Hookup ✓ [MikhAiah] [Book #3]

36

—🦊🐺—

The silence is heavy, the air between Miki and Chase thick with unspoken words. Miki finally breaks it. "I can't be with you on this one, because... I like Aira." The words hang in the air, sharp and undeniable, and Miki watches as Chase's face shifts, the friendly warmth she knows replaced by something colder, harder.

Miki's voice is steady but cold as she replies. "I know Aria was your first love, but we both know she's no longer the person we knew from the past."

Chase's gaze remains steady, her own tone firm. "True. But we'll never know until she remembers everything."

Chase's stare pierces Miki, her usual softness gone, replaced with a look so stern that a shiver runs down Miki's spine. This serious, unyielding version of Chase is foreign to her, unsettling in its intensity. After a tense moment, Chase looks away, her expression unreadable. "Let's go back to the studio. I'm sure Gale and Johanne are waiting on us." She turns and walks past Miki without a backward glance, her footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.

Miki watches her go, clenching her jaw as Chase's silhouette grows smaller. She's never seen Chase like this, so resolved, so cold. The Chase she knew was always lighthearted, easygoing, the one to bring laughter and ease. But this version, with her guarded shoulders and hardened voice—it's unsettling. She looks down the hallway, where Chase is nearly out of sight, a shadow of her younger self faintly overlapping with the Chase walking away.

Miki lets out a soft chuckle, a sigh following close behind. "I can be really quite competitive," she mutters under her breath as she begins to walk, determination sparking in her eyes. 

She's not willing to lose Aira to Chase, no matter the cost.

 —🐶—

Meanwhile, Aira sits in the boardroom, across from her father. She pulls a stack of papers from her bag, spreading them out on the table between them. "I need to know what's behind these... the hospital bills, the legal papers." Her voice is calm but firm, breaking the strained silence between them.

Her father's gaze falls on the documents, his hand reaching out, almost hesitant. He takes a deep breath, looking at the papers with a mix of sadness and resignation. "I don't know where to start, honestly."

Aira's patience thins, but she keeps her voice steady. "Explain it to me, one by one."

For a moment, he just stares down at the documents, his silence weighing heavily. Then, gathering the papers, he stands. "Can we go home and talk about this?" His eyes plead for understanding.

"Why?" Aira's voice sharpens with impatience, her fingers tapping the table.

Her father meets her gaze, his expression weary and pained, his eyes reflecting years of secrets and hidden sorrow. "There's more you need to see."

Aira's heart races, but she nods, her curiosity and longing for answers momentarily overcoming her distrust. "Okay, let's go."

They leave the boardroom, stepping into a hallway that now feels strangely quiet, their footsteps the only sound echoing around them. They walk to the elevator in silence, the weight of what's to come thickening the air between them. The elevator doors close, and the quiet between them grows louder, almost unbearable.