Dalaric "Ricky" Mikael was known for two things; being the country's best assassin and being a silent brute. His demons enveloped him in darkness and he saw no end of any tunnel. Until a girl, who's weird and wears nothing but a pair of black jeans and t-shirts that are too big for her, called him pretty.
"It's not." He shocks me again and my smile gets wider as happiness flushed through me. Seeing him understand why I'm upset is mentally refreshing. The people who hurt me don't understand. Even mama doesn't. I can tell from the new wounds every week. I move forward and hug his slim waist tightly while smushing my face into his very warm chest. His turtleneck is soft under my chin. His hands lay by his side and I use my own to bring them around my waist. Our height difference makes it only a bit harder for him to put his chin on my head. Dalaric remains tense but but holds me tighter when I try to pull away. "This is what friends to, I think. They hug, right?" I ask, tapping my chin in thought. He seems just as lost as me with his blank expression and slight confusion. He tries to pull me back but I shake my head and he glares at me. I boop his nose and grin at his cute glare. Aw.
She doesn't remember the sun.
Her world has always been four walls and a locked door. No windows. No choices. No voice. The only time she was allowed to leave was when her pain meant saving her sister-or when she'd been "good enough" to earn it.
They took her words early on. Beat them out of her until silence became survival.
Then one night, everything changed
A break-in. A gunshot. A breath of air colder than she'd ever felt. And suddenly, she was alone-left by a riverbank like forgotten trash.
That's where he found her.
Cruel. Cold. Powerful. A man with blood on his hands and no space for weakness. The kind of man other men fear: a mafia boss with no room for broken things.
But he took her in.
He doesn't know her story. Doesn't ask why she flinches when he raises his voice or why she can't speak. But for reasons he can't explain, he tries to fix what the world destroyed.
She's silent. He's ruthless.
And somehow, they both understand each other.
Because sometimes the most shattered souls speak the loudest without saying a word.