Chapter 3: Fractured Distance

Elias was everywhere.

No matter how much Calista tried to ignore him, his presence stretched into every corner of the mansion, suffocating, inescapable. He didn’t force her to stay, not with words or chains. But the way he watched her, the way his eyes followed her every movement, was enough to make her skin crawl.

She refused to acknowledge it.

Mornings were the worst. She would wake before dawn, slip into a crisp white shirt and a fitted blazer, and leave before he could corner her with his quiet intensity. Her job was her only escape. The long hours, the relentless workload, the sharp sting of exhaustion—it kept her sane.

If Elias cared that she avoided him, he never showed it. But he was always there.

One night, as she slipped through the front door past midnight, aching and drained, she found him waiting in the dimly lit hall.

“You’re late.”

His voice was steady, unreadable, but something about it made her pause.

Calista kept her eyes down, fumbling with the buttons on her coat. “I had a lot to do.”

Elias leaned against the wall, arms crossed, gaze heavy. “You always do.”

She didn’t respond.

As she turned toward the staircase, his voice cut through the silence again.

“You’re bleeding.”

Calista stilled.

She glanced at her arm, where a tear in her sleeve revealed a deep scrape. It wasn’t the worst she had suffered at work. Some contracts weren’t signed with ink—some required a different kind of negotiation.

“It’s nothing.” She started walking again.

Elias moved before she could reach the stairs, blocking her path in one smooth step.

“Sit.” It wasn’t a request.

Calista clenched her teeth. “I don’t need—”

But he was already pulling her coat off, his fingers grazing the bruise forming on her wrist. His touch was light, almost hesitant, but it burned.

His gaze flicked up to hers, sharp, unreadable. “Who did this?”

She pulled away, forcing a laugh that tasted bitter. “I told you, it’s nothing. This is just what my job requires.”

A muscle in his jaw tightened. “Your job requires you to bleed?”

She didn’t answer.

He exhaled slowly, like he was trying to steady something inside himself. Then, without a word, he turned and disappeared into the next room. A moment later, he returned with a small first aid kit.

Calista watched warily as he knelt before her, taking her arm with a grip that was firm but careful. She hated how natural it felt.

“I don’t need this,” she muttered as he dabbed antiseptic onto the wound.

Elias didn’t respond. He only worked in silence, wrapping the bandage with a precision that felt almost too gentle for someone like him.

She should have pulled away.

She should have told him to stop.

But for some reason, she stayed.

And when he finally looked up at her, something dark and quiet in his expression, she knew—Elias wasn’t going to let this go.

No matter how hard she ran, no matter how much distance she tried to put between them, Elias would always find her wounds.

And worse, he would always try to heal them.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***