Chapter 54
2300words
Sinclair Dominion HQ | Outdoor Courtyard
Late Afternoon
The air outside was cooler than expected, touched with the bite of a fading winter sun. Kristina stood at the edge of the courtyard, hands shoved into the pockets of her coat, eyes on nothing in particular. The sound of distant traffic mixed with the low murmur of Dominion staff moving in and out of the building. Inside, everything was noise—documents, tension, unspoken things pressing down on every breath.
Out here, at least, it was still.
True to form, Vex arrived soundlessly.
“Didn’t peg you for the brooding-outside type,” he said lightly.
Kristina glanced over her shoulder. “Didn’t peg you for the concerned-type.”
He smirked, hands in his pockets. “I’m not. Just nosy.”
She turned back to the horizon, watching the faint movement of leaves rustling near the garden walls. “I just needed air.”
Vex didn’t say anything at first. He stepped closer, slow and casual, and stood beside her without intruding on the space she kept around herself. A long beat passed between them.
“Funny thing about the past,” he said. “You think it’s dead and buried, then suddenly it’s making eyes at someone you care about right in front of you.”
Kristina didn’t answer. Her jaw tightened just slightly.
He tilted his head toward her. “Was I wrong?”
She sighed. “It wasn’t about her.”
“No,” he agreed. “It never is.”
Only the wind answered. The sound of boots crunching gravel somewhere beyond the path.
“I didn’t mean to be obvious,” she murmured eventually, still not looking at him.
“You weren’t loud,” Vex said. “But people like us? We read things in silence.”
Her lips quirked. “That sounds poetic.”
“I have layers.”
Kristina let out a soft laugh. It didn’t reach far, but it was real. For a moment, her shoulders relaxed.
Vex looked at her—not prying, not pushing. Just…seeing.
“Do you know what you want, Kristina?” he asked, gently.
She hesitated.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t know. Not yet.”
Vex nodded. “Then take your time. Just don’t pretend it’s not there.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He gave her a pat on the shoulder and turned away, disappearing into the courtyard path as quietly as he came.
Kristina stayed a little longer, the wind tugging at her sleeves, eyes closed against the late afternoon light.
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | Entry Hall
Early Evening
The estate doors closed behind them with a soft thud, the warmth of the interior greeting them like a familiar hush. Shoes scuffed lightly against polished floors, jackets were shrugged off and handed to the maid who greeted them at the door.
“I’ll ask them to prepare dinner,” Sebastian said quietly, already moving toward the kitchen hallway. “Something warm. Comfort food.”
Ash grunted in approval and was the first to ascend the staircase. “I’ll be in the shower for the next decade. Knock if it’s life or death.”
Vex followed with a mock salute, “Or if there’s pie.”
Eli moved slower than the others, fingers toying absently with the edge of his cuff. He was quiet again—back in that space of thought he often disappeared into when things weighed more than he let on.
Kristina started toward her room without a word, her bag slung over one shoulder.
“Kristina,” Lucian’s voice called from behind.
She paused, turning slightly on the stairs to look back at him.
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “Come by mine after you’ve changed.”
There was nothing commanding in his tone, but it left little room for question.
She gave a small nod—barely visible, but there.
Eli had heard it. She knew that by the way his shoulder twitched slightly before he kept walking, boots falling heavy on each step until he disappeared down the hall.
Ash and Vex said nothing, but their silence was its own kind of awareness. A shared glance passed between them—acknowledgement, maybe curiosity—but they didn’t comment. They kept moving.
Kristina stood there a second longer, then turned back toward her room.
Upstairs, the quiet settled in.
And downstairs, somewhere between tension and understanding, Lucian waited.
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | Upstairs Hallway
Kristina stepped out of her room, hair still damp from a quick shower, sweater sleeves tugged over her wrists—just in time to see Eli exiting his across the hall. They both paused, caught in that narrow space of silence between their doors.
Eli gave a small nod. “You okay?”
She hesitated. “Yeah. You?”
Silence stretched between them. Not angry. Just full of what neither of them dared to ask.
