Mika crossed her arms tightly over her chest, eyes locked on Lex with a sharpness she rarely let surface. "You were at my window last night, weren't you?"
Lex didn't flinch. He tilted his head slightly, a slow, amused smile creeping onto his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't play games with me. You said something last night... something about how I looked when I was asleep."
His smile didn't fade. If anything, it deepened, stretching into something more unsettling. "I was just being poetic. You know, trying to charm you."
"It wasn't poetic. It was specific." Her voice shook slightly, but she held her ground. "You said I looked peaceful. That I only look that way when I'm not awake. That isn't something you say unless you were there. Unless you saw me."
Lex took a slow step forward. Mika instinctively stepped back.
"I meant it metaphorically," he said lightly, brushing a hand through his tousled hair. "I imagine you looking peaceful. And beautiful. It's not a crime, Mika."
"Don't do that," she snapped. "Don't twist words around like I'm stupid."
Lex's smile dropped just slightly. Not enough to make him look sorry. Just enough to let a sliver of something colder bleed through.
"Alright," he said, voice quieter. "Let's say I was there. Hypothetically. Would you rather I hadn't come at all?"
Her jaw clenched. "You had no right."
"No," he agreed softly, taking another step forward. "But I did. And you're still here talking to me."
Mika looked away, unsure whether it was fear or something far more complicated gripping her chest. Her fingers tightened at her sides. Logan, asleep on the rug nearby, twitched but didn't stir.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered.
Lex was closer now, close enough that she could smell the faint metallic edge still clinging to him beneath the soap. She knew what that scent was. She remembered the blood on his face.
"But you didn't ask me to leave either," he said.
That made her look back up at him, her glare sharp. "Why are you doing this?"
Lex paused, studying her as though trying to decide what version of the truth she could stomach. "Because I want to understand you. Because you haunt me."
She laughed bitterly. "You make it sound like I'm a ghost."
"You are. You hide in yourself. Behind sarcasm and walls and mistrust. But you let me in. You keep letting me in."
Mika shook her head. "I let you in because I didn't know what you were."
He reached out then, his hand slow, almost hesitant as it brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. She stiffened. He didn't push further.
"You still don't," he murmured.
They stood there for a moment, silence pressing in around them like fog. Mika's heart pounded in her ears. She didn't know if it was fear or fury. Maybe both.
"You need to leave," she said finally, voice tight.
Lex didn't argue. But he didn't move either. His eyes lingered on her face, drinking her in like he was memorizing her.
"Do you really want me to?" he asked.
She hesitated.
That pause was enough. Lex took it as permission, and that infuriated her more than anything.
"You don't get to decide what I mean when I hesitate," she snapped. "That's not how this works."
He looked genuinely surprised for a heartbeat, then something darker curled around his expression. But he took a slow step back, raising his hands slightly.
"Fine," he said. "I'll go. But you'll still think about me tonight. When you're alone. When the window creaks and you wonder who might be watching."
"Get out."
He nodded once, sharp and clean, then turned toward the door. But just before he opened it, he paused.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Mika."
She didn't answer.
He left without another word.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Mika stood still in her living room, arms wrapped around herself, shaking in the aftermath of something she couldn't quite name.
She didn't cry. She didn't move. She just stood there, heart thrashing in her chest.
Eventually, Logan stirred and padded over, nuzzling her leg gently. She knelt down and hugged him tightly, grounding herself in the solidity of his presence.
"I don't know what I'm doing anymore," she whispered into his fur.
Logan licked her cheek, and for a moment, she felt human again.
Later that night, she triple-checked the locks. Pulled the curtains tight. Left the hallway light on.
But sleep still came slow.
And when it did, her dreams weren't peaceful.
They were full of shadows. And eyes that watched. And the scent of blood that lingered even when she tried to forget.
In the dream, Lex stood outside her window again.
Only this time, she opened it. And when she did she got a good look at him, blood dripping down his chin, a females severed arm with a diamond ring on i, nails painted rose red, and skin so pale it looks frozen. She could see him, and the arms with the light of her room.
She stepped back away from him, she didn't even close the window."What the hell! I thought I told you to get away!?!"
Alexander, no longer Lex, not a sweet caring man, Alexander a possessive, dark, but living in a gruesome, twisted form of love.
He took the ring off the hand, he dropped the arm on the floor, fresh blood. "Darling~" He said his voice low and calculated. He stepped into the room and closed the window, walking towards her slowly.
"Get away!" She screamed backing towards the door.
He kept walking towards her. "I brought you a gift darling, don't you love it, I thought it would look amazing on you~ " he held up the ring wiping the blood off of it and holding it out towards her.
Mika kept backing away, reaching towards the door. "Get that ring away from me, stay away from me." She said trying to sound calm but her voice shook. "I'm not accepting that, it's off a dead women's hand, and it's a wedding ring, I'm not accepting that we're not getting married and never will."
Alexander's face darkened,"Oh but you will." He put the ring in his pocket and started walking towards her with determination in his step.
Mika ran out of the room, bursting through the door and into the apartment trying to get aw6she ran towards the door, trying to get out of the apartment
Alexander was faster, he cought up to her, grabbing her wrist, "You may not love me back, may not even like me but.." He took a deep breath, "I love you, I've loved you for years, and you've never noticed me until last week, do you know how agonizing that is?" He kissed her knuckles, upper her arm them up her neck, holding her still even as she resisted. "I'm not letting you go this time."