The lounge pulsed low and warm, tucked into a side street off the main square. Soft amber lights. Jazz blended with modern beats. The kind of place where ties loosened and titles stayed at the door.
For once, Nyra didn't hate it.
She leaned back in the booth, drink sweating in her hand, listening as laughter bounced around the table. Interns. Analysts. Designers. People who, for one night, weren't competing just breathing.
She smiled.
It surprised even her.
"You're different outside the office," someone said. A girl from UX, tipsy and bold. "I thought you were… intimidating."
Nyra laughed, a real one. "That's fair."
Her locs were retouched, neat but free. Sneakers traded for boots. Hoodie replaced with a cropped jacket that hugged her like it knew her body personally. She didn't try. She never had to.
Across the room, Adrian Vale noticed everything.
He stood near the bar, glass untouched in his hand, pretending to listen to a board member while his eyes kept drifting back to her. Nyra laughing. Nyra relaxed. Nyra leaning forward as she spoke, eyes bright, shoulders loose.
This version of her was… dangerous.
Who are you when you're not fighting? he wondered.
He hated that he wanted to know.
Nyra felt lighter than she had in days. No deadlines. No pressure. No Adrian hovering over her shoulder correcting her tone or posture.
She caught Elias's absence noticed it, dismissed it. Tonight wasn't about comfort. It was about escape.
A guy slid into the seat beside her. Tall. Clean-cut. Not from ValeTech maybe a consultant from another firm. Confident but not loud.
"Mind if I join?" he asked.
Nyra tilted her head, assessing him the way the streets taught her. Then she shrugged. "You already did."
He laughed. She liked that.
They talked about music, cities, dumb things. He complimented her locs. She teased him about his accent. Nothing heavy. Nothing dangerous.
From the bar, Adrian's grip tightened on his glass.
He watched the guy lean in. Watched Nyra smile slow, playful, unguarded. Watched her touch the rim of her glass, eyes half-lidded, fully present in the moment.
Something snapped.
Not loudly.
Internally.
That shouldn't bother me, Adrian told himself.
It did.
More than it should.
The guy said something low. Nyra laughed again, this time closer, her knee brushing his. The contact was casual. Meaningless.
And yet Adrian's jaw clenched hard enough to ache.
His body moved before his mind caught up.
He crossed the room.
Nyra felt it before she saw it the shift in the air, the sudden weight behind her smile. She looked up just as Adrian stopped beside the table.
"Nyra," he said evenly. "We're leaving."
The guy blinked. "Uh...!!!??"
"She's busy," Adrian added, voice calm, eyes sharp. Not looking at him. Not needing to.
Nyra stared at Adrian, surprised, amused, and slightly irritated. "I don't remember agreeing to that."
A pause.
The lounge noise faded just a notch.
Adrian finally looked at her. Really looked at her. His expression was controlled but something dark flickered underneath.
"I do," he said quietly.
Nyra smiled.
Oh.
This, she thought, is going to be interesting.