“How is he?” I asked the doctor as soon as he stepped out of the operating room.

“His condition is still critical because he lost a lot of blood,” he said. “But I assure you, the operation was successful. I just can’t tell when he’ll wake up.”

I touched my face, my hand still stained with blood. Everything was spinning. If I hadn’t

been there… would he still be okay?

What if neither of us had been there at that moment? Maybe he’d still be fine now.

I started crying. The memory hit me again it was my fault this happened to you. I shouldn’t have let myself fall into that bastard’s trap.

My hands shook as I remembered how you risked your life… just for me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling like the life had been drained out of me. Half of my world was somewhere inside this hospital, fighting for his life.

I looked at Mathew, who seemed worried about me.

“You should rest first. He’ll live, I’ll do my best, Selene,” he said gently.

But I just stared at him blankly. My eyes had lost all strength, and my knees finally gave out. I collapsed to the floor.

“Where is my son?!”

I turned in shock. It was Francis’ mother. I immediately stood up.

“M-Ma’am…” I said softly, my head lowered.

Her hand struck my cheek, hard.

“I warned you so many times!” she cried. “I told you to leave my son! Because of your job, he got hurt!”

I clenched my fists as my tears fell.

“M-Ma’am… I—I blame myself too…” I said in a shaking voice.

“Of course you should!” she shouted. “My son wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for you! If you really blame yourself, then take his place!”

If only I could. If only I could take his pain I would have done it already. I deserve their hatred. I deserve their anger.

“Get out. And don’t ever show yourself to us again. Remember that,” she said before entering the room where Francis was.

“Let their anger pass first. Then you can come back,” Mathew said quietly. I hadn’t realized he was still there.

I gave a weak laugh. “No. Their anger is right. It’s enough to make me understand that I’m the reason the man I love is fighting for his life. I’ll leave.”

I walked out of the hospital, my body heavy and empty. My feet took me wherever they wanted. People stared probably because my hands were still covered in blood.

I wanted to cry more, but my eyes had nothing left to give.

My feet eventually brought me to a church. I took a deep breath and went inside. I sat at the back and stared blankly at the altar… then broke down again. I knelt and clasped my hands together.

“Please… let him live. Why couldn’t it have been me instead?” my voice trembled. “Let him live. I’m begging you. I’ll leave. I won’t show myself to him again. Just… please don’t take him away from me yet. Let him live even if it means I disappear from his life forever.”

When I had poured out everything, I sat back down, staring silently at the altar. I don’t deserve him. I don’t deserve anything he’s done for me.

My phone buzzed a message from Mathew.

Mathew:

He’s doing better now. But don’t visit yet his mom is still here. I’ll text you when she leaves.

I sighed in relief and whispered a small thank you to the heavens.

A few hours later, another message came.

Mathew:

They left for now to get some things. You can visit before they return.

I hurried back to the hospital. When I reached his room, I froze for a moment then walked in.

He was lying there peacefully.

“H-hey…” my voice cracked. I took a deep breath.

“You’re doing better now. This… might be the last time we see each other. You won’t see me again. I’ll leave you for good.”

The tears finally broke free.

“When you wake up… please don’t look for me. Live peacefully with your mom. With your future wife. Even if I won’t be by your side anymore… remember this not even bullets could ever take my love for you away. I love you. So damn much. Goodbye.”

I rushed out before I could break again.

Outside, Mathew was waiting, worry in his eyes.

“Where will you go?” he asked.

“Maybe I’ll find another job… somewhere far. Away from here. Away from him and his family,” I said, accepting the handkerchief he offered.

“Please update me. I’m worried about you. You can retire, Selene. How long will you stay in that line of work? I’m your friend. I care about you.”

Before I could reply, a woman called his name. His wife, she was beautiful. He kissed her forehead, and she smiled kindly at me.

I said my goodbyes… and walked away.

Selene

“Agent Viper, are you in position?” my boss asked through the earpiece.

