The corridor felt suspended in time, shadows curling around Cain and Ayla like a fragile secret.
His fingers lightly brushed hers, thumb tracing gentle circles that sent shivers crawling up her spine.
Her breath hitched as she searched his eyes—dark, haunted, desperate.
"I didn't think I'd see you again," she whispered, voice trembling.
Cain's jaw clenched. "Neither did I. But here we are."
Ayla bit her lip, memories rushing back—the reckless nights, the stolen touches, the way he'd held her like she was the only thing that mattered.
"You're with Selene," she said softly, as if stating facts could keep them apart.
"And you're with Nathan," Cain said, voice thick with conflict. "We're both trapped in lives we built without each other."
Her eyes dropped, heart pounding. "It's complicated."
He stepped closer, heat radiating from him, knees going weak.
"Complicated doesn't even begin to cover it."
Ayla opened her mouth to speak—"Cain, I—"—but the echo of footsteps down the hallway cut her off.
Her eyes snapped wide. "Nathan."
Cain's gaze sharpened. "Go. I'll handle this."
She hesitated, torn, then slipped away with a lingering look that said everything.
Cain took a breath and moved toward the restroom just as Nathan's footsteps grew louder.
Nathan stopped at the door, brow furrowed. "Cain? What are you doing here?"
Cain turned, forcing a casual smile, voice light. "Shit, I got lost. Wrong door."
Nathan's gaze flicked to the sign, confusion softening his suspicion.
"Alright," Nathan said slowly. "Be careful, yeah?"
Cain nodded, heart pounding—not from fear, but from the fragile tension stretching between them all.
Nathan walked away, unaware of the storm just barely contained in the shadows.
Cain leaned back against the cool wall, eyes closed, the memory of Ayla's kiss burning like fire on his lips.
No one knew their truth.
No one except them.
Ayla's steps echoed softly as she hurried down the hallway, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm that threatened to give away the storm raging inside.
She pressed her back against a cool wall, closing her eyes and trying to steady her breath.
Cain's kiss lingered on her lips—raw, desperate, filled with the history they never fully left behind.
But reality pressed down like a weight.
She was with Nathan now, a man who promised stability and a future built on trust.
Yet, Cain was a wildfire, unpredictable and consuming, igniting parts of her she thought were long dead.
Her phone buzzed sharply in her purse, snapping her from the spiraling thoughts.
Nathan's name flashed across the screen.
She answered with a trembling voice, "I'm fine. Just needed a moment."
His soothing words calmed her, but the ache didn't fade.
Meanwhile, Cain stood alone in the shadows of the corridor, fists clenched.
He couldn't shake the memory of her skin beneath his fingertips, the way her eyes held his like a silent confession.
The gala's glitter and glam felt hollow now—nothing compared to the tempest that was Ayla.
His phone was silent. No number. No way to reach her.
But he wasn't ready to let her slip away again.
Across the room, Selene smiled at him, unaware of the battle waging inside Cain's soul.
For Cain and Ayla, the past was a whispered secret threatening to burst into flames.
Neither knew how long the fragile thread holding them together would last.
The gala buzzed with clinking glasses and murmured conversations, but Nathan's gaze was locked firmly on Ayla as they moved through the crowd.
Without hesitation, he slipped his hand around her waist, pulling her close as if marking her as his.
Ayla's breath hitched under the weight of his possessive touch.
Nathan bent his head, pressing a warm, open-mouthed kiss to her temple—a claim made not just to her, but to the room watching.
His fingers traced slow, intimate patterns along her spine, the subtle caress sending a shiver through her despite the noise around them.
Cain, standing just a few steps away, felt his jaw tighten.
His eyes darkened with a jealous fire, watching the man he knew held a future with the woman he couldn't stop wanting.
He forced himself to look away, but the ache gnawed at him.
Every gentle touch Nathan gave Ayla felt like a knife twisting deeper.
Later, Nathan insisted on driving Ayla home.
The city lights blurred past the window as they sat side by side in the sleek car.
At her doorstep, Nathan leaned in, brushing a soft kiss against her lips before pulling back with a cheeky grin.
He winked and blew a playful kiss her way, a silent promise of more to come.
Ayla smiled, but her heart felt heavy.
After he drove off, she stood by the door, the cool night air brushing against her skin.
Inside her room, sleep eluded her.
She lay on her bed, eyes wide open, mind racing with thoughts of Cain.
The kiss in the corridor—the way his lips had claimed hers—played over and over in her mind.
Her fingers curled around the bedsheets as a knot of longing and confusion tightened in her chest.
Meanwhile, miles away in his sleek apartment, Cain sat rigid on the edge of the bed.
Selene lay curled against his chest, breathing slow and even in deep sleep.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, her warmth a comfort, but his mind was a storm.
He couldn't stop thinking about Ayla—about the first time he took her, the way her body had trembled beneath him, the whispered moans and the ache of losing something so precious.
And the kiss—the reckless, desperate kiss they had just shared in the restroom.
His heart slammed against his ribs, torn between the woman in his arms and the ghost of a past he wasn't ready to let go.
He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come, but the memories burned too bright.
Both tangled in their own restless nights, Ayla and Cain lay wide awake, worlds apart yet bound by a secret that refused to fade.