Eli glanced past her, toward the end of the hallway. “Um… okay. Lucian might be waiting for you.”
She opened her mouth—maybe to say something more, maybe to stop him—but the moment passed. Eli gave a small nod and walked past her toward the stairs.
Kristina didn’t turn around. Not right away.
She just stood there for a second, watching shadows shift on the walls, wondering why it suddenly felt like they were all carrying too many words and not enough time to say them.
Then, with a quiet breath, she headed down the hall toward Lucian’s room.
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | The Master Suite
Lucian was just buttoning up his shirt when she stepped into the room. She didn’t knock—she never had to anymore.
“Lucian,” Kristina said softly.
He glanced up and immediately reached for her. “Come here.”
She crossed the space between them—and he pulled her into him without hesitation, capturing her mouth in a kiss that was all intensity and need. She answered him in kind, fingers curling against his chest, the silence between them unraveling into something deeper, more desperate.
When they finally pulled back, Lucian kept her close. One arm settled around her waist, the other lifted to cradle her face.
“You know I love you,” he said, quiet and certain.
Kristina didn’t answer—not out loud. But her eyes met his, wide and searching, and the truth was there. She felt it too. She just… wasn’t ready to name it.
“Lucian… I—”
“I told you before, you don’t have to say anything,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her cheek.
He exhaled slowly, grounding himself in her presence.
“I know it’s tearing you in two. You don’t have to explain it. I feel it. And… he feels it, too.” His voice didn’t hold resentment, only acceptance. “I want you to know I’m here, Kristina. I’m waiting. I don’t want you to feel pressured. And I don’t want you to hold back either. Spend time with him if you need to. Figure it out.”
His gaze softened, earnest and unwavering.
“Whatever this becomes, however it ends—I’ll never be disappointed in you. Do you understand?”
Kristina didn’t answer. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him—gentler this time. A tear slipped free, trailing down her cheek, and a quiet sob broke in her throat as she pulled him close.
Lucian embraced her tightly, burying his face in the curve of her neck. His voice was barely a whisper.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | Dining Area
Lucian had calmed her before they exited his room. Whatever unspoken weight she still carried, he made sure she didn't have to shoulder it alone—at least not tonight.
As they descended the stairs, the sound of laughter met them halfway. Warm, unrestrained, familiar. It filtered up from the dining area like sunlight through fog, and Kristina couldn’t help but smile. She heard Eli mid-sentence, likely in the middle of another ridiculous story.
“…so then he tells the colonel it was a tactical misfire—while holding the half-eaten donut as evidence,” Eli was saying, his voice animated and full of that effortless charm.
A round of laughter echoed.
Kristina giggled softly, her hand on Lucian’s arm. He looked at her—not with a wide grin, but something gentler. Real.
By the time they reached the dining room, the group was still chuckling. Eli didn’t pause when he spotted them, only tacked on the punchline with a flourish that made Ash practically choke on his drink.
As the laughter died down, Eli looked up as if suddenly realizing their presence.
“Oh, there you are,” he said, gesturing dramatically. “Now we can eat. I’m starving, man.”
“You didn’t have to wait,” Lucian replied, settling beside Kristina at the table.
Eli waved him off. “Come on. It’s our first time having dinner at home again in days. I mean, I wasn’t complaining about all the Chinese takeout we had at HQ, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal.”
“Amen to that,” Vex said, lifting his glass.
“Cheers,” Ash echoed, clinking his fork against his cup.
Sebastian said nothing, just raised a brow and resumed cutting his food with meticulous quiet. Kristina laughed again, unable to help herself. Lucian’s gaze lingered—quiet affection layered with something protective.
There was something sacred in the ordinary tonight.
And for now, that was enough.
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | Poolside
The sky was deepening into that indigo blue just before full night, and the pool mirrored it perfectly—still and glassy, like it was holding its breath.
Kristina stood at the edge, arms crossed loosely, sweater sleeves pushed over her palms. The scent of damp stone and night air clung around her, and the distant murmur of conversation from inside had long faded.
