02

The Game Begins

Lysander’s POV

The sun was high, yet the wind was cold— I opened my car’s window. I sped down the familiar road, anticipation throbbing my veins.

Sapphire’s gift sat in the passenger seat, a symbol of everything I wanted to tell her. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Then, out of nowhere—a flash of metal, the blare of horn, and the sickening crunch of impact before me happened and everything around me shattered.

Everything was blurry and the eerie sound from my surroundings made me realize the weight of what was happening, and how helpless I was.

I wanted to move especially when I saw Sapphire’s gift inches away from me. I tried to reach, but I was stuck.

I used all my strength to reach the small box, and a smirk tugged at my lips before I could stop it when I did.

I held it tight like it was my lifeline, another impact happened, a high-pitched scream echoed in my skull… and before I knew it, the world faded to black.

The confusion, the ache in my body, and the overwhelming need to call her consumed me. But I couldn’t.

The darkness kept tugging at me, threatening to swallow me again.

Yet, I tired, and I blinked. A dull ache throbbed in my skull. The scent of antiseptic pricked my nose.

My vision clouded, the sterile white from the hospital’s ceiling blurring around me and through the haze, then I saw her.

Sapphire. Standing meters away from me. Our gaze collided, her eyes wide and lost as though she was seeing a ghost… in that moment I wanted to call her, tell her how much she means to me, but I was so weak to do so…

The way she looked at me now… it wasn’t so different from the first night we met. That night flashes before my eye, her laughter, the way she tried to act like she wasn’t interest.

The moment I knew I wouldn’t let her walk away.

--Years ago--

My grip on the glass tightens as I approached her, a flicker of something unknown twisting within me.

When she brushed past me earlier made me weak, the warmth of her skin linger for just a few second, leaving behind trails of something I couldn’t quite explain.

Interest. Wariness. A strange sense of feeling I couldn’t quite place. Woman usually come to me, but her? She stood apart, watching, calculating.

And for the first time in a long time, she was something I wasn’t ready to walk away from.

“You’re going to be mine, mark my words.”

“That’s not going to happen.” She grinned, almost too confident that sparked my eagerness even more.

“Let’s see.” My lips curled, walking out… despite me wanting to own her that night.

Sapphire’s POV

His presence became a constant—always there, always watching.

No matter how many times I brushed him off... well, that’s part of the plan, and it seems like I’m succeeding in getting his attention and making him crazy.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?” I muttered one evening, wiping down the counter, pretending not to care that he was still here.

“No.” He admitted, a smirk on his tone. “Not when something’s worth the chase.”

The bar buzzed around us, orders being shouted, glasses clicking, music vibrating through the walls, but his voice cut through the noise, smooth and insistent.

The scent of whiskey and faint cologne clung to the air every time he was near. It became familiar, like an unspoken presence before he even spoke a word.

“You’re impossible,” I muttered, shaking my head. His chuckle was low, a sound that flickered a heart through my veins.

“And yet,” his eyes glimmered with mischief, his expression amused as the space between us shrank just enough to make my breath hitch.

“You keep looking at me like that,” he murmured, “and I might start thinking that you actually like having me around.”

His smirk was low, like he knew exactly what he was doing. And damn it maybe he did, and I need to up my game.

His fingers barely brushed mine as he slid a drink towards me, but the touch was enough to send a spark up my arms.

I knew he was hard to deal with… but not like this.

“Careful,” he whispered, a knowing amusement tingled his words.

“You know, touching me is dangerous.” I eyed him with the same intensity.

His eyes locked mine, but I didn’t bulge.

When he invaded my space, I caught the whiskey on his breath, mingling with something so him. “You’re staring,” he pointed out, a hushed whisper between us.

“Do I have something on my face, or do you just like what you see?”

A laugh bubbled from my lips before I could stop it, and look away, I shake my head.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling when I caught him looking at me with amusement, I bit my lips and rolled my eyes.

“You’re beautiful when you smile.” His words made my heart skipped a beat.

I raise my brows. “I know that.” I replied.

I shouldn’t feel this…I shouldn’t want this. This was a dangerous game to play, and I was supposed to be in control.

But every glance, every touch, made me question who was really pulling the strings.

The bar’s lively music tone down as closing time neared and he offered to take me home, he waited until I was done with work, and I agreed… especially that this is the sign that my plans are progressing.

“Thanks.”

“So, this is where you live.” I felt small when he said that… I felt bitter. I just nodded.

I was about to send him away when he received a call and bid his farewell and leaving in a hurry that sparked up my curiosity but not enough for me to ask, and just watch his car fade away with the night.

**

As much as I enjoyed the game, reality had a cruel way of creeping back in. His voice, his presence, everything about him used to amuse me.

But tonight, even the flicker of playfulness in his eyes couldn’t pull a reaction from me. The date weighed the heavy in my chest, dragging me down to a place I don’t want to go.

“Rough night?” He asked. I couldn’t answer.

I look away, unable to say anything, unlike the other nights that he was here, I couldn’t flirt back with him.

I didn’t have the energy especially when just looking at him brings pain I didn’t want to acknowledge.

Good thing the bar was busy, and I was able to get away with him.

He’s just too much to handle that it’s making me rethink if this is right… if I should go along with my plans. But I should.

I tried my best to avoid him and good thing he kept his distance, but he stayed until we were closing.

The night deep as I clean up. My fingers twitched slightly as I stacked empty glasses, my mind clouded with things I had no business feeling.

Then, a hand – warm, firm – closed over mine, stilling my movement. I looked up, and for the first time, I saw something unguarded in his expression. “Let me help.” He spoke. I should push him away. I should say no, but his for reasons I couldn’t explain, I let him.

We stayed quiet until his phone rang that made him leave.

A moment passed and he hasn’t come back and I assumed that he already left like the other night when he received a call… I can’t believe I expected him to stay, when I tried hard to keep him away.

I step outside for air, only to find him there, leaning against the wall. The crisp night air mixed with the scent of rain, but his was stronger.

“You okay?” he asked, and I didn’t answer. But for once, I didn’t push him away either.

I tried to keep my walls up, but he chipped at them every quiet moment, every unexpected kindness. I wasn’t supposed to care. This was supposed to be about my plans, my revenge.

This was a game. A trap I set, and he was supposed to fall into it. Not me. But every time he looked at me, like I was more than just a face in the crowd, I felt something change.

A thread of doubt. A crack to my principles—if left unchecked, could shatter everything.