Guard of heart

The twist

The fire alarm blared just as I yanked it, its sharp, piercing sound cutting through the mansion like my personal victory anthem. I stood there, brimming with confidence, feeling like the savior of the day. *This is it,* I thought, *I just saved Mr. Wilkins’ office from certain doom.*

Before I could even bask in my own glory, a loud crash shattered my moment. Roslie had dropped a tray, and flowers scattered across the marble floor.

Roslie gasped, her face pale as she gripped the doorframe, her wide eyes darting around the room in shock. “What... what’s going on?!”

I straightened up, ridiculously proud of myself. “I caught him!” I announced, puffing out my chest like an action hero fresh from a daring rescue. “The intruder! He was trying to sabotage Mr. Wilkins' office. Thought he could get away with it, but I stopped him.”

Rosalie’s panic turned into confusion as the fire alarm kept blaring, filling the room with its relentless wail. “What?!”

With all the confidence in the world, I strode up to the masked figure, standing over him like a victorious gladiator. *This* was my moment. I grabbed the mask, yanked it off, and—

My breath hitched. His eyes—dark, intense—met mine, and the world froze for a split second. Neither of us moved. There was... something, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It hung in the air between us, heavy and unspoken.

Then, Rosalie broke the spell.

“Aby?!” she shrieked, rushing forward like a protective mother hen.

*Wait—what?* My brain struggled to keep up. *Aby?* Who’s Aby?

Roslie’s hands flew to her mouth, panic lacing her voice. “Aby, are you okay?”

Aby—the supposed “intruder”—groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his side like I was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. He glanced at me, clearly annoyed. “Yeah, Mom. I’m fine.”

Rosalie shot me an incredulous look. “Elara! This is my son!”

I blinked. *Her son?* My stomach dropped. *This* was her son? The guy I’d just tackled and, well, almost arrested in my head?

Before I could even think of how to explain myself, Roslie blurted out, “I’m so sorry, Elara! I completely forgot to tell you. Aby just phoned me this morning when he landed.” She was wringing her hands, flustered and apologetic. “I should’ve told you.”

My mouth opened and closed as I tried to find the right words. “No, no, it’s fine,” I stammered, the heat rising in my cheeks. “I just... I didn’t expect the office to be open, and when I saw him, I thought someone was, you know, here to mess with the mansion...” I trailed off awkwardly, feeling my confidence slip through my fingers.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and armed guards flooded the room. They looked ready for battle, weapons raised, scanning the scene. “What’s the situation?” one of them demanded, his eyes flicking between the scattered flowers, Roslie, Aby, and me.

I cleared my throat, mortified. “Uh, yeah... well, I thought—” I gestured weakly at Aby. “I thought he was an intruder. He was wearing a mask and... I panicked, okay? I didn’t know who he was. So I pulled the alarm...”

The head guard lowered his weapon, his expression stern. “Miss, please be more careful next time. You shouldn’t pull the alarm unless it’s a real emergency.”

I shrank under his gaze, the full weight of my mistake crashing down on me. “Yeah... sorry about that,” I muttered, glancing at the guards fanning out across the room, still holding their very serious weapons. This was *not* how I envisioned my heroic moment.

Aby, ever the smug one, took the opportunity to smirk. “Thanks for the warm welcome,” he said, dripping with sarcasm.

I shot him a glare, but the embarrassment was too thick to ignore. “Well, maybe don’t sneak around in masks if you don’t want to get tackled,” I retorted, trying to regain a shred of dignity.

The head guard shook his head, clearly unimpressed. “Just think twice before setting off alarms. This place is well protected—there’s no need to panic.”

I nodded, feeling smaller by the second. “Got it,” I mumbled, wishing the ground would just swallow me whole. My once-glorious confidence had completely evaporated, leaving only the sting of humiliation.

Roslie gave me a sympathetic smile. “I really am sorry, Elara. I should’ve told you Aby’s back. This is all my fault.”

I forced a sheepish grin, though the embarrassment clung to me like a second skin. “Yeah, no harm done... except maybe to my pride.”

Aby stood tall, his arms crossed, still wearing that infuriatingly smug expression. Our eyes met again, and for a brief moment, the tension between us thickened. There was no denying the ego clash simmering under the surface.

Rosalie glanced at the scattered flowers and the broken tray, her expression shifting from concern to determination. “I’ll be right back,” she said, hurrying out of the room. “I need to grab some equipment to clean this up.”

As soon as she left, the tension crackled between me and Aby. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a smug look on his face. “So, you really thought I was an intruder?” he said, clearly amused.

I narrowed my eyes. “Well, you were lurking around in a mask. What else was I supposed to think? That you were the electrician of the house?”

Aby straightened up, his smirk only growing. “Funny you mention that. I was just fixing the TV that Mr. Wilkins asked me to look at. You know, I can’t wear normal clothes while using a drill. I’d get injured.”

“Oh, right. Can’t have the ‘mighty electrician’ getting hurt while playing dress-up. Maybe next time, don’t sneak around like a thief,” I shot back, folding my arms.

He rolled his eyes. “You act like I’m the one who pulled the fire alarm. Newsflash: you did that all on your own.”

“Excuse me for thinking there was an actual intruder in the mansion!” I snapped, my frustration bubbling over. “You could’ve at least introduced yourself instead of scaring the hell out of me.”

“I didn’t realize I needed to announce my presence. What’s next? A welcome party for masked intruders?” he retorted, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

I glared at him, refusing to back down. “If I had known you were just fixing a TV, maybe I wouldn’t have tackled you.”

Aby leaned closer, a challenging glint in his eyes. “And if you weren’t so quick to jump to conclusions, maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Mess? You mean my heroic rescue turned into a disaster thanks to you?”

“Heroic? More like reckless,” he shot back, crossing his arms even tighter. “Next time, try not to panic.”

“I’ll try, but it’s hard when I’ve got an ‘electrician’ like you lurking around.”

Before he could respond, Rosalie returned, broom and dustpan in hand, clearly sensing the charged atmosphere. “What did I miss?”

“Just your son proving he’s as charming as ever,” I replied, my voice laced with sarcasm.

Aby smirked, leaning back against the wall. “Charming? I thought we were going for ‘heroic.’”

Rosalie shook her head, glancing between us. “You two are impossible.”

“Impossible to deal with,” I muttered, crossing my arms and refusing to look at Aby.