EPISODE 13
ELIAS
The garden still buzzed with laughter when I stepped back into it, but it felt… distant.
Muted.
Like I was standing inside something I couldn’t fully hear anymore.
Lucia’s hand slid back around my arm almost immediately, her grip light but deliberate—like she was reminding me she was still there, still watching, still claiming.
“You disappeared,” she murmured, leaning slightly closer.
“That’s unlike you.”
“I needed air.”
Her lips curved faintly.
“We’re outside, Elias.”
“Different air.”
She studied me then, her gaze sharp, searching.
“You went after her.”
It wasn’t a question.
I didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
Her grip tightened just slightly.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
My jaw clenched.
“Harder for who?”
“For you,” she said smoothly.
“For everyone.”
I let out a quiet breath, my eyes already drifting across the garden.
And landing on her.
Althea.
She stood near the far end now, slightly removed from the main crowd.
The lights caught her just right, soft against her skin, her outfit simple but impossible to ignore.
Light denim.
A soft cream halter top.
Effortless.
Unbothered.
Dangerous.
“You’re staring again,” Lucia said quietly.
“I’m looking.”
“At her.”
I didn’t deny it.
Something in Lucia’s expression shifted—not fully, not openly—but enough for me to notice.
“You always did that,” she said.
“Even before.”
I glanced at her.
“Before what?”
“Before she left you.”
My jaw tightened.
“Careful, Lucia.”
She tilted her head slightly, unbothered.
“Am I wrong?”
I didn’t answer.
Because the truth was—
I didn’t even know anymore.
“I don’t understand why you’re holding onto something that’s already ended,” she continued, her voice softer now, almost coaxing.
“You know how this goes.”
“No,” I said quietly.
“I don’t.”
Her brows drew together slightly.
“Yes, you do.”
“I really don’t.”
That made her pause.
Just for a second.
And for the first time tonight— she didn’t look completely sure.
⸻
“I need a drink,” I muttered, pulling my arm free.
This time, she let me.
But I could feel her watching me as I walked away.
Tracking.
Waiting.
⸻
The whiskey burned going down.
Good.
I needed that.
Something sharp.
Something real.
“Wow,” Lucian’s voice came from beside me.
“You look terrible.”
I shot him a look.
“Good to see you too.”
He smirked, lifting his glass.
“I mean it. You’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The ‘I’ve made several bad decisions and I’m about to make more’ look.”
A humorless laugh slipped out.
“Funny.”
“I’m serious,” he said, leaning slightly against the bar.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
I exhaled through my nose.
“Drop it.”
He followed my gaze anyway.
Straight to her.
“Ah,” he said under his breath.
“So it’s that kind of night.”
I didn’t respond.
Didn’t need to.
“I know.”
“No, I mean now. Not before. Now.”
My grip tightened slightly around the glass.
“I said I know.”
Lucian studied me for a second before speaking again, quieter this time.
“So what are you going to do?”
I let out a slow breath.
“I don’t know.”
And I hated that.
⸻
Across the garden, Althea shifted slightly, her fingers brushing the rim of her glass as she laughed softly at something Mira said.
She looked relaxed.
But I knew better.
I had seen her up close.
Felt the tension beneath that calm.
She wasn’t unaffected.
She was controlled.
Just like me.
And that made it worse.
Because it meant— this wasn’t one-sided.
“Stop staring,” Lucian muttered.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I didn’t argue.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
The second she looked up— our eyes met.
And everything else disappeared.
Again.
No sound.
No people.
Just that same pull.
Stronger now.
More dangerous.
She didn’t look away.
Neither did I.
And that— that was a problem.
I set my glass down harder than necessary.
“I need air.”
Lucian snorted.
“You’re literally—”
“Different air,” I cut in.
He laughed.
“Right. Go make another bad decision.”
⸻
I didn’t go far.
Just enough to breathe.
Just enough to think.
But even there— she was still in my head.
In my chest.
In every thought I couldn’t shut off.
Althea.
Always Althea.
I leaned against the stone railing, exhaling slowly.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I muttered under my breath.
“Then why does it feel like it was?”
I stilled.
Turned.
She stood a few steps away.
Closer than before.
Closer than she should be.
“You followed me,” I said quietly.
“You didn’t go far.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the truth.”
I studied her for a moment.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Her brow lifted.
“And you should?”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
I stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like I was testing something I wasn’t sure I could control.
“This—” I gestured faintly between us, “—this doesn’t work.”
Her gaze softened slightly.
“No. It doesn’t.”
“And yet you’re here.”
“And yet you didn’t leave.”
That hit harder than it should have.
Silence stretched.
Dangerous.
“You still feel it,” I said.
Her breath hitched.
Small.
But I noticed.
Of course I did.
“Elias…”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not—”
“Then say it.”
Her gaze dropped.
Just for a second.
Then lifted again.
“That doesn’t change anything,” she said quietly.
“It changes everything.”
“No,” she shook her head slightly.
“It really doesn’t.”
I stepped closer again.
Too close now.
Close enough to feel her breath.
“To me, it does.”
Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say something—Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say something—
But didn’t.
And that hesitation— that one moment— told me everything.
My hand lifted slightly.
Hovering.
Not touching.
Not yet.
But close enough.
Close enough to cross a line we wouldn’t come back from.
And then—
“Elias.”
Lucia.
Sharp.
Cold.
Perfect timing.
We both stepped back immediately.
Too fast.
Too obvious.
Lucia stood a few feet away, her gaze flicking between us, taking everything in.
Calculating.
“So this is where you’ve been,” she said calmly.
I didn’t respond.
Couldn’t.
Because anything I said right now— would mean something.
Althea straightened beside me, her expression smoothing back into calm neutrality.
Like nothing had just happened.
Like we hadn’t almost—
“Goodnight, Elias,” she said softly.
Polite.
Distant.
Controlled.
And then she turned.
Walking away.
Just like that.
My chest tightened.
Because this time—
I didn’t stop her.
⸻
Lucia stepped closer, her voice quieter now.
“You see?” she murmured.
“This is exactly what I meant.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“You don’t choose her,” she said simply.
“You hesitate. And hesitation always costs you.”
My jaw tightened.
“And you think you’re the better choice?”
“I know I am.”
Confidence.
Certainty.
Expectation.
Everything Althea wasn’t.
And yet— everything I couldn’t feel.
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through my hair.
Because for the first time in a long time—
I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.