“Yes. Target locked,” I replied calmly. I’ve been doing this job for a long time. Undercover missions, assassinations, intelligence work. You name it. People think I’m just a professional model, but I’m not. I’m a lieutenant… and an agent.

I aimed my sniper rifle at my target, Emmanuel Reyes, the leader of a major syndicate. I was stationed on the rooftop of the building opposite his. Through my scope, I could clearly see him laughing and chatting with his business partner.

“Laugh while you still can,” I muttered.

He never gets caught not because he’s innocent, but because he’s powerful and untouchable. He’s been accused of multiple crimes, and still manages to slip through the justice system every single time. So the government gave us clearance to do what needed to be done. That’s why I’m here ready to put a bullet in this bastard’s skull. Orders from my boss. And trust me she’s not someone you want to piss off.

What makes this worse is that every agency is scrambling to catch him dead or alive.

There’s a huge reward on his head, which explains the competition. But through my scope, I didn’t see any other agents just me. Whatever. I’ll just do my job. I’m talking too much anyway.

If my boss wasn’t counting on me, I wouldn’t have volunteered for this mission. But when you’re high-ranking, everyone expects you to deliver. I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for the signal, my butt’s numb. Damn Emmanuel. He must’ve been a professional hide-and-seek player in his past life. No wonder he’s never been caught.

None of my friends know what my real job is. Only my parents. I was sitting there in that abandoned building, chewing my gum out of boredom, waiting for my boss’ go-signal. If I could just shoot him now, I would. But then I’d probably get terminated. And I love this job. I love hunting criminals. I hate how they act so normal like they haven’t done anything wrong. Crazy as hell.

I still don’t get why Emmanuel never fell for my cover as a model. He barely even looks my way during runway shows. I don’t know if he’s blind or just has trash taste. It would’ve been easier to infiltrate his organization that way.

“Agent Viper, can you hear me?” my boss finally said.

“Yes, Boss,” I replied, getting back into position.

“I’ll send the signal in a moment. First, count how many people are with him.”

I looked through my scope. “There are four. Including Emmanuel.” Only four?

“Can you finish them in a second?” she asked.

Is she underestimating me again?

“You’re underestimating me, Boss,” I sighed.

“I’m not. I just want this mission done properly.”

I exhaled slowly and aimed. A moment later, I received the signal and pulled the trigger.

“Rest in hell,” I muttered.

But the bullet didn’t hit him straight on. Instead, chaos broke out. My shot had been thrown off course.

I cursed and checked through the scope everyone inside was panicking and searching for the shooter. Shit.

As I was about to pull away, I noticed something a man in a dark silhouette rushing down the other building. His build… felt familiar. Whatever. The hell? How did I not notice someone else was here? And more importantly how did we fire at the same damn time?

“Mission failed. Someone interfered,” I said quickly as I sprinted out of the building.

Emmanuel’s men would be moving soon and if they caught me, that would be the end of our agency.

I put on my helmet and mounted my Ducati.

“Damn that asshole,” I growled. “My shot only went off-track because our bullets collided.”

“F*ck!” my boss cursed through the line.

“Get back here immediately. We need to talk.”

I sped back to headquarters. When I arrived, I walked straight past everyone and into my boss’ office…

And froze.

Francis was there.

I felt like I turned to stone. After everything… after I left to avoid him… here he was. Right in front of me.

I didn’t want to believe what Mathew once said that Francis is good at tracking people.

“Selene, come in. Why are you staring like that?” my boss snapped me back.

“Oh… sorry,” I muttered, sitting across from him.

“Good. You’re both here,” my boss said. “This is Francisco Balthazar General Lieutenant.

He’ll be your partner for this mission. He’s also an excellent sniper.”

My eyebrow shot up.

So… he managed to impress her that easily, huh?

Selene

“So you’re saying I’m not a good shooter, Boss?” I snapped. She was already underestimating me earlier and now this?

“No. That’s not what I meant, Selene,” she sighed. “I just thought maybe you should start working side-by-side with someone. At least you won’t always be alone on missions. You seem lonely.”

