The Warm Algorithm

Chapter 42: Beneath the Smile

Lucien's gaze lingered on Calix as she moved around his kitchen, sunlight spilling over her hair. To her, this was ordinary—a quiet morning, coffee, soft laughter between them.

To him, it was possession. A delicate balance he had fought for. A prize he had earned.

But then came that name again.

Rob.

The sound of it was a blade pressed against his throat. Calix spoke of him with such warmth, such loyalty. A "best friend," she claimed. Lucien's smile never faltered, but inside, his teeth ground against each other.

Rob. Always Rob.

He remembered another name, another face—Xeda. Her laughter still echoed in his memory, bright and sharp. She had been his obsession once, the flame he couldn't extinguish. Xeda had belonged to him, or she should have. He had given her everything, watched her every move, carved a place for her inside his world.

And then Rob appeared.

The charming friend. The one who stood too close, who looked at her with the kind of hunger that Lucien recognized all too well. Xeda had smiled for him. Yes, but she had smiled at Rob too. And that smile was betrayal.

Lucien's fingers tightened around his coffee mug until the ceramic groaned. He told himself it was history now, that Xeda's story had ended. But some endings bled into beginnings. Because now, here Calix was—soft, trusting, perfect. And Rob was back again, stealing her laughter, her loyalty, her attention.

First Xeda. Now Calix.

Lucien's jaw clenched as he forced a gentle smile when Calix turned to him, eyes innocent and bright. She didn't see it the way shadows curled around his thoughts, the way his mind replayed Xeda's betrayal like a wound that never healed.

He couldn't let it happen again.

He wouldn't lose another woman to Rob.

Lucien leaned closer, brushing a kiss against Calix's temple, his hand resting on her wrist just a moment too long, just tight enough to remind himself she was here, his.

Inside, the thought hardened into something darker, a vow whispered like a prayer:

"If Rob took Xeda from me, I'll make sure he never takes Calix."

And behind that vow, a chilling truth pulsed, Lucien didn't just love. He possessed. And when he possessed, he never let go.

_____

The scrape of chains against the floor followed Rob as the guard led him into the visitation room. His chest felt tight. He wasn't expecting anyone today.

When he sat down and looked through the glass, his breath hitched.

It was her.

The girl from the club. The stranger with the drink that blurred his world into shadows.

She looked even more polished now, her hair pinned neatly, lips tinted red, but her eyes, the same cold, knowing eyes pierced through him like a knife.

Rob's hand trembled against the table. 

"You..." His voice cracked. "Why are you here?"

She leaned forward, her smile faint and sharp. 

"Because you don't remember everything. You think you do, but you don't."

Flashes struck him, her perfume, her hand tracing his arm, the heat of her whisper before the night collapsed into darkness.

His throat tightened. 

"What do you mean?"

Her smile widened, cruel and calm. 

"Let's just say... Xeda's death wasn't as simple as everyone believes. And you, Rob... you're holding the wrong blame."

Rob's pulse pounded in his ears. For the first time since the trial, a spark of something a hope, or maybe terror flickered inside him.

Before he could speak, the guard's voice rang out. "Time's up."

She stood slowly, eyes locked on his. "We'll see each other again, Rob. And when we do... maybe you'll finally remember what really happened that night."

She walked away, heels clicking against the cement floor, leaving him drowning in questions that tore at the edges of his sanity.