Marco filled the doorway. He didn't need to say a word. The air in the hallway thickened. The kind of silence that made even the drunkest man sober fast. Derek blinked, suddenly uncertain.
"Who the hell are you?" Marco's voice was calm, quiet, and colder than the rain outside. "The man you should have prayed not to meet." Yeah? Derek laughed nervously.
You her new sugar daddy? You think she's The sentence ended when Marco's hand hit his chest. Not a punch, just pressure. Enough to pin him back against the hallway wall. The sound of Derek's breath leaving his lungs filled the corridor.
"You don't get to say her name," Marco said. Marco Lisa tried stepping forward. He didn't even glance back. "Stay inside." Please.
She whispered shaking. He's not worth it. Marco turned his head slightly enough for her to see the line of his jaw tighten. "He put his hands on you once. That's worth everything."
Derek's eyes went wide. What the Who told you that? "I did," Lisa said softly. Marco's gaze cut back to Derek. "You're going to walk away right now."
You're going to forget she exists. You're going to disappear because if you don't He leaned closer, his voice dropping to something that made even the walls seem to listen. "You'll pray I only ruin your life." Derek's skin went pale. He nodded too fast.
"Fine. Fine, man. Whatever." I didn't mean "Go." And just like that, Derek was gone.
Stumbling down the hall, muttering curses under his breath, too afraid to look back. Marco closed the door, locked it again, and turned toward her. His face was unreadable. Lisa's voice trembled. "You can't just threaten people like that."
He took a step forward. "I didn't threaten him." She blinked. You You literally just did. He shook his head once.
"No." If I had, you'd know. That shut her up. The anger that had been burning in her chest collapsed into something else. Confusion, fear, gratitude and something deeper she couldn't name.
"Why do you care so much?" She whispered. Marco's eyes locked on hers. "Because he touched what's mine." Her breath caught.
"Stop saying that." Why? "Because I'm not yours, she said, her voice cracking between defiance and desperation. You can't just decide that because you scared a few people. He moved before she could step back.