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———

The crisp evening air had a way of magnifying every sound, every movement. Sariyah's heart pounded in her chest as she hurried along the familiar streets on her way home.

Despite her growing comfort with D'kazi's promise of change—a promise of stepping out from the darkness into shared light—a persistent, unsettling feeling nagged at her. It wasn't the usual warmth she'd come to associate with his presence.

Tonight, there was an edge, a heaviness that made her glance over her shoulder more often than she cared to admit.

Earlier that day, at work, Sariyah had noticed something off. As she left her office—a space filled with creative energy and the steady hum of design projects—she felt eyes on her.

The sensation was eerily similar to the way she'd once felt when D'kazi used to follow her in the dark. Now, however, it wasn't him.

It was a presence that unsettled her, an intangible weight that made her skin crawl. By the time she reached her car, she was convinced that someone was watching her again.

Later, while on her way home from an errand, the thought turned into accusation. Sariyah recalled the many nights when D'kazi had been her silent guardian, always nearby in the shadows, a part of her life that she had learned to accept.

But tonight, that very habit, which had once been oddly reassuring, now felt invasive. Without a second thought, she grabbed her phone and sent a barrage of texts to him, accusing him of tailing her.

When D'kazi arrived at her door that evening, his calm demeanor betrayed none of the storm raging within him. His eyes, dark and sincere, met hers, but the tension in her voice was unmistakable. "Why were you following me again?" she demanded, her tone edged with anger and fear.

He shook his head slowly, his expression gentle yet pained. "I wasn't following you tonight, Sariyah. I kept my promise—I stayed away as I said I would."

"You always say that!" she retorted, her voice trembling as much with frustration as with genuine distress. "But then I feel like I'm being watched, like there's someone else out there, and I always assume it's you. I know what you used to do, and I can't help it—I'm scared."

D'kazi's calm did not falter, though his eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger at her words but in a quiet, guarded concern. "I promise you, I wasn't near you tonight. I've been here, keeping my distance. I want to be with you, Sariyah, but only in the way you want me to be."

His measured reply did little to quell her rising panic. The argument escalated as Sariyah, unable to shake her anxiety, continued to press him, her accusations echoing off the walls of her entryway.

D'kazi's tone remained soft but firm, emphasizing that he had kept his promise. Yet, the more she accused him, the more the tension between them deepened—until, finally, Sariyah, overwhelmed and tearful, stormed away into the night, leaving D'kazi standing silently at her door.