𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝

𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠

It was a miracle. Or maybe a curse.

One week. Seven endless days since Nani had last seen Sky. Since that slammed door.

At first, he told himself it would be fine. Better, even. That he'd finally breathe without Sky's shadow hovering over him. And for a while, it seemed true. People looked at him more now -smiling, talking, even flirting-without the suffocating glare of Sky warning them off. Attention poured in, sweet and shallow.

But it wasn't enough.

Because no matter how many eyes lingered on him, none of them were his. No one's stare burned like Sky's, no touch lingered like Sky's, no words carried the weight of his obsession.

And God-how he missed it.

Nani lay on his bed that night, staring at the ceiling, his chest tight with longing. He thought of Sky's hands, the way they would roam so confidently over him, mapping every inch as though he belonged to him-and maybe he did. Goosebumps rose on his skin at the memory, his body aching with the emptiness of absence.

He felt stupid. Pathetic. For ever saying those words.

Sky was right. He couldn't live like this. This silence, this distance-this was more suffocating than Sky's possessiveness ever was. At least when Sky was around, he breathed in flowers every morning, snacks delivered in the middle of the night just because he mentioned craving. Sky never hesitated, never said no, never left him wanted.

Until now.

And Nani hated himself for realizing too late.

He clenched his fists against his chest, whispering into the emptiness, "God, what have I done?"

But tonight-tonight, fate threw him a lifeline.

An invitation had arrived from the Theerapanyakuns: Pete and Vegas's anniversary. The kind of event Sky couldn't avoid.

Nani sat up, fire flickering in his eyes for the first time in days.

"Tonight," he whispered, "I'll fix this. I'll make him see."

Because Sky was obsessed, just like him. That obsession burned both ways-it had to. Sky would never let him go, not really.

Nani pressed a trembling hand to his lips, imagining Sky's kisses, the heat of his embrace.

He would get him back. No matter what.

The chandeliers rained golden light down the grand hall, music soft and sweet in the background, laughter and clinking glasses filling the air.

And then there was him.

Nani.

Dressed in a shimmering white crop blazer that caught every flicker of light and sculpted formal pants hugging his waist like they were sewn onto him, he was ethereal, untouchable.

Fifteen, yet already unreal-an artwork set loose among mortals. Heads turned, whispers trailed behind him, but Nani's sharp eyes brushed them aside like dust. He wasn't here for them.

He was here for him.

Except Sky wasn't here.

Nani's parents mingled gracefully with the other guests, Est by his side whispering small remarks, but Nani's restless gaze swept the hall again and again. His heart thudded faster, breath hitching with every passing second of absence.

Where the hell was he?

The ache twisted into frustration, frustration into rage, and just as Nani's patience frayed at the edges-

There he was.

Sky.

Walking into the hall in a charcoal black suit that wrapped him in ows, commanding attention without asking for it.

And beside him-

Prim.

Nani's fingers curled instantly at his sides. The girl was practically glued to him, her cheeks tinged pink, a delicate necklace sparkling against her collarbone. A gift-Nani's sharp instincts screamed it. And worse, the way she stood there, as if she belonged, as if she had the right to exist beside Sky in that space reserved only for him.

Nani's skin burned, jealousy clawing through him like fire under flesh. Prim-Sky's secretary, Vegas's chosen shadow for him, always fluttering around like some obedient pet. A girl who never knew her place.

But the real dagger-the unbearable cruelty-was that Sky didn't even glance at him.

Not once.

Nani's chest heaved as the cake-cutting ceremony began, Pete and Vegas smiling, guests clapping, champagne glasses lifted.

And still, Sky stood there, face unreadable, hand at his side, Prim glowing beside him as though she had earned her place.

Nani's rage cracked through his calm like lightning. His jaw clenched, smile sharpening into something dangerous, poisonous. Est, sensing it, leaned closer and whispered, voice low, "Nani-whatever you're thinking, don't."

Nani's eyes never left Sky. His lips curved into a smile far too sweet, his voice sugar laced with venom as he murmured back, "When people forget their places, Phi... we remind them. Otherwise, things might go out of hand."

And Nani, shimmering like a fallen star, was ready to set fire to the world if it meant pulling Sky's eyes back where they belonged-on him.

The marble-tiled washroom was quiet, the noise of the party muffled by the thick walls.

Prim stood in front of the mirror, cheeks flushed, her phone raised delicately as she tried to capture the shimmer of the necklace around her throat.

Click.

Click.

She tilted her head, lips twitching into a timid smile. The reflection of the diamonds glittered like it belonged to her-like she belonged.

And then-

Another reflection appeared behind her.

Nani.

The smile drained from Prim's face instantly, her phone slipping slightly in her trembling hand. She didn't even have time to turn. In a flash, fingers hooked the clasp of the necklace from behind and yanked.

The chain dug mercilessly into her skin. Prim gagged, hands clawing at Nani's grip, but he was relentless. His face-beautiful, merciless, lit by a furious glow-hovered in the mirror as her breath hitched.

Her mouth opened to scream.

Crack!

The sharp sting of his slap cut her short, head snapping sideways. Tears pooled instantly as her knees buckled, but Nani's strength only tightened."This is what you get," Nani hissed, voice low and venomous, "when you touch things that aren't yours."

He pulled harder, the necklace biting deeper, her skin reddening where it pressed.

"You got me, huh? Little bitch-" his words spit like poison, "-how dare you stand beside him. That's my fucking place."

