CHAPTER 407: HOPE

Her heels were raised high, evidence enough that she’d literally kicked my door open and the satisfaction on her face afterward was unmistakable.

"Phew!" She dusted off her hands dramatically. "That Taekwondo class was worth every penny."

Then she turned to me, clapping her hands together so loudly I flinched.

"Alright, Roman! You’ve been moody enough. Time to get up."

I stared at her, my jaw tightening.

For a moment, she just stared back.

At the bottles scattered across the coffee table. At the overflowing ashtray. At me, slumped on the couch in wrinkled clothes, unshaven and hollow-eyed.

She looked me up and down, her nose wrinkling slightly.

"Jesus, you look like shit. Handsome shit, I’ll give you that, but still shit."

"Get out," I said, my voice low and dangerous.

She flinched, just barely but didn’t back down.

"This isn’t your business, Ash." I continued.

"Like hell it isn’t." She strode across the room, grabbed the bottle from my hand, and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall, vodka streaming down the expensive wallpaper.

I stared at the broken glass.

Then, slowly, I looked up at her.

"You need to leave," I said again, my voice dangerously quiet. "Now."

"Not until you tell me what the fuck you’re doing to yourself."

"What does it look like?"

Ash’s expression cracked, just for a second, something raw and pained flickering beneath the anger.

"You should be grateful I’m invested in your tragic love life," she shot back, already moving past where I was slumped over toward the windows.

Before I could stop her, she grabbed the heavy curtains and yanked them open.

Sunlight flooded the penthouse like a physical assault, bright and unforgiving.

"Fuck!" I hissed, throwing an arm over my eyes.

"What a lovely day!" Ash announced cheerfully, ignoring my reaction entirely.

"Fresh air, sunshine, all that healthy shit you’ve been avoiding."

"Ash—"

"The Kael I know," she interrupted, spinning to face me, "the one I’ve always secretly thought was kind of a badass, I can’t believe I’m admitting that out loud, but whatever, that Kael isn’t going to let some puny little bitch like Sarah keep him down."

I gave her a flat, uninterested look.

She kept going anyway.

"I know you didn’t cheat on Aria," she said, her tone shifting to something more serious. "Niko told me what actually happened."

My gaze snapped to Niko, who stood frozen in the doorway, looking both terrified and completely unapologetic.

"I had no choice, sir," he muttered. "I had to reach out to her."

"Relax drama queen, even if he hadn’t said anything," Ash continued, waving a dismissive hand, "I would’ve figured it out on my own. I’ve always had my doubts about Sarah. Something about her never sat right with me, but I didn’t want to bring it up to Aria without evidence to back it up."

She moved closer, her expression hardening.

"Your little puppy here told me all about the evidence you’ve been trying to collect on her. How her records and her parents’ records are squeaky clean. Too clean."

"I know they’re not," I said quietly.

Ash grinned. "Your instincts are sharp as ever, Roman. You see... I did some digging of my own. High and low. Even went back to the college Sarah and Aria attended together."

That got my attention.

I straightened slightly, ignoring the pounding in my head.

"And?" I asked.

"And," Ash said, her grin widening, "I found a recent development. Information that might help you get rid of Sarah... permanently."

"Bring her to justice rather than have her assassinated if you will." She added.

My heart kicked against my ribs.

"What is it?"

"Ah-ah." She wagged a finger at me. "You have to meet me somewhere first. There’s someone or maybe two people you need to talk to."

"Ash—"

"Café Luminé. Downtown. One hour." She was already heading for the door. "Which means you need to get your ass up, shower, and look like a functioning human being."

"I’m not—"

But she was already out the door, waving over her shoulder.

"Time’s ticking, Roman!"

The door shut behind her with a decisive click.

I stared at the empty space she’d left behind, my mind sluggish, trying to process everything that had just happened in the span of five minutes.

"Sir," Niko said carefully. "It might be worth hearing her out. Miss Sterling managed to dig deeper than we could."

I sat there for a long moment, staring at nothing.

Then, with a sigh that felt like it came from somewhere deep in my bones, I stood.

My legs were unsteady beneath me, but I forced myself to move. One foot in front of the other. Toward the bathroom.

The shower was scalding, but I didn’t adjust the temperature. I let it burn, washing away the layers of sweat and smoke and self-destruction that had accumulated over the past weeks.

When I finally stepped out, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

The beard was still there, wild and unkempt. The dark circles under my eyes made me look like I hadn’t slept in a month, which wasn’t far from the truth.

But after I trimmed the beard, ran a razor over my face, and pulled on clean clothes, I looked... closer to myself.

Not the same. Not whole.

But closer.

Niko was waiting by the door when I emerged, car keys in hand.

"Ready, sir?"

I nodded.

The brightness of the outside world hit me like a slap when I stepped out of the building. The sun was too sharp, the colors too vivid, everything too loud after weeks of self-imposed darkness.

But I adjusted.

Slowly.

Niko drove in silence, and I was grateful for it. My head was still pounding, my body still protesting every movement, but something in my chest had shifted.

A flicker of something I’d thought was dead.

Hope, maybe.

Or just desperation wearing a different mask.

The café was tucked into a quieter part of downtown, the kind of place that attracted artists and students rather than businessmen. I’d never been here before.

Niko pulled up to the curb, and I stepped out, scanning the outdoor seating area.

Ash was there, sitting at a corner table, her phone in her hand.

But she wasn’t alone.

My breath caught.

Sitting across from her, looking nervous and out of place in an expensive button-down shirt, was Eric.

Aria’s ex-boyfriend.

The one before me.

I stopped walking, my body going rigid.

Eric looked up, and our eyes met.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Ash stood, gesturing impatiently for me to come over.

"Don’t just stand there, Roman," she called. "We don’t have all day."

I forced myself to move, crossing the distance between us with measured steps.

Eric stood as I approached, extending a hand.

"Sir," he said quietly.

I looked at his hand for a long moment before ignoring it.

The last time I’d saw him, he was nothing but a pathetic rambling fool trying to win Aria back.

I guess I wasn’t so different now.

"Sit," Ash ordered, already pulling out a chair for me. "Eric has something you might want to hear."

I sat, my gaze locked on Eric.

"What is this about?" I asked, my voice rougher than I intended.

Eric glanced at Ash, who nodded encouragingly.

Then he looked back at me, his expression grim.

"It’s about Sarah," he said.