Page 72 of The Bittersweet Bond

Evin inhaled deeply, letting the cool night air fill her lungs, and for a moment, she forgot the earlier unease.

She stepped cautiously onto the terrace, feeling the cool tiles beneath her feet and the subtle flutter of nerves in her stomach. Her gaze shifted to Sergej, who leaned casually against the railing, radiating an ease that somehow filled the air with a tension she couldn’t quite grasp.

“Wow,” Evin said softly, her voice almost swallowed by the vastness of the city before her.

“This is... stunning.” Sergej’s lips curved into a crooked smile as he crossed his arms, leaning further into the railing.

“Glad you like it. I thought we could use something... quieter.” His tone carried his signature confidence, but there was a faint intensity in his gaze that Evin felt, even though he wasn’t looking directly at her.

The flickering candlelight danced across his tattoos, accentuating the sharp line of his jaw, taut and tense, like the air before a storm. He didn’t look up as she moved closer, but Evin could feel it—his awareness of her every detail, her every movement.

It was as if he was silently commanding her to come closer without a single word.

“Breathtaking...“, she said, breaking the silence, "The city looks... smaller from here!”

Sergej paused, his gaze fixed on the glittering skyline before he slowly turnedto face her.

“From up here, everything is clearer. No distractions, no noise. Just reality.” His voice was low, calm, yet there was an edge to it that sent a shiver through her.

“Life down there... most people don’t realize how it consumes them. But up here—up here, you get to decide how far you go.”

Evin’s heartbeat quickened. There was something raw and almost menacing in his words, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

“You... seem so sure of yourself,” she murmured, struggling to steady her thoughts.

Sergej took a step closer, his gaze piercing hers, as if she were the only thing that mattered to him in that moment. “That’s because I am, Evin. No games. And neither should you.”

His voice was soft, but it carried a weight that hit her like a punch to the stomach. She felt both captivated and unnerved—and as Sergej held her gaze, she knew he was fully aware of it.

“Tell me, Evin...” His sentence trailed off into the air, and he stepped back slightly, as if deliberately leaving her breathless.

The click of his lighter punctuated the silence as he extinguished the flame one last time.

“Are you ready to play for real?”

__________

Sebastian

Cat’s room smelled like warm vanilla mixed with something sharper—expensive perfume and leftover cigarette smoke clinging to the fabric of her clothes. The heavy scent of lip gloss lingered in the air, fruity and synthetic, like she had just reapplied it. The space was both chaotic and curated, a mess designed to look effortless. Clothes lay strewn over a velvet chair in the corner, designer labels peeking out between crumpled denim and lace. Open bottles of perfume lined her dresser, their glass surfaces smudged with fingerprints.

Her bed was unmade, silk sheets tangled from either restless sleep or something else. A dim, warm light cast shadows over the walls, reflecting off an oversized mirror propped against one side of the room.

Above her headboard, old concert tickets were taped to the wall—faded memories of nights that had never really been about the music.

Bas hadn’t planned on coming here. But after seeing Evin and Sergej all over social media, side by side, laughing like nothing he never existed—he needed to clear his head. Or lose it entirely.

Cat was sprawled out on her bed, phone in one hand, the other lazily tracing circles over the sheets. She looked up as Bas stepped inside, her dark eyes flashing with something unreadable.

“Wow. You look miserable.”

Bas exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. “Nice to see you too.”

Cat smirked, rolling onto her side. “Long week?” She tapped a manicured nail against her phone screen. “Or did she finally kill you?”

His jaw tightened. “You always do this.”

“What?” She stretched, her crop top riding up just enough to remind him that this was supposed to be easy. “State the obvious?”

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