I raised a brow. Is she sarcastically concerned about me? Wow, im very moved from it, tsk.

So she trusts me… but now I’m suddenly.

“lonely”? Is this a joke? I muttered to myself.

“Are you trying to be funny, Boss? Because if you are, it’s not working.” I turned to Francis.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Selene Buenaventura.”

I reached out my hand for a handshake even though we already knew each other. Well im just thinking to formally introduce myself theres nothing wrong about that by the way.

He just stared at me with those deep eyes of his, serious and unreadable. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long. Whenever I do, the past flashes in my head. Was he mad at me? Probably. Anyone would be angry after being left behind.

“We already knew each other. No need to act like strangers unless you suddenly developed amnesia and forgot about me,” he said firmly.

I slowly withdrew my hand and turned back to Boss. Honestly… sometimes I wish I did have amnesia.

If you really look at him now, you’d never think Francis once pretended to be gay for undercover work. That was just a undercover. Now? He’s very obviously… manly.

“So you two already knew each other? That’s great! You won’t have a hard time working together,” Boss said cheerfully, clapping her hands.

Lord… what did I do wrong to deserve this punishment? I thought we would never see each other again so why is he standing in front of me now?

We left Boss’ office and headed to the parking area. I hesitated when we reached his car. Of course i have my own and why did i follow him?

“I have my bike. I’ll just ride that,” I said. Hoping he would agree.

But instead of answering, he opened the front passenger door for me. “You’re riding with me.” he firmly said. As if i do have a choice.

I stared at him. Then at the car. Back at him. I wanted to refuse… but what if he needed to discuss the mission? So I got in.

We drove in silence. Neither of us spoke. The tension was so thick, it was suffocating.

“You left your old workplace?” I finally asked.

If I didn’t say anything, my tongue might rot from awkwardness.

“Yeah,” he said. “After my woman left me… with no explanation. So I followed her. Even to her new workplace.”

I looked down at my hands, fidgeting. “But you knew you didn’t work in the same agency. Why follow her?”

“I knew,” he said quietly. “But did she know how I felt?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I did know.

But does he know his mother hated me?

“What happened in the past stays in the past,”

he added calmly. “Let’s just focus on the mission.”

His words hit me like ice water.

I pressed my lips together.

He was right.

“What… where are we going anyway?” I asked.

“My house,” he said.

I frowned. “Why there? I have a house, FYI.”

“I think it’s better if we stay under one roof.

It’ll be easier to plan the mission.”

“And you’re only telling me this now?”

“Would you have come if I told you earlier?” he shot back.

I fell silent. “…Fair point.”

He glanced at me. “Any more questions?”

“Yeah. You said you followed her… so are you here because of your job? Or because of her?” I asked, biting my lip even though I already dreaded the answer.

“I’m here for the mission,” he said. “Nothing else. I thought she’d be lonely without me, but clearly she’s fine.”

That’s a lie.

How could I ever be fine… when I’ve been blaming myself all these years?

I stared out the window. “Yeah… she’s fine.”

When we arrived at his house, I silently prayed his mother wasn’t there. If she saw me, I was dead.

“You okay?” he asked, probably noticing how tense I looked.

“Yeah. Is your family here?”

“No. I moved out a long time ago.”

I finally breathed out in relief. His house was simple, neat perfect for two people.

“Your house looks nice. Simple. Just right for two people,” I said.

He raised a brow. “Are you mocking my house?”

“Huh? No. I actually find it cute,” I said honestly.

“Is the owner cute too?” he smirked.

I glared. He laughed. “Relax. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

I rolled my eyes. “Where’s my room?”

He pointed to the left. Then went to the kitchen. When he came back, he had biscuits and juice.

“Sorry. This is all I have right now,” he said, scratching his head.

I almost laughed. “It’s fine. I’ll have to go back to my place anyway to get my things.”

“I’ll go with you. I need to buy groceries too,” he said, sitting beside me.

Then he leaned in just a little.

“Please take care of me… partner,” he whispered.

Every hair on my body stood up.