Rayhan's POV

The bookstore always smelled like ink, aged paper, and something else—something hidden, like a secret folded between the pages of an unread book.

I liked it here. It was quiet. Too quiet.

Amina was at her usual corner, fingers tracing the edges of a novel she wasn’t really reading. She did that when something was on her mind. Her gaze flickered toward Elias, who was scribbling away in his ledger. Sophie stood by the shelves, rearranging books in a way that looked deliberate—almost like she was eavesdropping.

I smirked. No one ever really paid attention to what was happening around them. Not like I did.

I moved toward the shelves, pretending to scan the books, but my eyes were elsewhere. Watching.

Amina stiffened when she noticed me. Her fingers curled tighter around the book in her hands. Nervous? Or just wary of me?

“Lost in another world, Amina?” I asked, keeping my tone light.

She closed the book, her movements calculated. “Some worlds are better than this one.”

Interesting.

“Careful, you might get too lost.”

The way she swallowed, the slight shift in her stance—she heard something in my words. A meaning beyond what was said. Good.

I glanced at Elias, his head still bent over his writing. The perfect picture of a man consumed by work. Too perfect.

I leaned against a nearby shelf, watching the street outside through the rain-speckled window. Then I saw it—a shadow moving too quickly, disappearing into the alley across the street.

Someone had been watching the store.

I pushed off the shelf, walking toward the door. I didn’t look back. I could feel Amina’s eyes on me. Let her wonder.

As I stepped outside, the cold air hit me like a slap. I turned my head slightly, scanning the street, the alley. Nothing. But the feeling remained—something wasn’t right.

And then, I heard it.

A whisper.

Soft. Barely there. Like paper sliding against paper.

I spun, but the street was empty.

The only thing near me was the bookstore’s window display, the pages of an open book fluttering slightly, even though there was no wind.

I exhaled sharply.

Maybe I’d been working too hard. Maybe I was imagining things.

Or maybe… someone was playing a game.

I turned back to the store. Just before I stepped inside, I noticed something in the window display. A book, slightly pulled forward, as if someone had taken it out but never fully removed it. The title sent a slow chill crawling up my spine.

"The Watchers."

Coincidence? Or a message?

I re-entered the store, letting the door shut behind me with a soft chime.

Sophie was now at the counter, chatting with Elias. Amina was near the shelves, staring at something in her hands. A letter.

What the hell?

I moved closer, catching a glimpse of the paper before she tucked it into her book. The ink looked smudged, hurried. Her fingers trembled slightly as she turned away.

Elias finally looked up from his ledger, his sharp gaze locking onto Amina.

"Amina, if something’s wrong, you should say it."

I waited, watching her.

She hesitated. Then shook her head.

"It's nothing," she said.

Liar.

The uneasy feeling in my gut twisted into something sharper. Something closer to certainty.

Someone was watching. Someone was playing a game.

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