r's/Dami

ered around her. Her gaze darted between the corpse and the figure standing before h

e... D-Damian?

, and she saw the truth for what it was. I was the man before her n

he overhead light. My movements were slow, deliberate,

beneath it, a defiant flame flickering in the dark. Perhaps it was the pas

fore tilting her head up, her tear-filled eyes locking onto mine. H

to punish me like this? What have I done to deserve this?! Do you know how much

motions, but I wasn't moved. Instead, I tilt

?" I mused, letting the question hang betwe

of Alex cracked something within her. She began to break down, sobbing over the lifeless form of her moth

e a fragile whisper. "Why can't you just let me forget? I don't want to

e all the words I wanted to hear. I shaped you, molded you into who you are today, and in the end, after everything I gave you-" My voice d

aling softly. "I gave you happiness, Mira

mply because of that?!" she choked out. "Alright, fine. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for

e way her voice broke-it was all meaningless. I merely stood

n, I answered, my tone shifting into on

on the other end. "Did you complete

ce level. "Not completely taken care of, but my assign

boss continued. "Your peers are available, but n

honored by your trust, s

ply of scopolamine. He refuses to hand it over. We need to find out how he got it and ma

d. I'll be

my gaze returned to Mira. She was still sitting there,

fore speaking, her voice tr

mid-step

d, each word laced with venom. "I'm going t

lad the feeling is mutual." My voice dropped to a whisper, amusement f

ay, knowing no one had seen me ent

rted streets. The trees swayed, the rustling of leaves accompany

myself. "The one where we snuck out an

I had wished that moment could last forever. Now, it felt li

st, the bright neon signs of the casino came into view. The glowing lights s

cade, a mere top layer of the real bus

mblers filled the air. The familiarity of it all made it mu

eat on one of the cushioned stools. The bartender, a hulking man with a

st customers," he greeted, polish

my fingers as they met the cool air. I returned

settled on the man sitting next to me

ice low and composed. "