It was past midnight. The storm outside was raging, turning the city into a blur of grey rain and neon lights.
Elian Sterling stepped into the lobby of The Obsidian Tower, shivering. He was soaked to the bone.
"Worst day ever," Elian muttered, clutching his canvas bag tight. "First Kaelen at college, and now I forgot my umbrella. I just want to disappear."
He hurried to the private elevator, water dripping from his oversized beige sweater. He pressed the button for Floor 40.
He slumped against the back wall, sliding down slightly. "Safe. Finally."
Ping.
The elevator didn't go up. It stopped at the Underground VIP Parking.
The doors slid open.
Elian held his breath, hoping no one would enter. He didn't want anyone to see him looking like a drowned rat.
A man stumbled in.
Elian peeked through his wet bangs.
The man was tall. Imposing. He wore a white shirt unbuttoned halfway, soaked with rain, and black trousers. No jacket. No tie.
He leaned heavily against the elevator wall, groaning in pain.
Elian squinted. He looks familiar.
The sharp jawline. The jet-black hair. The aura of expensive whiskey and power.
Then, the man turned his head slightly, trying to rub his temple.
Elian saw the profile.
It was the same profile he had seen on the Auditorium this morning.
Kieran Blackwood.
Elian's heart stopped.
The blood drained from his face.
It's him. It's the older twin. The cold one. The brain.
"Oh god," Elian mouthed silently, pressing himself into the darkest corner of the elevator. "Why is he here? Does he live here? Did he follow me?"
Panic exploded in Elian's chest. He looked at the floor buttons.
Penthouse (50) was lit up.
He lives here. I live in the same building as the villains.
Elian stopped breathing. He tried to become part of the wallpaper.
Don't look at me. Please, just pass out. Don't look at me.
But Kieran wasn't passing out. He was suffering.
He reeked of alcohol, but underneath that was the sharp smell of agony. He was massaging his head as if trying to crush his own skull.
Elian knew he should stay quiet. But his body betrayed him.
His fear spiked his pheromones.
And his Healing Aura reacted to Kieran's pain automatically.
A soft wave of Vanilla and Rain drifted across the elevator.
Kieran froze.
His head snapped up. His eyes—usually cold grey, now hazy and unfocused without his glasses—searched the small space.
"Who..." Kieran slurred, pushing himself off the wall.
Elian gasped. "Stay back!"
Kieran blinked, trying to focus on the beige blur in the corner.
"That smell," Kieran whispered, ignoring Elian's fear. He took a stumbling step forward. "It's... quiet."
Elian was terrified. This wasn't just a drunk man. This was Kieran Blackwood, the man who could destroy the Sterling family with a snap of his fingers.
"Sir, please," Elian's voice shook. "Do not come closer."
Kieran didn't listen. He was drawn to the scent like a moth to a flame.
He loomed over Elian. He placed one hand on the wall beside Elian's head.
Trapped.
Elian looked up into Kieran's eyes.
They were glazed. He wasn't seeing Elian. He was seeing a blur.
He doesn't recognize me, Elian realized with a jolt of hope. He's too drunk. He can't see without his glasses.
"Why are you hiding?" Kieran murmured, leaning down.
He buried his face in the crook of Elian's neck.
Elian went rigid. He felt Kieran's hot breath on his cold, wet skin.
"Vanilla," Kieran groaned, his body sagging against Elian. "Make the pain stop."
Elian stood frozen, his hands hovering in the air.
He wanted to push him away. He should push him away.
But he felt Kieran's pain. It was a black, screaming void of loneliness and migraine.
He's suffering, Elian thought. Just like Kaelen.
Against his better judgment, Elian didn't push. He stood still, letting the villain use him as an anchor.
BOOM.
Thunder shook the building. The elevator jerked violently and stopped.
The lights died. Red emergency lights bathed them in crimson.
Kieran lost his balance completely.
"Ah!"
He fell forward, his full weight crashing into Elian.
Elian instinctively wrapped his arms around Kieran's waist to catch him.
They slid down the wall together, landing on the floor of the elevator.
Now, Elian was sitting on the floor, with Kieran Blackwood's head resting on his lap.
The billionaire was curled up, holding onto Elian's waist like a lifeline.
"So soft," Kieran mumbled, nuzzling into Elian's sweater. "Don't go."
Elian looked down at the man in his lap.
In the red light, Kieran didn't look like a monster. He looked like a broken prince.
Elian's hand trembled as he hovered it over Kieran's wet hair.
"You are dangerous," Elian whispered to the sleeping man. "You are supposed to be my enemy."
But his fingers gently brushed the wet strands of hair away from Kieran's forehead.
"Why do you have to be so... human?"
Ding.
The power returned. The elevator started moving.
Floor 40.
Elian snapped out of his trance.
I have to go. Before he wakes up. Before he sees my face clearly.
He gently pushed Kieran off his lap.
"Wake up," Elian whispered harshly. "We're here."
Kieran groaned, reaching out blindly. "No... stay..."
Elian scrambled to his feet. The doors opened.
He grabbed his bag.
He looked back one last time.
Kieran was lying on the elevator floor, reaching a hand toward him, his eyes half-open but unseeing.
"Wait..." Kieran rasped.
"I'm sorry," Elian whispered.
He ran.
He sprinted out of the elevator and down the hall to Apartment 4001.
He fumbled with his keys, unlocked the door, and threw himself inside.
He leaned against the closed door, sliding down to the floor, gasping for air.
His heart was beating so fast it hurt.
He touched his neck where Kieran's breath had been. It still felt hot.
"He lives upstairs," Elian whispered into the darkness of his room. "I am trapped in the same building as the Blackwood Twins."
In the elevator, the doors closed on an empty hallway.
Kieran Blackwood lay on the floor, the scent of vanilla fading away, leaving him alone in the cold once again.