The morning light was harsh, exposing everything that the night had tried to hide.

Kai stood in front of his bathroom mirror, splashing cold water on his face. He looked like a wreck. Dark circles hung under his eyes like bruises, a testament to a night spent tossing and turning, haunted by fever dreams of black silk and blue eyes.

He grabbed a towel and dried his face. As he lowered his hands, he caught a glimpse of his wrists in the mirror.

He froze.

There, encircling his left wrist, was a faint, reddish-purple band. It wasn't a cut, but a friction burn—a souvenir from where Anastasia had tied the black silk scarf too tight. It looked innocent enough at a glance, like he had worn a watch that was too small, but up close... up close, it looked exactly like what it was: a restraint mark.

"Shit," Kai hissed.

He quickly pulled down the sleeves of his uniform shirt, buttoning the cuffs all the way to his wrists. It felt suffocating, but he had no choice. If his mom saw this, she would ask questions. If Rohan saw this, he would make a weird joke.

But if she saw this...

He shuddered, grabbing his bag. He had to be careful. He had to be invisible today.

School was a blur of noise and fatigue. Kai drifted through Physics and English like a ghost, nodding when spoken to, but his mind was elsewhere. He kept tugging at his left sleeve, a nervous tic that was starting to become obvious.

By lunch break, he couldn't handle the noise of the cafeteria. He needed silence. He needed to hide.

He ducked into the library.

The library was Irusha's kingdom. It was quiet, smelling of dust and old glue. Kai found a secluded table in the back corner, behind the History shelves, and collapsed into a chair. He rested his head on his arms, letting out a long sigh.

"Is... is this seat taken?"

Kai jumped, his heart skipping a beat. He sat up quickly, instinctively pulling his sleeves down over his knuckles.

Irusha was standing there, holding a stack of reference books that looked too heavy for her. She looked terrified to be disturbing him, but her eyes held a flicker of concern.

"Oh. Hey, Irusha," Kai said, trying to relax his shoulders. "No. It's empty. Sit."

She sat down opposite him, placing the books down with a soft thud. She didn't open them immediately. She just looked at him, adjusting her thick glasses.

"You look..." she started, then hesitated, biting her lip. "You look tired, Kai."

Kai let out a dry laugh. "That obvious, huh?"

"Is it... the Biology studying?" she asked softly. "With Ms. Anastasia?"

The name made Kai flinch. "Yeah. Something like that. It's intense."

Irusha nodded slowly. "She is... very strict. But you are lucky. Most teachers wouldn't care that much."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small, foil-wrapped rectangle.

"I... I brought an extra chocolate bar," she mumbled, sliding it across the table toward him. "For energy. Since you look like you haven't slept."

Kai stared at the chocolate. It was a small, wholesome gesture—so completely different from the twisted "rewards" Anastasia offered.

"Thanks, Irusha," Kai said genuinely. He reached out to take the chocolate.

In his fatigue, he was careless.

As he extended his left arm, the cuff of his oversized shirt snagged on the edge of the table. The fabric pulled back, riding up his forearm just a few inches.

It was enough.

The angry red ring around his wrist was exposed under the harsh fluorescent lights of the library.

Kai didn't notice immediately. He was peeling the wrapper. But Irusha noticed.

Her eyes widened. She stared at his wrist, her brow furrowing.

"Kai?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" He took a bite of the chocolate.

"Your wrist..."

Kai froze mid-chew. He looked down.

Fuck.

He yanked his hand back as if he had been burned, shoving it under the table. His heart started to race. "It's nothing."

But Irusha wasn't looking away. The shy, stuttering girl was gone, replaced by someone intensely observant.

"That looked like... a bruise," she said, her voice quiet but steady. "A ring. All the way around."

She looked up at his face, her eyes searching his.

"Did you... get hurt at sports practice?"

Kai swallowed the chocolate, it felt like a stone in his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Volleyball. The ball hit my wrist weird. It jammed."

It was a terrible lie. Volleyballs didn't leave thin, rope-like burns around the entire wrist.

Irusha didn't look convinced. She looked worried.

"Kai," she whispered, leaning in slightly across the table. "It looked like... like a rope burn. Or..." She hesitated, her face flushing pink, but she pushed through the embarrassment. "Like you were tied up."

The air in the library seemed to vanish.

Kai stared at her. How did she know? How did the most innocent girl in school guess the darkest secret in his life in two seconds?

"Don't be silly," Kai snapped, his voice sharper than he intended. The defensive tone was a mistake. "I wasn't tied up. Who would tie me up? It's just a rash. From my watch strap. I'm allergic to the metal."

He stood up abruptly, grabbing his bag.

"I have to go," he said, avoiding her eyes. "Thanks for the chocolate."

"Kai, wait!" Irusha called out, standing up too.

He didn't wait. He walked fast, heading for the exit.

As he pushed through the library doors, his heart was pounding in his ears. That was close. Too close.

And if she started asking questions... if she mentioned the rope burn to anyone... Anastasia would find out.

And Anastasia had warned him about what happens when she gets angry.