The deal.
The hallway was dim, the only light coming from the moon pouring through the windows. Shadows danced on the walls, but Kael's steps were confident.
He knew exactly where he was going.
Ellie's room.
Kael paused outside her door, heart steady despite the excitement building in his chest. He raised his hand, hovering it near the wood for a moment. Then, slowly, he knocked.
Meanwhile, Ellie, who had been sound asleep, was suddenly jolted awake by the soft knock on her door. Her eyes fluttered open, her nightgown crumpled and bunched around her thighs from tossing in bed.
She blinked at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up, strands of hair clinging to her cheeks.
"Who is it?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.
"It's me," came Kael's voice from behind the door.
Ellie froze. Kael? she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.
For a second, she panicked, instinctively looking around as if someone else might be watching. But then, the fog of sleep cleared—and her heart dropped into her stomach.
The deal.
She remembered it now. It had felt like a dream when she said yes. But now—now it was real.
She threw her legs off the bed and stood up slowly. Her hand hovered near her chest as if to calm her racing pulse.
"He really came," she whispered to herself, voice shaky.
Then, exhaling slow, she walked toward the door.
She opened the door, and there stood Kael, a faint smile playing on his lips. He didn't wait for an invitation. Without a word, he stepped inside, his eyes briefly scanning the dimly lit room—simple, clean, with the soft scent of jasmine lingering in the air.
"Hey, Aunty Ellie," he whispered, voice low, almost teasing.
Ellie shut the door behind him, fingers trembling slightly as she turned to face him. Her cheeks had already begun to warm under his gaze.
"Young master," she said, trying to steady her tone, "What are you doing here… at this hour?"
Kael shrugged playfully, walking past her and jumping onto the bed like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I just missed you, Aunty," he said casually, looking up at the ceiling as if that explained everything.
Ellie stood still for a moment, her fingers tightening around her nightgown. Her eyes stayed on him, watching the mischievous glint in his eyes that didn't quite match the boy she once knew.
He wasn't here simply to tease.
Her voice was barely more than a whisper when it finally broke the silence. "You missed me, huh?"
Kael's smile deepened. He buried his face into the pillow, inhaling deeply before turning his head slightly toward her.
"You smell so good, Aunty," he mumbled.
Ellie's cheeks flushed a deeper shade and a shiver crawled down her spine. She opened her mouth to respond, but the words stuck, unable to break free.
Kael's voice broke the silence again, low and teasing. "I've waited a long time for this."
His eyes then locked onto hers, dark and unwavering.
Ellie stood in the soft glow of moonlight, dressed in a loose white nightgown that covered her completely from shoulders to ankles.
Kael's gaze lingered, already imagining every curve that lay hidden beneath the nightgown.
Ellie stiffened involuntarily, the heat rising to her cheeks as she felt his eyes drinking her in, as if trying to memorize every inch.
"Oh, Aunty," Kael murmured, "you have such a nice body. And you still cover it up like you're hiding a secret."
He shifted slightly, but didn't break the eye contact. "Are you shy? Or do you just not have the confidence to show off what you've got?"
Ellie swallowed hard, her heart pounding rapidly under the thin fabric.
Her eyes flickered away for a fraction of a second before meeting his again.
She had always thought of herself as old—past the point where desire and affection were meant for her. However, watching Lyra and Alaric—how openly they flirted, how effortlessly they loved— had always stirred something long dormant inside her.
A part of her had always wished to feel that spark again, to be seen, wanted, cherished.
But she had no one.
And even more than loneliness, there was a deeper, quieter insecurity about her own body that had always lingered in her heart.
Now, under Kael's gaze—the way he looked at her, as if she was something precious—those doubts clashed with something else.
Maybe… maybe she wasn't invisible after all.
It wasn't enough to drown her sanity, to make her throw away every ounce of restraint and engage in something so undeniably sinful with a boy she had once cared as a baby.
But it was enough to make her feel something.
Meanwhile, Kael smiled to himself, already sensing the war raging within her.
"Love… desire… dreams," he murmured, "They're not sins, Aunty Ellie. They're just… human."
"Everyone wants to be acknowledged. To be seen," he continued. "And when you live in a house full of people who give that to each other so freely… and you're the one left watching from the sidelines… it gets lonely, doesn't it?"
His words sank deep, opening Ellie's wounds.
This was nothing new for Kael.
Back in college, he was always surrounded by couples—laughing in the hallways, holding hands in the library, stealing kisses between classes.
Introverted by nature, he had convinced himself that he didn't care. That he was above all that.
But the truth?
Like everyone else, he wanted it. The late-night talks, the shared secrets. He too wanted all of it.
Kael let out a quiet scoff, eyes drifting to the ceiling as he mumbled, "They were clingy as fuck, too."
So he really did understand Ellie.
A wicked smile curled on his lips.
Yes. This—this—is what will unravel her. Not a touch. Not a kiss. But the knowledge that someone finally, fully saw her.
Kael's eyes darkened with a fierce intensity.
"You have always turned me on, Aunty," he said, direct and bold, not caring how she would react.