She only noticed when the quiet deepened—Sebastian beside her.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The silence was a presence of its own.
Then, softly, he asked, “Would you like to talk about it?”
Kristina’s shoulders dropped slightly. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, like she was bracing herself—not against him, but the weight of everything pressing in.
“I don’t know what to do, Seb.”
His voice was calm. “It’s hard. I know.”
She let out a slow breath, long and tired.
“What do you feel about it?” he asked gently. “About them?”
“I love them,” she said. “Both.”
Her voice didn’t tremble. It wasn’t dramatic. It was simply the truth. Honest. Stark.
“They’re different in so many ways… but they’re also so alike, deep down. They’ve both seen me—really seen me—when no one else could.”
She glanced at him, then back at the water.
“You know they met me the same year? When I was nine. Eli was the first one who looked at me like I wasn’t some weird, broken child everyone avoided. He made me feel normal—safe. And Lucian… he saw through me when I was too afraid to let anyone close. He didn’t push. He just stayed.”
Her voice dropped even more.
“And then… I saw them again. Both of them. Last year. I may not have recognized Eli, but I felt it—the lightness around him. Like my soul remembered before my brain did.”
The hush stretched out—not tense, just full of weight.
“Lucian told me he understands. That I’m conflicted. That I should take my time.”
Sebastian nodded slowly.
She swallowed. “But… what if I can’t choose, Seb?”
He looked at her, carefully. “Are you saying…”
“What if I can’t choose between them?” she repeated, softer this time. “Should I just run away instead?”
Sebastian didn’t answer right away. His gaze stayed on her profile—on the tremor just behind her composure.
He could see it now, clearly. It wasn’t just confusion. It was a quiet ache beneath the surface, a question forming not from indecision… but clarity.
And the weight of what she wasn’t saying lingered in the air between them.
It’s either both of them… or no one at all.
And Sebastian knew it.
Lucian Sinclair’s Estate | Lucian’s Study
The study door clicked shut behind them. Lucian moved toward the desk with quiet purpose, flipping open a leather-bound folder, its pages dense with charts and notes. The soft rustle of paper filled the room for a moment, along with the faint ticking of the clock on the bookshelf.
Eli stood near the doorway, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the walls lined with old books and war medals. He hadn't stepped foot in this room in a while—and somehow, nothing had changed. Same scent of cedar. Same weight in the air.
Lucian looked up. “I need your take on this.”
He slid a page across the desk—some logistical coordination on patrol schedules.
Eli stepped closer, glanced at the document, nodded. “Yeah, this part’s gonna bottleneck if they don’t reroute the supply chain by next week.”
Lucian leaned in slightly, jotting something down. “Exactly what I thought.”
A pause. Neither of them moved for a moment.
Lucian stared at the papers a beat longer, but his mind had clearly drifted elsewhere.
“I didn’t call you in here just for that,” Lucian said, voice low, deliberate.
Eli’s gaze flicked up, unreadable. “I figured.”
Lucian straightened. “I’m not asking where you stand. Or what she said. I just… wanted you to know I meant what I told her.”
Eli’s jaw shifted slightly. “Yeah?”
Lucian nodded. “I’m not trying to win some war with you, Eli. That’s not what this is.”
Eli let out a short breath—somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “Could’ve fooled me, sometimes.”
That earned the faintest curve of a smile from Lucian. “I care about her. You do, too. We both know it.”
Eli nodded slowly. “Yeah. We do.”
Lucian’s gaze didn’t waver. “So what happens if she doesn’t choose?”
Another silence.
Eli didn’t look away. “Then maybe we stop thinking it’s about winning.”
Something shifted in the room then—an understanding, wordless but whole. The kind that doesn't resolve anything, but acknowledges everything.
Lucian exhaled, not quite a laugh. “That would be a first for us.”
Eli gave a small smirk. “Yeah, well. Maybe we’re due for one.”
And somewhere in the quiet, the heart still chose—even when no words came.
—To be continued.
