Ruthless Lady Series : The Ruthless Comeback

her mind spins with uncertainty, and confusion clouds her thoughts. The moment feels heavy, suspended in silence, as if time itself is holding its breath. Then su

tance between them barely more than a whisper. The air grows thick with anticipation, u

feels something smooth, tender, and warm-it takes her only a second to realize it's Kairus. Her heart thuds loudly in her chest, echoing in her ears like a drum.

the whisper of the wind through the leaves. None of it matters. All she can focus on is

ns her eyes fully, feeling dazed, like she's waking from a dream she wasn't ready to leave. Slowly, she stands up from the swing, her legs slightly unsteady. She takes a

n't stop myself at all. I'm sorry. I'll send you home. Let's go." He reaches for

steals a glance at him, but he's looking ahead, his expression unreadable. The quiet be

re, they come to a stop. The glow from a nearby street lamp casts a soft light o

voice gentler now. "Tak

e words don't come. Instead, they just stand there, eyes locked, neither of them moving, as

f them dares to name. Finally, Kairus lets out a qui

murs, taking a step back

ast glance, and the

p he takes, Avyanna feels a strange hollowness settle in her chest, like something had briefly sparked to life on

ins. The kiss-they kissed. It wasn't planned. It wasn't expected. And yet... It happened. She

nother part recoils, overwhelmed with uncertainty. What did it mean? Was it a mistake? Was

rtbeat. Her thoughts are loud, chaotic, tangled in all the questions she can't begin to answ

e. She glances up at the dark sky, hoping it might somehow offer clari

s she steps inside, the warmth of the interior contrasts the whirlwind in her chest

f feel it all-uncertainty, longing, fear, and the da

e apartment is dim, quiet, still. A faint hum from the refrigerator is the only sound in the si

soft, unexpected, and frighteningly real. It wasn't just the kiss itself that shook her, but the way it made her feel. Vulner

t terri

making his way into her life, step by step. And she had let him.

est ti

ove, affection, even kindness-they always seemed to come with conditions. Her past had taught

r want to believe tha

burying her face in her hands. Don't get carried away, s

th was, it

aybe it was the fact that he apologized-not because he regretted it, but because he did

er even more than

if she let herself believe-what

future pressing down on her shoulders. The walls she'd built around her heart weren't just

been the one

yan

les slightly, her head snapping toward the sound. Standing a few feet away, leaning casually

asks, her voice rough with sleep o

utside," she says quietly, brushing a strand

ing his name out loud might give too much away.

in. "Just take care," she says, her tone calm but serious. "Knowing the world we're in... if y

, like a quiet warni

isn't wrong. The life they live isn't ordinary. It's shadowed with danger, with secrets, with power p

idn't belong to th

er voice barely above a whis

ore than she lets on. Without another word, she pushes off the wall and disappear

of the kiss and the cold reality of the world that waits outside her door.