The rain pattered softly against the windowpane, filling Isabella’s small apartment with a quiet, rhythmic sound. She sat curled up on the couch, a book resting in her lap, though she hadn’t turned the page in minutes.

Her gaze was distant, lost in thoughts she tried to push away.

Tonight felt… heavy.

Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the lingering unease that had followed her since the gala. Or maybe it was something deeper.

Something older.

She let out a quiet breath, hugging her knees to her chest.

She had lived alone for years. She was used to the silence. The solitude.

But some nights, it felt unbearable.

Like tonight.

She reached for the locket around her neck, fingers tracing the delicate metal. Inside, a small photograph of her parents smiled back at her—a moment frozen in time, untouched by the tragedy that had stolen them from her.

A lump formed in her throat.

She missed them.

Even after all these years, the ache never truly faded. It just hid beneath the surface, waiting for quiet moments like this to remind her of everything she had lost.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

And then, she forced herself to move.

Because grief was like quicksand—the longer she stayed still, the deeper it pulled her under.

She picked up her book again, determined to distract herself.

Even if, deep down, she knew it wouldn’t work.

Meanwhile, across the city…

Jungkook leaned against the railing of his penthouse balcony, the city stretched out before him in a sea of lights. A cigarette burned between his fingers, though he hadn’t taken a drag in minutes.

His mind was elsewhere.

On her.

Taehyung’s voice cut through the silence. “You look like a man on a mission.”

Jungkook smirked, exhaling slowly. “Maybe I am.”

Taehyung leaned against the balcony beside him, the night air cool against their skin. “You ever wonder what your grandmother would think?”

Jungkook’s smirk faded slightly.

He didn’t talk about her much.

The woman who had raised him. The only family he had left. The only person who had ever loved him without conditions.

She was the one thing in this world that kept whatever was left of his humanity intact.

Jungkook took another slow drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the night.

“She’d tell me to stay away from her,” he finally said.

Taehyung hummed. “And yet, here we are.”

Jungkook turned to him, his expression unreadable. “She doesn’t understand.”

Taehyung raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t understand what?”

Jungkook’s lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.

“That some things aren’t a choice.”

Elsewhere…

Lily twirled the straw in her drink, glancing up as Taehyung entered the club, his presence commanding as always.

Their eyes met.

And for a brief second, everything else faded.

He smirked, making his way toward her.

“Back again?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

His gaze darkened slightly, something unreadable flickering behind it. “Too late for Her heart to stutter".

She was in trouble.

And she knew it.