitted. “He… he asked me to use my powers properly, to understand them. And he said something strange, too… something about the hand that seeks recognition never grasps true power.”Desmond rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out what it meant. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a puzzle meant to change how he saw himself.“Golden On

Desmond’s eyes widened, and he slowly turned around.The moment he did, he froze.Cherry stood there, staring directly at him.For a brief second, Desmond simply looked back at her, his expression going flat.Great. Of all the people in the world who could have seen him use his ability, it had to be this devil.Cherry began walking toward him slowly, her heels tapping lightly against the tiled floor. “It’s you,” she said.Desmond raised a brow. “Who?”“You’re Mr. Knight,” she replied smoothly. “You were at that Fashion Week event some weeks ago. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you back then.”Desmond said nothing. He simply looked at her, completely unimpressed.Cherry’s gaze slowly traveled over him from head to toe.He was wearing a black muscle shirt and joggers, the fabric clinging to the lines of his well-built frame. Her eyes gleamed with admiration.“Gosh,” she said softly. “Are you even human? You have an amazing physique. I can tell you’ve been working really hard for it.”D