The Bride they burned

"Some ghosts beg to be forgotten.

Others... wait in the dark, wanting to be seen again."

---

NYRA

The clock hit 3:03 a.m. when I stepped out of the penthouse.

The city below was half-asleep, drowned in mist. My heels were off. Hair tied up. Sweatpants and a silk robe—the kind of soft that made you forget how blood felt when it dried on your skin.

Celeste was passed out on my couch, a blade tucked into her boot even in sleep. Kai was gone—tracking the mystery caller from earlier.

But me?

I was chasing a phantom.

The message on my phone kept blinking:

> "Pier 13. Come alone. Don't bring fire. You've already survived the burn once." – K

I didn't hesitate.

Not because I trusted him. But because I needed to see.

I needed to know if Kray was real. If it was him that night—if the man who helped Ravian torment me… was also the one who let me escape.

---

PIER 13 – 3:44 AM

Fog clung to the dock like breath on cold glass.

I stepped off the stairs, the wooden planks groaning beneath my bare feet. I wore only the robe and Kai's oversized jacket. I didn't care.

And then—I saw him.

Kray.

Standing at the edge of the dock, cigarette in hand, smoke curling like a whisper.

He looked older. Rougher. The sharp jaw was the same. But his eyes? Those weren't eyes anymore. They were wounds.

He turned when he heard my step.

And he froze.

Not a blink. Not a word. Just—shock.

> "You really are alive," he whispered, voice hoarse.

> "You sent me chips," I said bitterly. "And my son."

He laughed under his breath, a small, broken sound.

> "Didn't think you'd actually show."

> "Didn't think you'd have the balls to ask."

We stood there. Silent. Oceans of memory between us.

Finally, I walked forward until we were inches apart.

> "You were there," I said quietly. "That night. You opened the cellar door. You let me run."

He didn't deny it.

> "You had blood on your hands," I hissed. "But you left the key."

> "Because I couldn't do it anymore," he said. "Watching you break. I—"

He looked down, shaking.

> "Ravian wanted to break you so you'd beg for love. I just wanted you to survive."

> "Bullshit."

> "It is," he snapped. "But it's the truth."

---

FLASHBACK – SIX YEARS AGO

KRAY'S POV

She was bleeding again.

Glass embedded in her feet, lips cracked from thirst. She still refused to scream. Ravian called it "noble." I called it hell.

And then one night, when he left for the gala…

I opened the door.

I didn't speak. Just… left the keys on the third step. With a water bottle. And a note:

> Run. Please.

She looked up once before vanishing into the dark.

I told Ravian she broke the door.

I lied.

And I kept lying, until the world believed she was dead.

---

BACK TO PRESENT

NYRA

I should've punched him. Screamed. Pushed him into the damn sea.

But instead, I asked the question that had haunted me for years.

> "Why didn't you come after me?"

> "Because I wasn't sure you'd want to be found."

> "You were his best friend."

> "I was his weapon."

His voice cracked.

> "But Meher—Nyra—you were the only thing I never wanted to destroy."

He looked down, breath shaking.

> "You looked at me once, like I was human. Even after all the things I let him do. You don't forget something like that."

I closed my eyes.

Because I did remember.

Once, when I was bleeding in the corner of that dark room, and Ravian left… Kray entered with a flashlight. He didn't speak. He just looked at me.

And in that moment, he looked guilty. Human.

Maybe… afraid.

---

KRAY

> "Your son is safe," I said.

She didn't flinch.

> "I know."

> "You don't want to know where he is?"

> "I want to know why you found him before I did."

> "Because he looks like you," I whispered. "And I never stopped looking."

The silence turned sharp. Tangible.

> "You know I can't forgive you."

> "I don't want your forgiveness."

> "Then what do you want, Kray?"

He stepped forward.

> "I want a chance to burn for you… like I should have before."

---

NYRA

God.

I hated how he said it.

Like pain was romance. Like guilt was a love language.

> "You're ten years too late."

> "So I'll bleed ten years to catch up."

His hand brushed mine, barely.

And I stepped back.

> "You don't get to touch me. Not yet."

He nodded. Silent.

> "But I'll see you again," I said.

> "You already did."

---

THE NEXT DAY – LEO VARMA'S OFFICE

Leo stared at the footage Celeste dropped on his desk.

Nyra. On the pier. With a man.

> "Kray Alvaro," Kai confirmed. "Confirmed ex-operative of Ravian. Former fixer."

> "What the hell is he doing with her?"

> "Maybe she trusts him."

> "She doesn't trust anyone," Leo growled.

> "That's what scares me," Kai said. "Because if she does… he'll be the one to break her again."

Leo leaned back, jaw tight.

> "Not if I get to him first."

---

AARAV – KRAY'S SAFEHOUSE

I drew her again. This time, not from memory.

This time… from the video Kray showed me.

She was older. Stronger. Her eyes sharper.

But I knew.

She was mine.

> "Mom…" I whispered, fingers trembling.

> "I remember."

---

TO BE CONTINUED…