𝑳𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 | 𝟏𝟖+

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Alastor's POV

All my jolly, flirty mood disappeared the moment I spotted that crackass standing in Ivelle’s office. That motherfucker was flirting with her. I leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, not making a sound, just observing for a moment. I could tell the instant Ivelle noticed me—her flirtatious tone shifted slightly. And that motherfucker had the audacity to ask her on a date.

My devilish grin vanished when she told me she’d actually go on that date. Like how dare she.

What?

She was doing this to royally piss me off, and damn, it was working. How dare she challenge me like that? Yeah, I know I’m flattering myself, but whatever.

Frustration boiling, I stormed out of the building and crossed the street into the café opposite it. Amidst of Chaos—nice name, though. I muttered under my breath as I eyed the sign, “I hope you have my favorite ice cream, you bish.” Yeah, I was talking to a signboard like a madman. Great.

I sat down and flicked through the menu. No taste, none of these people. They don’t understand the ecstasy that is mint-flavored ice cream. Honestly, I’m offended.

Eventually, I got up and wandered around the café, searching for the ice cream storage box. Packed ice creams, popsicles—all the basic stuff.

Just as I was about to head to the counter, a waiter passed by and frowned, clearly thinking I was stealing or something. "Oh no no no, I'm not stealing," I stammered. "I'm going to pay for it. I didn’t see anyone here, so I thought I’d grab it myself and pay at the counter."

He gave me a nod and walked away, leaving me standing there with the popsicle in hand. Excited to eat something cold, I slid the cover off, but in my clumsy state, I managed to hit my hand against the iced surface of the box.

“Avina, guess who sneaked out to play with you?” I whined, my nine-year-old voice filled with excitement.

“Come toward the kitchen!” Avina shouted back, her voice just as eager.

I made my way in and found her, standing on her tiptoes, struggling to pull something from the fridge.

"Here, let me help you," I giggled as I stepped in, trying to be the hero.

I reached for the ice cream box of kulfi, but the fridge was too high for me.

Crack.

My knuckles hit the ice making a loud noise, but I didn’t care. “No problem, it’s fine as long as you share the ice cream with me,” I said, grinning at Avina.

"Sur—"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Her words cut off in an instant. Avina collapsed into my arms.

Three bullets.
Spot dead.

“No, Avina!!” I screamed, her lifeless body heavy in my arms.

“Somebody help!” I cried, voice cracking, desperate.

No one came.
No one bothered to respond.

★★★

“Hello?” Natasha’s confused voice snapped me out of it. “You’ve been standing here for the past 10 minutes, and you’re sweating like crazy. Are you okay?”

I blinked, shaking off the memories as best as I could. “Yeah, yeah,” I said, trying to plaster on a half-hearted smile. I took a deep breath, and pulled out the kulfi ice cream.

Natasha didn’t look convinced. She kept her eyes on me, brows furrowed, and I knew she wasn’t buying my lie. But I wasn’t about to explain myself. Not now. Not ever.

I took a deep breath, shrugged it off, and walked toward the counter, pretending like nothing was wrong. "Just needed some air," I muttered under my breath, waving the popsicle in front of her like that was the answer to everything.

"You sure?" she asked, following me, her voice laced with concern.

"Positive," I replied, trying to act casual, like I hadn’t just been dragged into a memory I swore I buried years ago.

I paid for the damn popsicle, threw some change on the counter, and walked out. Natasha was still watching me, but she didn’t push it. Good.

I leaned against the building, letting the cool popsicle soothe my mind—or at least trying to. But all I could think about was Avina, the way her dead body lied in my arms.

I glanced at Natasha, who was still lingering by the café door. “What’s up with you? Why are you hovering?”

She blinked, caught off guard. "I was just checking in on you. But if you’re good, I’ll head back. I have a few things to finish up for the day."

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for your concern and all that,” I replied, forcing a grin. “Go on, I’ll catch you later.”

She gave me one last glance, nodded, and walked off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I finished the popsicle in a few bites, tossed the stick into the trash, and made my way back to the office. I could already feel the heat bubbling inside me.

After finishing the popsicle, I found myself wandering home, my mind still stuck on the chaos of the day. Ivelle’s smirk, her challenge, and that smug bastard Andrew—everything just kept swirling in my head, gnawing at me. My footsteps felt heavy, and the usual comfort of walking through the streets at night didn’t calm me like it normally would.

Once I made it back to my apartment, I kicked off my shoes and headed straight to my room. I couldn’t deal with anything else right now. I slumped into the chair by my desk, opening my laptop without thinking. Muscle memory guided my fingers as I scrolled through the files on my desktop. Old photos. Photos I hadn’t looked at in years.

There she was. Avina.

A smile tugged at my lips as I clicked through the images—her bright eyes, that mischievous grin she always had when she knew she was getting away with something. We were kids then, not a care in the world. Back when life wasn’t so damn complicated. Back before everything fell apart.

In the photos, we were playing by the beach, sand all over us. There was another one of us at some family party, laughing like idiots as we stole cupcakes from the dessert table. I could almost hear her giggle, that infectious laugh that used to fill every room we were in.

I lingered on one photo—a close-up of Avina grinning at the camera, holding a popsicle in her hand. Her favorite, just like mine. Kulfi.

My chest tightened, the weight of the memories pressing down hard.

Without thinking, I slammed the laptop shut, trying to shut out the ache that always followed whenever I thought too much about her. I couldn't do this right now. Not tonight.

I stood up, rubbing the back of my neck and stretching my arms before tossing myself onto the bed. Maybe sleep would help. Maybe it would give me a break from everything—the jealousy, the anger, the ghosts from the past.

As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my phone screen lit up beside me.

The caller ID flashed in bold letters.

Mother.

I froze for a second, my heartbeat quickening. Of course, it had to be her. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to answer. Part of me wanted to throw the phone across the room, ignore the call like I’d done so many times before. But I knew better. Ignoring her only made things worse.

With a sigh, I picked up the phone and swiped the screen.

“Hello?” I said, my voice hoarse from the exhaustion.

“Alastor,” her sharp voice greeted me on the other end.

And just like that, the weight in my chest returned, heavier than ever.