The week dragged like wet paper, fragile, tearing at the edges.
 Every day felt like a test I hadn’t studied for.

Rylan Aiden wasn’t just the new CEO; he was a storm that refused to pass. He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t call me out, but his eyes… they did enough damage.

Every meeting, I could feel them on me, sharp, assessing, cold.
 When he spoke to me, his tone was clipped, professional, too polite to be kind.

“Mr. Blake, redo this layout. It lacks conviction.”
 “Mr. Blake, next time, don’t submit work you aren’t proud of.”

It was never about the designs. It was about me.

He was punishing me without touching me, killing me with every word that pretended to be business.

And I took it.
 Because what else could I do? I’d already ruined him once. At least, that’s what he believed.

Felix noticed. Of course he did. He noticed everything I tried to hide.

On Tuesday, he cornered me in the break room. “You’re shaking again.”

I tried to smile. “Too much caffeine.”

He didn’t buy it. He reached out, touched my wrist steadily, grounding. “Kai, look at me.”

I looked. He sighed. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

I froze.
 The hum of the refrigerator filled the silence between us.

“Rylan Aiden,” he said, voice low. “He’s your ex.”

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to laugh it off, say something clever.
 But all that came out was a whisper. “It’s complicated.”

Felix’s eyes softened. “Complicated means yes.”

I looked away, staring at the coffee machine like it might save me. “Please don’t ask.”

He didn’t, not right away. He just stood there, quiet, giving me space to breathe. Then he said softly,
 “You don’t have to go through this alone, you know? He can’t hurt you again.”

But he could. He already was with every look, every word, every deliberate reminder of how easily he’d erased me.

That afternoon, Rylan called me into his office.

The air was colder there. His desk was spotless, his tie perfect, his tone calm enough to make me sick.

“I reviewed your drafts,” he said, eyes never leaving the monitor. “You’ve gotten… rusty, Mr. Blake. I expected better from you.”

The way he said my name, “Mr. Blake”,   like we’d never been anything else, was worse than shouting.

I kept my head down. “I’ll fix it.”

He leaned back, eyes finally finding mine. “See that you do.”

Something flickered there not hatred, not really. Something rawer.
 And then it was gone.

I left his office feeling like I’d been skinned alive.

By evening, the city lights had bled into the glass walls of the building. Most of the staff had gone home. I stayed late, pretending to work.

Felix appeared at my desk with two cups of tea. “You haven’t eaten again,” he said.

I took the cup, hands trembling slightly. “Not hungry.”

He sat on the edge of the desk, watching me with that look, the one that saw too much. “Kai… I’m not good at keeping quiet when I see someone I care about bleeding.”

I blinked up at him.

“You don’t owe me your story,” he said, “but you’re breaking. And if he’s the reason ”

“Felix, stop.” My voice cracked.

He did. But he didn’t leave.

The silence was unbearable. I stared at the computer screen until my vision blurred. “Yes,” I whispered finally. “He’s my ex.”

The words felt heavier than they should. “We were… kids. And stupid. And I left. He never forgave me.”

Felix’s jaw tightened. “He has no right to treat you like this now.”

I laughed bitterly. “Maybe I deserve it.”

Felix shook his head. “No one deserves to be haunted.”

His voice broke something in me. I wanted to thank him, to tell him how much it meant, but before I could

The elevator doors opened.

Rylan.

He stepped out, suit jacket in hand, eyes sharp as a blade. “Still here?” he asked, voice low but cutting.

Felix stood up, instantly defensive. “He was finishing work. What’s it to you?”

Rylan’s gaze shifted between us. “It’s my company. Everything here is my concern.”

Felix crossed his arms. “Funny, doesn’t look like concern. Looks like obsession.”

Rylan’s eyes darkened. “Watch your tone, Mr. Gosh.”

I could feel the air tightening between them. Two storms are colliding.

“Stop,” I said softly, stepping between them. “Please. Don’t.”

Felix looked at me, frustration flickering in his eyes, but he backed down.
 Rylan didn’t move. His gaze landed on my face, searching, angry.

“So it’s true,” he said quietly. “You’re with him.”

My breath caught. “No. Felix is ”

“Don’t lie to me again, Kai.” His voice cracked, a quiet thunder. “Once was enough.”

The words sliced clean through me.

Felix stepped closer, his hand brushing mine not possessive, just steady. “He’s not lying,” he said, cold now. “You’re just too busy being angry to listen.”

Rylan’s jaw clenched. “Stay out of this.”

Felix didn’t. “Gladly. If you stay out of his life.”

Rylan looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just turned away, muttering something under his breath. The elevator doors closed behind him with a metallic sigh.

I stood there, shaking.

Felix exhaled slowly. “You okay?”

I laughed bitterly. “Do I look okay?”

He didn’t answer. He just pulled me into a solid, grounding, warm hug.

And for the first time that week, I let myself cry.

Later, walking home alone, I thought about the way Rylan had looked at me not like he hated me, not really.

It was worse.
 He looked like he still loved me, and wished he didn’t.

And that kind of love…
 That’s the kind that bleeds the most.