Midnight.
The rain had been falling for hours—cold, ceaseless, indifferent. It didn't sting anymore; it just…was. Like background noise to the quiet war inside me.
I stood barefoot on the rooftop, toes curled over the ledge, the wind slashing past me like a blade. The city below glimmered in red and white veins of traffic, blurred by rain and distance. It looked beautiful. Peaceful. Like the world would keep spinning perfectly fine without me in it. Like I was never a part of it.
I was halfway there—foot dangling above the abyss—when a voice sliced through the storm like a knife.
"That's not your way out."
Deep. Cold. Unshaken.
( I see,now I can't even die in peace)
I froze.
I turn around irritated.
From the shadows stepped a man who seemed untouched by the weather. A tall figure cloaked in darkness, holding a black umbrella like it was an extension of his will. His eyes—gunmetal gray—met mine with the casual cruelty of someone who's seen too much and learned not to flinch.
He didn't ask my name.
He didn't ask me to step down.
"If you jump, I'll be the one who has to clean the mess," he said, his voice flat. "I hate messes. Especially wasted ones."
The words should've pissed me off. Should've made me jump just to spite him.
Instead, I laughed—bitter and raw.
"Did I ask for you to clean up?" I snapped. "Let the crows eat me. I'll be dead. It's not like I'll be around to feel ashamed."
He exhaled—not annoyed, not sympathetic. Just…calculating. Like a man studying a shattered clock, wondering if it was worth fixing or if tossing it would be simpler.
"Not afraid of death. Not afraid of rot. But still—"
He tapped his shoe against a crushed cigarette.
"You're talking. People who truly want to die don't bother speaking."
He took a step closer.
The rain hissed at our feet. He never raised his voice, never pleaded. He dissected me with words. Cold, calm. And stayed.
"So. What did they do to you?"
The wind howled. The traffic whispered far below. And something in me cracked.
"Who?" I whispered.
His gaze sharpened, like a scalpel.
"Who hurt you, Eve? Who made you want to end it all on a rooftop in the rain?"
That stopped me.
He knew my name.
I dropped down from the ledge, hair soaked and clinging to my skin, brushing it back with one hand. My knees stung from earlier falls, my fingers were numb.
I squared my shoulders.
"First of all, mister—who are you? What are you doing here? And how the hell do you know my name?"
He didn't blink.
"I don't answer questions in threes."
Typical jerk!
He took another step forward, letting the umbrella tilt just enough to shield my shoulder. That small gesture was more disarming than any apology.
"My name is Alessandro Romano. I was here on business. Then I saw a girl standing on a ledge like she had nothing left."
He paused.
"As for your name… someone should at least know it before you vanish."
The storm between us quieted, but didn't vanish.
"So," he added. "You going to tell me why the hell you were up there, or are we going to stand here playing questions until one of us dies of pneumonia?"
I flopped down onto the nearest bench, crossing my arms. The rain didn't bother me anymore.
"Well, I like rain," I said. "So if you're afraid of dying of pneumonia, you should probably get lost."
He didn't. Of course he didn't.
Instead, he folded the umbrella with a snap and sat beside me, rain soaking his tailored coat like it was nothing. His presence didn't shrink. It expanded—solid and unmoving, like the eye of a storm.
"You've got more bite than most people who point guns at me," he murmured, almost like a compliment.
"But you're still here. Which means you didn't want to die. Not really."
I said nothing.
"Tell me your story, Eve. The real one. You can lie if you want. But I'll know."
This man truly doesn't know I can say a white lie without batting an eye.
That line—it cracked something loose in me.
I didn't plan to speak. But it poured out.
"My parents had an arranged marriage. Mom ran away after one week. My grandfather slapped her when he went to bring her back. I still don't know if that was right or wrong."
Alessandro said nothing. Just…listened.
"My dad found out she passed her exams with top grades. So he made her study with him. They worked as servants to survive. Eventually, Mom got a government job. Before Dad did. Sounds romantic, doesn't it?"
"Sounds like a nightmare dressed up as a love story," he said quietly.
I nodded, lips trembling, but my voice didn't waver.
"Later, Dad got a job too. Professor at a university. But their postings were far away. I was five when they left us alone—me and my brother. We cooked. Washed our clothes. Survived."
Alessandro leaned forward slightly, rain dripping from his sleeves.
"What about you, Eve? What do you want?"
That question... I didn't know how to answer. So I deflected.
"Oh, how about you? Are you married? Kids? You said you were on a business trip. Businessman?"
He actually smiled, a bitter curl of the mouth.
"Married? No.
Kids? None that I'd admit to."
(He chuckled, dark.)
"Businessman? I suppose. But not the kind with boardrooms and coffee breaks. I run a business where loyalty is currency, and mistakes cost lives."
His eyes pinned me like a target.
"So tell me, Eve… what's a girl like you really running from?"
And I told him. Not everything. But more.
"We were a happy family once. Then came the hostel. Mom and Dad were always away. My brother… started drinking. Smoking. Still topped his exams, though."
I gave a hollow laugh.
"I learned the truth about people. Betrayal. Sweet snakes in pretty skin. My parents gave us everything—but were barely there."
I looked at him then, soaked to the bone, fingers clenched around memory.
"There's more. You bored, mister?"
Alessandro met my gaze.
"Bored? No. I've heard worse. And I don't have the luxury of boredom."
He flicked a raindrop off his sleeve like it offended him.
"You speak like someone who's seen too much too soon. I don't doubt you've got stories that could drown a man."
His voice dropped—quiet, intense.
"So. What made you want to jump tonight? What broke you so badly that even the rain couldn't wash it away?"