Regret was a quiet thing.
It didn't scream or accuse ,it settled in the chest, heavy and unrelenting, and refused to move.
Kairo felt it the moment the tunnel sealed.
Not fear.
Regret.
He stood in the temporary command room hours later, dust still clinging to his skin, jaw locked so tightly it ached. Medics hovered. Security teams barked orders. Screens replayed footage of the collapse again and again.
No sign of Naya.
"She made a calculated choice," Leon's replacement said carefully. "She abandoned protocol."Kairo's head snapped up. "She saved my life."
"With respect," another voice cut in, "she disappeared. That makes her a liability."
Kairo stood slowly, every inch of him coiled and dangerous. "Say that again." Silence fell.
"We need to move forward," the head of security tried again. "You need another bodyguard. Immediately."
"No."
"It's non-negotiable."
Kairo's voice dropped, lethal in its calm. "Everything is negotiable. This isn't."
"She left you," someone said bluntly.
Kairo's eyes burned. "She didn't leave me. She made a choice she thought I couldn't survive."
"And you won't replace her?" the man pressed.
Kairo stepped closer, towering. "I don't replace people."
They exchanged looks frustrated, uneasy.
"You have to attend the Global Boxing Honors in forty-eight hours," the advisor said, changing tactics. "Best Boxer of the Year. Media. Cameras. Exposure."
"I don't care."
"You should," she replied. "Skipping makes you vulnerable."
Kairo let out a bitter laugh. "So does trusting the wrong people."
The room went quiet again.
"I'll go," he said finally. "But Naya stays on record as my head of security."
"She's gone," someone muttered.
Kairo's stare was unwavering. "She'll come back." He didn't know how.
He just knew.
Naya regretted it before she reached the surface. The moment the hatch sealed behind her, the emptiness hit so hard it stole her breath. She stumbled through rain-soaked streets, every step replaying his face, his voice, the way he'd trusted her.
I didn't choose for you.
She'd lied.
She always did when she was afraid.
She tapped into old contacts, burned favors, hid in places no one would look twice. But no matter how far she ran, the same thought followed her relentlessly:
Kairo won't forgive this.
And worse
He shouldn't.
When she finally accessed a secure feed, the headline punched the air from her lungs.
KAIRO BLACKWELL TO RECEIVE GLOBAL HONORS :FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE ATTACK
Her hands shook. Public meant exposed.
Exposed meant danger. And danger meant she'd left him unguarded.
"I crossed the line," she whispered. "And then I ran."That was on her.
...........
The awards night was a fortress of glass and light.
Cameras. Fans. Applause.
Kairo walked the red carpet alone.
He smiled because that's what champions did.He was honored to have won the awards.He shook hands, accepted praise, endured questions about his "bravery" and "resilience."
Inside, he was hollow.
Every instinct screamed that something was wrong.
He felt it as he stepped away from the stage too quiet, too clean. The hallway beyond the ballroom was empty.
That was the second mistake.
The first had been believing stubbornness was strength.The third came fast.
A hand clamped over his mouth. A needle burned into his neck.
The world tilted violently.
As he fell, his last clear thought wasn't fear.
It was her name.
.........…..
Miles away, Naya's phone buzzed once.
An untraceable number.
One message.
You should've taken the right turn.
Her blood went cold.
"No," she breathed.The ghosts didn't take him.She handed him to them.
And this time.
Running wouldn't save anyone.