He let the necklace drop suddenly, and before she could stumble away, his hand fisted in her hair.

SLAM!

Her head smacked against the mirror, glass rattling from the impact. She whimpered, tried to twist away, but Nani was lost in the storm.

SLAM!

Cracks webbed across the mirror. Blood trickled from her forehead, running hot and slick down her temple.

SLAM!

Her sobs filled the air, her hands weakly pushing at his arm, but he didn't stop. He didn't care. His breaths came fast, his eyes wide and glinting with something dark. Не wanted blood. He wanted punishment. He wanted every mark on her skin to scream what she dared to steal.

And then-

"Stop, Nani."

The voice cut through him like steel.

Deep, commanding. Familiar Sky.

Nani's grip froze mid-motion, his chest heaving as the fury tangled with something else-fear, longing, need. His hand still knotted in Prim's hair, her blood dripping against the cracked glass, Nani's eyes flicked to the reflection.

And there he was-Sky, standing in the doorway, shadows wrapping around his tall frame, gaze sharp and unreadable, but heavy with warning.

"Finally you noticed me?" Nani's voice was raw, triumphant-too loud for the tile-walled quiet.

"Let her go, Nani." Sky's command came flat, controlled.

Nani's grin curdled. "I want her to die. To see the life drain from her eyes."

William's head popped in at the doorway, half-grin already forming like he loved the drama; it made something cold crawl up Nani's spine.

Sky's gaze sharpened. "You want me to repeat?" he asked, and there was a dangerous edge under the calm now.

Nani tightened his grip. He yanked the necklace again as Prim's fingers scrabbled uselessly for him. Her sobs sounded small and broken in the bathroom's hard tiles.

"Stop, Nani." Sky's voice this time carried all the weight of the house: velvet and iron. Nani froze, blood pounding in his ears. He didn't want to let go, not yet-not until he'd carved his point into the world.

Sky moved without theatrics. "Let her go," he said again. Nani's fingers loosened just a fraction.

"Will take her to the hospital," Sky told William.

William stepped forward and, brusque but competent, helped Prim up. She clung to him, legs wobbly, forehead bleeding; he kept her upright, murmuring nonsense as he half-carried, half-supported her toward the door.

Nani heard her whimper. He heard the echo of the heels leaving the marble and the slam of the outer door as they stepped back into the party noise. A small, ugly laugh escaped William as he walked past-an animal sound that did not belong to the moment-and then they were gone.

Nani's rage turned sharper, a live thing under his skin. Sky stepped close. The air between them contracted until Nani could feel Sky's breath. He had wanted her to understand what it meant to cross him; to feel the rule of his territory.

"What do you think you were doing?" Sky asked, quiet and steady.

"Just showing her what happens if she tries to take my place," Nani spat. He tasted iron on his tongue. "She got what she deserved. She got-"

"-my place?" Sky finished for him, mocking. "Weren't you the one who wanted the breakup? Technically it wasn't your place anymore." The words were a probe and a trap.

Nani's hand flew up in a blind, violent move, fingers snagging Sky's collar. "Don't you dare say that. It's my fucking place and it will always be mine." His voice was a cracked thing-an order, a plea, an accusation rolled into one.

Sky didn't flinch. He let the moment hang, then chuckled-a soft sound that was not amused. "You are so wrong, Nani."

Nani struck. The slap landed hard across Sky's face. For a breath, Sky looked as if something inside him had been wrenched.

Then the next second Nani was sitting on the sink, the cool porcelain at his back, as Sky's hand closed around his throat-firm, not crushing, enough to silence, enough to assert absolute control.

Sky's face was inches from his. Up close, Nani could see the hard planes, the dark that had always lived behind those eyes. Sky's voice dropped to a whisper, honeyed but edged steel. "We need to work on that temper of yours."It wasn't a threat so much as a statement of fact. Sky tightened his hold a fraction, letting the point land: temper unchecked would hurt Nani, would hurt everything Sky wanted to keep. Then, as if bored with demonstration, Sky released him.

Nani slid down the sink, hands clawing at his throat where fingers had pressed. He tasted bile and blood and the echo of everything he'd been trying to prove. The mirror above the sink shuddered with tiny spiderweb cracks from where he'd slammed Prim into it; red flecks motted the glass.

For a moment he simply stared-at the broken reflection, at the blood, at Sky's back as he stepped to the doorway."You think this makes you big," Sky said softer, turning his head just enough that his voice reached Nani like a verdict. "This is nothing. Don't make it more than it is."

Nani's chest ached-anger, humiliation, a dizzy, fierce need all braided together. He had wanted to mark the world with his claim and instead had been marked by Sky's restraint, by the cold authority that put him in his place. In that instant a terrible clarity cut through him: he could hurt people. He could make scenes. But Sky... Sky controlled the consequence.

When the door shut and the party's distant laughter rolled back across the marble, Nani was left with the sprite of his fury and the ache of a child who'd been taught how small he was by the only me wanted to own him.

He had wanted to scare someone away from Sky. Instead he learned, cruel and immediate, how far Sky would go to keep everything in order-how he'd straighten the chaos with his hands if he needed to.

Nani pressed his palm against the sink, feeling the chill, and whispered to the cracked glass, to the blood, to the empty space where Prim had been, "You'll always be mine." It sounded like a promise and like a confession, but the sound returned tinny and small.

Outside, the party carried on. Inside the bathroom, the world narrowed to the smear of red on the mirror and the echo of Sky's footsteps leaving the hall-heavy, deliberate, gone.